Covid-19 causes Italians' culture purchases to plummet. Very difficult situation

The Covid-19 halved Italians’ purchases in culture in 2020: it went from an average expenditure per family of 113 euros in 19 to 59.55 detected in December 2020, a reduction that therefore stands at -47 percent. Releasing the merciless data is the Impresa Cultura Italia-Confcommercio Observatory, in collaboration with Swg, which again this year conducted its usual survey on Italians’ cultural consumption. Confcommercio speaks of a “very difficult situation, in particular for live performances blocked by the lockdown and the subsequent pandemic containment measures that have led to a collapse in viewers for cinema, music and theater and sharp reductions in spending by consumers between December 2019 and September 2020 with peaks of more than 70 percent.”

In addition to the -47 percent in average household spending on culture and -70 percent in entertainment spending, Confcommercio also notes a -90 percent drop in cinema, concert, and theater goers, while at the same time a +17 percent increase in streaming pay-TV subscribers (like Netflix, for instance). It is better, however, for publishing: from 36.48 euros spent on books per household on average in December 2019 to 36.50 in December 2020, and increases also for newspapers (from 20.20 euros per household to 24.76, a 22 percent increase) and magazines and comics (from 14.30 euros per household to 15.39, an 8 percent increase). On audiovisuals, as anticipated, the only plus sign is for pay TV (from 24.28 euros per household in December 2019 to 33.20, a 37 percent increase): bad for cinema (the comparison is on September 2020: 9.43 versus 19.14 in December 2019, -51 percent) and theater (from 41.32 euros in December 2019 to 28.56 in September 2020, -31 percent). Minus sign also for music (from €17.52 in December 2019 to €15.38 in December 2020, -12%), live concerts (-73%: from €53.30 in December 2019 to €14.61 in September 2020), outdoor performances (from €22.64 in December 2019 to €19.91 in September 2020, -12%) and cultural festivals (from €22.20 in December 2019 to €14.75 in September 2020, -34%). Bucking the trend are exhibitions and museums, on which Italians spent more in September than in December 2019 (€39.42 this year compared to €25.59 last year, +54%).

According to Carlo Fontana, president of Impresa Cultura Italia-Confcommercio, “the data from our survey are undoubtedly alarming with a 47 percent reduction in cultural consumption and monthly spending per family that has plummeted to 60 euros in 2020. And they are data that represent to us all the drama of the situation of cultural activities in our country. A policy of refreshments has been made, but it is not enough. What is needed today is a strategy with a series of interventions that will allow a restart of our activities because the population cannot be deprived for much longer of what is also a nourishment of the spirit.”

Covid-19 causes Italians' culture purchases to plummet. Very difficult situation

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