THE’Findomestic Observatory of October 2025 signals a sharp decline in Italians’ purchasing intentions, with a decline of 26% compared to the previous month. This is the lowest figure recorded in the last year, after intentions had reached their highest level just a month ago. The picture reflects a worsening of consumer confidence, which is also manifested in the general perception of the future.
According to Claudio Bardazzi, head of the Observatory, “the data is also reflected in the worsening of the perception of the future with optimists falling to 36% from 47% at the end of the summer”. In other words, fewer than four out of ten Italians say they are confident about the months to come, a signal that directly affects spending decisions.
The categories most affected by the decline
The contraction in purchasing intentions affects almost all the main categories of durable goods. In particular, the propensity to purchase new cars (-5.4 percentage points) and used cars (-5.3), two sectors that already showed signs of a slowdown in previous surveys, decreased.
Interest in household appliances is also decreasing, both small (-6.7) and large (-8), and in technological products such as televisions (-5.9) and mobile phones (-9.6). The furniture sector is also in difficulty, with furniture falling by 4.4%.
The home sector recorded a slowdown in spending intentions for renovations (-5.6) and a slight decline for fixtures (-1.3). Signs of tiredness are therefore coming from a sector which in recent years had benefited from incentives and construction bonuses, which are now in a phase of progressive reduction.
An overall picture that is still stable in the medium term
Despite the decline recorded in October, theFindomestic Observatory highlights how the majority of categories maintain values in line with the 2025 average or in any case growing on a quarterly basis. In fact, the 20 out of 22 categories analyzed show an overall stable trend if we look at the broader period.
This means that, despite a marked monthly decline, Italians have not completely abandoned their propensity to purchase, but rather seem to postpone spending while waiting for more favorable economic conditions or greater stability of prices and interest rates.
Travel remains a priority for many Italians
A partial exception to the general slowdown concerns the tourism sector. Almost half of Italians (49%) declare their intention to purchase a trip in the next three months. Despite a slight decline of 1.7 percentage points compared to the previous month, the figure remains in line with the average for the year and testifies to the widespread desire not to give up experiences related to free time.
According to analysts at Findomesticthe travel sector continues to benefit from the desire for escape and the return to post-pandemic normality, which pushes many consumers to favor spending on experiences over material goods.
An index to monitor in the coming months
The sharp decline in purchasing intentions recorded in October highlights a phase of economic uncertainty and a cooling of confidence in the future. The next findings from the Findomestic Observatory will be crucial to understand whether this is a temporary setback or the beginning of a more lasting trend, influenced by macroeconomic factors such as inflation, cost of money and instability of the labor market.
