Shipping Guide to Italy

Shipping to Italy is a great idea—the Italian e-commerce market grew by 27% just between the years 2022 and 2023! However, to enter this market effectively, you need to create a shipping strategy based on market insights. A mobile-friendly website, working with flexible carriers that can deliver your parcels to your customers' homes, and working with reputable final-mile carriers will help you achieve success in the Italian market. Do you want to learn more? Then read on!

What Do You Need to Know About Shipping Your Products to Italy?

Italy is a large e-commerce market, with an estimated value of €75 billion in 2023. Similarly to other markets, fashion is the number one industry for online cross-border sales in this country, followed by consumer electronics and home and garden.

When shipping to Italy, you will mostly work with larger shipments value wise, since 44% of Italian cross-border consumers purchase goods worth €50 or more. Apart from that, Italy is a market dominated by mobile devices: 51% of online purchases are made on smartphones, while 5% on tablets. This means that apart from your shipping strategy, you need to prepare a mobile-friendly website for your clients.

Why Is Italy a Promising Market for Cross-Border E-Commerce?

There are several reasons why Italy is a good market for cross-border e-commerce from the UK. Namely:

• The Italian e-commerce market is growing rapidly, scoring a 27% growth in value just between 2022 and 2023.

• British businesses are respected and liked in Italy, and the UK is the third most popular country for Italian cross-border shoppers.

• 39% of Italy's e-commerce market is cross-border—this is quite a large percentage.

Shipping Parcels to Italy: Key Market Insights

What are the key market information that you need to know before sending your first shipments to Italy? We’ve gathered the most important statistics, which you can see below.

• 71% of Italian consumers desire clear pre-purchase information about delivery charges.

• 62% of Italian consumers value simple returns management processes.

• 60% of Italian consumers want the possibility of choosing the pick-up location.

• 56% of Italian consumers are driven by their trust in the delivery company.

Other Key Trends

Apart from the main trends regarding logistics, there are some equally important factors that you need to consider that aren’t related to shipments per se. Take a look at them below.

• 40% of digital transactions in Italy are paid for with digital wallets, 26% by credit cards, and 18% by prepaid cards.

• 44% of online purchases are of a value over €50.

• 51% of Italian online shoppers buy from their smartphones, while 5% from tablets.

How to Ship Your Products to Italy?

With all the information about the market, it is time to prepare your strategy. What should you include in it?

Shipping Strategy

First, come up with your general shipping strategy. What do you need to estimate for this purpose?

• The number of parcels you will send monthly.

• The volume and value of the parcels.

• The size (dimensions and weight) of the parcels.

• The distance the parcels will cover via final-mile delivery services.

Compliance

Secondly, you need to ensure compliance with the local law. Apart from the standard regulations (ICS2 Release 3, EU Digital Services Act), you also need to look into the Italian packaging law. According to it, you are obliged to:

• Provide clear recycling labels and information in simple, comprehensible Italian on the packaging disposed of by private users. The information should include instructions on disposing of such packaging.

  • In some cases, it’s possible to provide labelling and information via QR codes.

• Ensure your packaging materials' composition is in compliance with EU Directive 97/192/EC and that they are labelled with relevant alphanumeric codes.

Returns Management

Finally, you need to take into account returns. Create a simple, comprehensive policy, establish how the carrier can pick up the returns (so that it is convenient for both parties) and consider adding return labels to your parcels—this will make life easier for your customers and boost their satisfaction.

Select Your Logistics Partner

With all the above done, you need to select the right logistics partner. Focus on:

• Reliability.

• Pricing.

• Customs clearance support.

• Local infrastructure and reach.

• Number/type of carriers your logistics partner works with.

Landmark Global’s Advantage

Landmark Global can ship your products to Italy and fulfil your deliveries. We work with multiple airlines and final-mile carriers to ensure that your shipments arrive on time, every time and that no disruptions will affect your deliveries. By selecting us, you gain:

• Our extensive experience.

• A carrier-neutral supply chain based on our partnerships with both major commercial carriers and postal operators.

• A well-developed infrastructure in Italy with an excellent coverage of the country.

• Support of our customs agents on border crossings.

• Simple, yet effective, returns system.

Choose Landmark Global to achieve success in the Italian Market!

The Takeaway

Shipping parcels to Italy requires a mobile-friendly website and a reliable, transparent delivery service. With these two in your company, you are much more likely to achieve success in this market. Thus, do not hesitate to contact us at Landmark Global—let’s talk about your business.

You might also read: Shipping from UK to Canada - Everything You Need to Know