Emergency mandatory expenses: to cover them, a “typical” family burns through almost 42% of the money allocated for total consumption, a full 9,693 euros. Since 1995, the weight of mandatory expenses has increased by 4.7%, and in 2026 the trend shows a deterioration due to the high cost of energy. Mandatory expenses are those related to goods and services that families cannot give up, such as rent and other housing costs, energy, bills, healthcare, transport, and insurance. The housing item is the most burdensome because 5,335 euros per person per year are spent on housing, 75 euros more, equal to +1.4% compared to 2025. Following are insurance and fuels (2,310 euros) and energy (1,829 euros). Over the long term, the energy chapter has recorded a steady decline due to the race for efficiency in light bulbs, small and large appliances, and cars that consume less, with a consumption cut quantified over thirty years at 1,231 euros: which brings the energy, gas, and fuel expenditure to 1,829 euros. These are the main findings of the analysis carried out by the Confcommercio Research Office on the mandatory expenses of Italian families in the period 1995–2026.
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“Despite a slowdown in mandatory expenses, the impact on family budgets remains high, especially for fuels and bills due to energy price increases. It is necessary to intervene on taxes and tariffs, eliminating distortions that weigh on fixed costs,” said Carlo Sangalli, president of Confcommercio, commenting on the data.
During the period, the greater incidence of mandatory expenses on family budgets is mainly determined by the different price dynamics, which have grown much faster than those of marketable goods and services: since 1995, their index has increased by 140%, almost two and a half times compared to that of marketable goods (+57%) and one and a half times compared to services (+88.4%), with the peak reached by the energy, gas, and fuel aggregate whose prices have risen by 211% in thirty years. The merchants’ analysis highlights how families have shown significant resilience, trying to maintain consumption levels by reshaping the composition of spending, mainly containing more traditional goods, rather than drastically reducing it, despite a progressive increase in unavoidable costs that has reduced discretionary spending space.
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Since the end of last year, there has been a recovery in demand for some segments of durable goods, resulting in a crystallization in the distribution of consumption between mandatory and marketable goods. For this year, a stable share of 58.3% is estimated for the purchase of marketable goods and services. In the considered period, the share for expenses considered mandatory has risen from 37.0% to 41.7%, limiting the part allocated to the purchase of those goods and services that belong to consumers’ free choices and are linked to citizens’ preferences and lifestyles. Some have benefited from an upgrade such as smartphones, PCs, and internet access, which have become indispensable, and therefore mandatory, to access banking and public administration relations. According to estimates by the Confcommercio Research Office, this year families confirm the trend of trying to recover mainly those spaces allocated to the purchase of marketable services, which after the setback in 2020 and significant recoveries in subsequent years, have not yet returned to the 21.3% share reached in 2019. Conversely, marketable goods as a whole should see a further reduction in incidence this year, settling at 37.5%. The analysis of volumes and prices shows that the increase in the percentage share of mandatory expenses is linked to consumer price increases. There is also the population decline, which between 2014 and 2026 has seen a decrease of about 1.5 million people, along with the progressive aging of the community. For almost 20 years, there has been no growth in volumes purchased per capita: only around 2025-2026 will spending return to a quantity similar to that of 2007. Regarding marketable goods, this year a recovery is expected in part of those durables whose purchases were long postponed in past years.
The situation remains difficult for foodstuffs, whose volumes continue to decline progressively. More meals are consumed outside the home, and the aging population weighs. The Confcommercio Research Office believes that for marketable services, there will be a growth of 1.9% in quantities purchased, equal to 98 euros per resident.
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