They are 10 thousand commercial activities that will close in 2024, with an average of more than four shops closed every hour, about a thousand more than in the same period last year.
Since shop windows moved from the street to the internet and, with the unstoppable growth of online purchases, many retail business they decided to close their doors and, thus, the Italian tax authorities have lost over 5,2 billion euros in taxes in the last 10 years.
Between January and March 17.243 businesses were closed, while those born in the first quarter of this year were only 7.415, less than half compared to ten years ago, a drop due to the difficulties that new businesses encounter in an increasingly dominated by large groups and online giants.
The types of stores in sharp decline are those of clothing ed electronics and food , only leisure services, including bars and restaurants, are increasing.
Which regions are most affected?
Among all, the Campania was the region that suffered the greatest loss, with a negative balance of 1.225 businesses in the quarter; they follow the Lombardia with a loss of 1.154 activities and the Lazio with 1.063.
The decrease in shops also leads to a reduction in the tax base for the tax authorities. Confesercenti estimates that from 2014 to today the Italian commercial fabric has lost further 92 thousand businesses, together with the related taxes such as Irpef, Tari, Imu, Irap and other municipal taxes
Nine out of ten Italians want shops in their neighborhood
The presence of commercial activities increase the value of properties by 20%..88% of Italians believe it is essential and necessary to live in neighborhoods where there are more shops, only one in 10 prefers to live in an exclusively residential area, without nearby services, as revealed by a survey carried out by Confcommercio in collaboration with SWG, as part of the “Cities” project which deals with combating commercial desertification in Italian cities.
How do you perceive the decline in neighborhood shops?
The desertification of neighborhood commercial activities brings with it a strong negative feeling that pushes one in five Italians to consider changing their home if the phenomenon worsens in the area where they live. Residents feel a sense of sadness when faced with the closure of shops in the streets of their city, believing it to be synonymous with an increase in urban decay, a reduction in the quality of life and safety.
According to the president of Confcommercio, Charles Sangalli, the only way to combat this negative phenomenon is to combat it by trying to incentivize innovation and support urban redevelopment, through better use of European funds.
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