Italy's retail sales increased 0.8% month-on-month in March 2026, rebounding after a 0.1% decline in February and firmly above market expectations of a 0.4% contraction. Marking the fastest growth in nearly a year, sale increases were broad-based. Food sales growth rebounded to 0.9% following a 0.4% decline in the previous month, while non-food sales growth accelerated to 0.7% from 0.3%, particularly for IT, telecommunications, and telephone equipment (8.6%). In contrast, sales declined for footwear, leather goods, and travel goods (-1.3%). On an annual basis, retail sales increased by 3.7%, supported by e-commerce (11.2%) and increases in both food sales (4.3% versus 1.8%) and non-food sales (3.3% versus 1.4%).