Digital Boom in 2021: Here Are the Most Requested Products and Services

After a record year Digitalization accelerates in Italy in 2021, confirming the positive trend detected with the Covid-19 pandemic and started in March 2020 with the first lockdown. Our country is positioned at the top of the list in Europe in many sectors, with a high growth rate in many areas, from online purchases in e-commerce to electronic payments, up to video game services such as gaming and digital banking. Obviously there is still a gap with other European countries, however Italians are increasingly passionate and competent with new digital technologies.

Online gaming services on the rise

In the field of video game services there are strong increases in the digital sector. Operators such as Betfair are taking advantage of the boom in online gambling, which increased by 46,4% in 2020 with an expenditure of 161 million euros in April 2021 alone, according to data from the Customs and Monopolies Agency reworked by AGIMEG. Excellent news also for the state coffers, able to obtain a €1,2 billion raised through SuperEnalotto in 2020, always according to the data of the gaming market news agency.

The following were also great successes: eSports, a sector that has seen strong growth in recent years, with a sharp acceleration during the health emergency and the long stoppage of physical sports in the summer of 2020. According to the Cross Border Growth Capitale report, taken from the Gazzetta.it website, gaming revenues have reached 175 billions of dollars in the 2020, with approximately 2,7 billion players worldwide, including both professionals and amateurs, or almost 40% of the global population.

The growth of e-commerce in Italy

According to the Shopping Index report by Salesforce, only in first quarter 2021 Italians' online purchases are increased by 78%, against an increase of just 26% in the first three months of 2020 and a global growth in the same period of 58%. In particular, among the most requested products are sporting goods, household appliances and luxury bags, with a significant share of web traffic now coming from mobile devices (24%), while access to online stores from PCs is decreasing (20% compared to a share of 40% recorded in the first quarter of 2020).

The sale of over-the-counter drugs online has also increased significantly, with a 66% growth in 2020 for the e-pharmacy sector according to IQVIA data. Even in the food sector, the e-commerce share continues to rise, with over two million new customers in 2020 according to Casaleggio Associati surveys. Again according to CA, among the most popular e-commerce sites in Italy are Amazon, eBay and Zalando, while the top ten also includes Mediaworld, Ikea, Unieuro, Leroy Merlin, ManoMano, Microsoft and Apple Store.

Digital financial services on the rise in the last year

The growth of digital is also affecting financial services. As far as banks are concerned Online banking is used by 51% of Italians, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, with one in two people using a smartphone to manage online banking services. According to projections by Allied Market Research, however, By 2027, the digital banking sector will grow by 178%, going from just over 11 billion in 2019 to almost 32 billion within the next 6 years.

Also on the rise online investments, driven by the greater accessibility offered by online trading platforms and apps for investing via smartphone. Some market operators have achieved record results, such as the European broker eToro among the most popular in Italy, capable of exceeding the 20 million members, or the online trading app Robinhood which has more than 13 million registered users in the United States.