Specialty Retail: The Beauty (and Difficulty) of Selling Something Else

Some rise, some fall, some float. The Italian non-food of 2023 is described like this: a market that has stopped running (+0.4% in value), slowing down after the post-pandemic hangover, but that has not stopped transforming. Here, more than growing, specialized retail today is evolving: this is what the GS1 Italy Non-Food Observatory 2024 says, which measures the state of health of 13 sectors every year, from electronics to furniture, from cosmetics to DIY, to find out what happens to what we don't eat but want.

Down with electronics, down with fashion

Consumer electronics , the queen in 2020, is now the big loser: -4.8% in value, "due to the reduction in volumes sold and an above-average increase in prices", analysts explain. No more tablets or monitors, but not even electric toothbrushes and wearables, put on stand-by by families' wallets. Clothing (-0.9%) and footwear (-3.7%) are also doing badly. Despite the decline, the fashion sector regains the lead in terms of turnover. As if to say: people spend less but still want more. Here too, however, the "average price" is the big outcast: "In perfumery products, consumers have oriented themselves towards premium price ranges and economic segments, gradually paying less attention to the intermediate range". A polarization that also affects toys and household goods.

Well-being and housing are on the rise

At the top of the list of growing sectors is perfumery : +11.1% in value, thanks to the combined effect of inflation and "consumption rituals", with make-up, functional cosmetics and perfumes acting as a driving force. Not just beauty: the entire wellness universe is growing, from home fitness (+7.3% for sports equipment) to meditation apps , up to self-medication products (+4.2%). DIY is also up (+0.7%), although slowing down compared to the roaring years, and the gardening boom is confirmed, with mini-greenhouses and robot lawnmowers playing the leading roles. And the home ? Ever smarter & greener . Italians have spent more on white goods (+3.5%), small kitchen appliances (+0.5%), furniture (+1.9%) and home textiles (+0.9%); Instagram docet.

Anti-inflation creativity

When purchasing power declines, creativity advances. 48% of Italians have maintained and repaired products and 38.1% have purchased or resold used goods . From fashion to optics, through furniture, second-hand is no longer a fallback but a style of consumption. Gen Z embraces it, Boomers ennoble it. Rental , self-production , and customization are also increasingly widespread. Non-food is becoming tailored, sustainable, and fluid. “Buy less in general,” said 7.5% of the sample interviewed. But more value, more quality, more meaning.

Back to the shop, but the web doesn't give up

2023 marks a new inversion: less e-commerce (-3.8% for fashion, -4.1% for electronics), more purchases in physical stores . But digital remains essential: 80% of consumers search for information and reviews online before buying. 33.3% do so for electronics, 19.8% write post-purchase reviews. And social media? Increasingly decisive for young people: Gen Z and Millennials buy after watching a reel or a story and TikTok becomes a showroom.

Retailers and Innovation: Those Who Don't Innovate Are Lost

Technology is the real discriminant: those who invest in immersive experiences, personalization and omnichannel hold up. Those who remain at the stake, struggle. This is demonstrated by the success of specialized perfumeries, which have returned to 32.5% of the share also thanks to proprietary e-commerce and in-store services. This is demonstrated by furniture, which focuses on design consultancy and more central showrooms. And it is demonstrated by DIY, which is relaunching with smaller sales points and focused on daily maintenance.

Generations Compared: Same Cart, Different Paths

In the labyrinth of non-food, Baby Boomers and Gen Z move on parallel tracks. The former, born between '46 and '64, remain faithful to the physical store: they seek quality, service and the security that only the seen and touched product can give. They are slower to adopt digital tools, but they are also the most attentive to durability and maintenance: "Maintaining products with care and having them repaired as much as possible" is, for them, the most sustainable practice.

On the contrary, the youngest – Gen Z and Millennials – rely on the web for everything: information, comparisons, reviews, purchases. They prefer Instagram and TikTok, they try products with augmented reality and buy with a click but, paradoxically, they ask for simplicity. Sustainability for them comes from second hand, rental and variety. Millennials, in particular, declare that they want to “buy less in general”, choosing with greater awareness.

Between these two extremes, the average Gen X: searches online, but then wants to see it in person; buys offline, but without giving up digital comparison. It is the generation of synthesis: attentive to service, sensitive to price, but also to sustainability. Because the future of non-food - the numbers say it - will also be a question of age.

*director of Markup and Gdoweek