Milan, 6 May (LaPresse) – In March 2026, retail sales rose compared with the previous month, both in value terms (+0.8%) and in volume terms (+0.7%). This was reported by Istat, which noted that similar positive trends were recorded for sales of food products (+0.9% in value and +0.5% in volume) and for non-food products (+0.7% and +0.9% respectively). Looking at the first quarter of 2026 as a whole, retail sales saw an increase in value (+0.6%) and volume (+0.2%). Growth was seen in both food sales (+0.9% in value and +0.1% in volume) and non-food sales (+0.6% and +0.3% respectively). On a year-on-year basis, in March 2026, retail sales recorded growth of 3.7% in value and 2.1% in volume. Sales of food products increased (+4.3% in value and +1.5% in volume), as did those of non-food products (respectively +3.3% and +2.7%). As regards non-food goods, positive year-on-year changes were recorded for almost all product groups. The largest increase was in IT, telecommunications and telephony equipment (+8.6%), whilst the most significant decline was recorded for footwear, leather goods and travel goods (-1.3%). Compared with March 2025, the value of retail sales is up across all distribution channels: large-scale retail (+3.7%), small-scale retailers (+3.1%), non-store sales (+3.4%) and, most significantly, e-commerce (+11.2%).