Shop windows continue to move from the street to the internet: in the first three months of 2024, 67 retail companies closed in the province of Nuoro for an average of almost one shop per day. A collapse which corresponds to the unstoppable growth of online purchases: according to estimates by the economic office of the national Confesercenti, they will rise by +13% during 2024, generating almost 2.5 million shipments to customers, on average around 6,800 parcel deliveries per day .
In detail, in the first three months of 2024 the retail sector recorded a negative balance of 37 companies due to 67 closures and only 30 openings, confirming the difficulties for new businesses in dealing with a market increasingly dominated by large groups and online giants.
The desertification of commercial activities affects the entire island territory, even if the provinces with a more developed commercial fabric record the worst balances. In absolute terms, the province of Cagliari suffered the most significant loss of businesses, with a negative balance of -164 commercial activities in the quarter; followed by Sassari (-79) and Nuoro (-37) and Oristano (-30). In relative terms, however, it is the province of Oristano that records the worst balance, losing approximately 1.7% of active businesses in the first quarter of 2024, followed by Cagliari (-1.6%), Sassari (-1. 2%) and Nuoro (-1%).
Between closures and failure to open, in Sardinia the number of neighborhood shops serving the community has fallen by approximately -12.9% compared to 2012 and despite this, as of 31 December 2023, the island remains among the top Italian regions in terms of number of shops per 1000 inhabitants (13.4) surpassed in this particular ranking only by some regions of southern Italy (Sicily, Calabria, Puglia and Campania).
In the historic province of Nuoro the number of shops per 100 inhabitants rises to over 14 and this means that if it were to align itself with the national average (12 shops per thousand inhabitants) it would suddenly lose a further 400 shops.
With the reduction of shops, the tax base is also reduced: Irpef, tari, and other taxes (from the occupation of public land to advertising) usually paid by shops and not by the eCommerce giants. Of the lost revenue, 17.4% would have been from Imu, 12.6% from Tari, 42.7% from Irpef, to which is added 4.3% of additional regional and municipal Irpef, from Irap (on the 13th, 4%) and finally for other municipal taxes 9.7% of the total.
«On online platforms – says Gian Battista Piana, director of Confesercenti Sardegna – you can find and buy everything and more and more people are using the internet to make their purchasing choices. This change in consumption habits, as well as profoundly changing the morphology of our cities, has a strong impact on local wealth, employment and taxes: those with government responsibilities should think about this to analyze and reflect on the systemic side effects”.
«Businesses in the area, in fact, play a crucial role not only in the economy, but also in the social fabric – continues Roberto Cadeddu, president of the association – they create wealth and employment, and contribute to local finances through the payment of taxes and duties . In this context, there is therefore an urgent need to develop a new European policy that can provide adequate tools and support to local businesses, aimed at creating a fairer and more competitive environment, guaranteeing equal fiscal conditions and compliance with the rules aimed at protecting competition”.
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