Doing Business in Italy: Market Entry, GTM Strategy & Growth Potential

The population of Italy is 58,926,167, and is growing at the rate of -0.39%. The GDP per capita, which represents the potential spending power of the people, is $65,761, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis to allow comparison with other countries.

69.77% of Italy’s population lives in urban areas. 55.13% of the population is of working age (15-59). 90.32% of the population has internet access and 98% has 5G mobile coverage. These factors are important for digital-first businesses to keep in mind.

The Accuracast International Growth Index ranks Italy #7 overall for market attractiveness, no change from last year’s position.

How we can help you grow in Italy:

Accuracast offers a comprehensive range of international digital marketing services to support brands looking to grow their presence in Italy. Whether you need an international SEO agency, an international advertising agency, or an international social media marketing agency specialising in Italy, we’ve got you covered.

How Digitally Mature is the Market in Italy

The digital search demand score for Italy is 48.26.

Italy’s digital search demand scores higher than market demand since raw search volume doesn’t yet translate into proportional buyer demand in the market. This tracks with Italy’s e-commerce market, which is growing fast (from roughly $56 billion in 2025 toward a projected $82 billion by 2027) but still trails Western European peers on digital spend per capita.

A useful nuance to keep in mind for search strategy: nearly 75% of Italian shoppers have already bought from a merchant outside Italy, so a meaningful share of the “domestic” search demand is really cross-border intent, especially toward Germany, the UK, and China.

Go-To-Market Strategy Considerations for Italy

The purchasing power score for Italy is 54.69, and the country scores 91.49 for digital readiness.

Italy shows the inverse pattern to other markets in Europe: infrastructure and connectivity are strong, but converting that readiness into spend is harder, partly because Italy still has one of the more cash-attached consumer cultures in Western Europe. Brands should expect longer consideration cycles and a continued (if shrinking) role for cash-adjacent habits even in digital-first categories.

Financial & payment infrastructure

In terms of financial infrastructure, Italy scores 74.

The standout local detail here is how fragmented, and locally flavoured the payment mix is. Digital wallets now account for over a third of online payments, with PayPal holding the overwhelming majority of that wallet share.

However, domestic alternatives matter too: Postepay, a prepaid card issued by Poste Italiane, with tens of millions of cards in circulation, is a genuinely Italian-specific instrument. Mobile-first options like Satispay and BANCOMAT Pay are gaining noticeable traction, particularly for smaller peer-to-merchant payments.

A checkout experience that only offers international cards and skips Postepay or a local wallet option is likely leaving conversion on the table with older or more cash-cautious audience segments.

Regulatory & business setup friction

From a business expansion point of view, Italy scores 67.26 for regulatory complexity and legal restrictions. This is reverse-scored, meaning the higher the score, the easier it is to navigate local regulation.

The regulatory landscape sits on the same EU foundation as elsewhere (GDPR, DSA, Consumer Rights Directive), but Italy layers on some genuinely distinctive local enforcement: the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), Italy’s competition and consumer protection authority, actively polices unfair commercial practices and misleading advertising.

The Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM), also Italy’s designated Digital Services Coordinator under the EU’s DSA, has gone further than most EU peers on influencer marketing specifically, introducing a formal Code of Conduct with mandatory ad-disclosure rules for any influencer with 500,000+ followers on a platform or 1 million+ monthly views. This follows directly from high-profile enforcement action, so influencer and creator-led campaigns in Italy carry more compliance overhead than in many other EU markets.

The score of 29.4 indicates the costs and friction associated with setting up a business presence in Italy.

While Italy has made progress in digitising and simplifying business registration, the low score reflects the relatively high cost and administrative burden of setting up and operating a business.

Company formation itself can now be handled largely online, and reforms have reduced the time required to start a business, but businesses still face multiple registration, tax and compliance requirements, with the burden varying significantly by region and municipality.

The OECD notes that complex and costly tax and regulatory compliance create fixed costs that disproportionately affect smaller businesses, while local administrative capacity remains uneven. For international brands, this means that the headline incorporation process may be manageable, but ongoing accounting, tax, reporting and licensing requirements can add meaningful operational friction, particularly where local permits or approvals are required.

Italy market attractiveness change

Compared to last year, the overall International Growth Index score for Italy has changed 1.65 points, but this wasn’t sufficient to change its ranking from 2025, so Italy still ranks #7 in 2026.

Stability here is arguably the headline: Italy isn’t a market that swings sharply year to year, which makes it a comparatively predictable long-term bet even where individual pillar scores (like setup friction) are weak.

Most Popular Social Media Platforms in Italy:

1. WhatsApp
2. YouTube
3. Facebook
4. Instagram
5. TikTok
6. LinkedIn
7. Telegram
8. Pinterest
9. X

The official national language is Italian. English is spoken by roughly a third of the population, but Italy currently ranks lowest in the EU for English proficiency (59th of 123 countries globally on the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index). There’s a pronounced north-south divide; proficiency is notably higher in regions like Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Emilia-Romagna than in the south.

Marketing teams should consider localising website content for search, and social media and advertising content to engage the local audience effectively, treating Italian-language creative as the default rather than an adaptation of English source material.

What Are the Risks of Expanding into Italy

While new market expansion can be exciting, it is important to also consider the risks when entering a market like Italy.

The fragmented payments landscape requires multiple local integrations (Postepay, Satispay, BANCOMAT Pay) rather than one dominant rail. The lingering cash-preference among older demographics can also suppress digital conversion.

The strict and actively-enforced influencer marketing code under AGCOM raises compliance overhead for creator campaigns.

High setup cost and friction relative to other EU markets are also worth considering, especially if your business could sell into the market via a subsidiary in a neighbouring European country, without needing to incorporate in Italy.

The pronounced regional divide in digital and English-language readiness between the north and south that complicates a one-size-fits-all rollout, and the shrinking working-age population (population growth is currently negative) puts a long-term ceiling on organic domestic demand growth.

How Does Italy Compare to Other Top Markets?