The market for e-business services and e-commerce applications is rapidly developing and it will continue to register sustained growth in the next few years.

Internet usage in Italy has experienced explosive growth in the past five years and the number of business and home Internet users has boomed: assessed at 22.6 million in 2003 and 25.5 million in 2004, it is estimated to have reached over 28.5 million in 2005.

Italian Internet users are relatively less mature in the use of this medium with respect to the European average, but they are rapidly catching up.

According to recent surveys, the penetration rate of the Internet in Italian enterprises is valued at 94.7 percent, one of the highest in Europe.  Broadband access is developing very rapidly, with 6 million users estimated to be connected at the end of 2005. Mobile phone diffusion in Italy is among the highest in the world, with over 63 million mobile phone lines activated, serving more than 42 million clients and equaling a penetration rate of 72 percent.

Business-to Business (B2B) E-Commerce
B2B e-commerce applications have taken off and are registering continuous and sustained growth. Although no official statistics exist and figures sometimes differ from one trade source to another, according to the recent B2B E-Commerce Watch Report developed by the Milan Polytechnic School of Management, the market value for B2B e-commerce transactions in Italy in 2004 represented 5% of the total transactions value and registered revenues of 94 billion Euros (approximately US$ 116 billion), an increase of 13% over 2003.  

The most active players focusing on the implementation of B2B solutions were the automotive, the pharmaceutical, the grocery, the IT and the telecom sectors. According to most local trade sources, growth rate in 2005 should be at least 10%.

E-procurement is also growing very positively: virtually all major Italian industrial groups and major companies are organized for it.  It is predicted that in the next two years at least half of all company purchases will be via e-procurement.  Within e-procurement, the value of transactions through e-sourcing tools in 2004 registered the highest growth of 30% over the previous year, with 11.5 billion Euros (approximately US$ 14.2 billion). 

Purchases via e-catalog (recurrent purchases based on pre-defined contract/prices, usually by large companies present in multiple locations) grew 50% in volume, although their value was limited to 1 billion Euros (approximately US$1.2 million). 

Although many smaller Italian companies with a web site still only use it to create brand awareness, offer product information, and generate leads, this is rapidly changing.  The evolution of organizational business models and strategies has created the need for increased interaction with suppliers and customers.  A growing number of large and medium-sized companies are investing heavily in Intranet/Extranet infrastructure and are implementing web sales and purchasing applications to meet these needs.

The Italian government, both at central and local level, is fostering a “new economy” business culture to boost economic competitiveness and efficiency.  A few hundred million dollars have been granted to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) for the adoption of e-commerce solutions, for turning to broadband access, and for utilizing digital signature.

Trade association and major organizations are also actively promoting initiatives to foster innovation and to promote e-commerce among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by offering them hosting solutions for both B2B and B2C e-commerce applications (malls, virtual marketplaces, portals, etc.)...(continues)

Please note:

This Industry Sector Profile is also part of the more comprehensive
ITALY COUNTRY COMMERCIAL GUIDE 2006.