The neighborhood becomes the center again, the rediscovery of neighborhood shops - Lifestyle

The heavy impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic on the economic fabric also translate into changes in consumer habits, in the ways of buying and consuming.

The Observatory of Fida, the Italian Federation of food retailers adhering to Confcommercio, created in collaboration with Format Research,

.

Almost one in two companies (47.3%) reported an increase in new customers.

Travel caution, social distancing and other measures to stem the pandemic, lead consumers to buy more close to home or online.

    And businesses adapt: ​​40.7% have started making

, 32.2% of those who already did, intensified this service and 14.2% activated take-out services.

On the digital front, on the other hand, companies are growing that have launched services that they did not previously offer, such as

(for 13.1%), via social networks (for 9%), click & collect (for 7, 1%) and sales through online platforms (for 4.7%).

There are over 140 thousand food retailing companies in Italy, equal to about 4% of the overall total of companies, of which 60% are "specialized".

    Faced with this paradigm shift, even large-scale distribution seems to be moving in the direction of the

intensifying investments.

One case is that of Esselunga, which in June inaugurated the second laEsse store in Milan, a new proposal for a "neighborhood" shop for quick meals and small shopping.

Eni also tries with the "Eni Emporium" project, which provides for the integration of new services in some of the 600 Eni Cafes already present in Eni Stations throughout Italy.

    Perhaps it is really early to talk about the end of large shopping centers, the crisis of large distribution, but the growth of e-commerce and the rediscovery of shopping close to home are still forcing large groups to adapt, reshaping their strategies.