The climate of confidence reported by Istituto di Studi e Analisi Economica (ISAE) among retailers in July and August has shown a downturn, from 101.9 in June to 100.7 in July and then to 98.1 in August, the lowest since last April.
The confidence indexes of both traditional retailers and supermarkets have registered a drop of around two points compared to last June.
The negative trend in the summer months is mainly due to the drop in confidence regarding current business trends and a downturn in expectations on the volume of sales.
In August a cautious signal of lower accumulation of stock emerged, which in July stabilised at fairly high levels.
The ISAE survey conducted in August and September on a sample of about 2000 service companies showed a recovery in confidence, similar to that seen in the manufacturing sector, the index (expressed in this case in gross terms) jumped in August to 5 (from -4 in July) and reached 2 in September.
