The slow death of Italy’s iconic kiosks
The number of newspapers sold at newsstands in Italy is at an all-time low and only set to fall even further. Back in 2004, the number of sales stood at more than 9.5 million, but a decade later had already fallen by over 25 percent to under three million. In 2024, sales were at just 950,000. This dramatic downward trend, fueled partly by the increase in digital news consumption, has forced many of Italy’s kiosks out of business. Once a place for communities to gather and one of the go-to local purveyors of print news, many remaining small newsstands now rely on making money from selling souvenirs and novelty items to tourists. Despite government attempts at providing financial support, things could be set to get tougher for these small businesses, not helped by the fact that even Italy’s leading daily newspapers like Corriere della Sera have seen a sharp drop in their circulation revenue in recent years. This looks likely to continue as consumers increasingly get their news elsewhere. So which readers are still engaging with the format?Wealth and social standing makes for higher engagement
Looking at data broken down by macro-region, newspaper readership is most common in Italy’s more affluent North. Meanwhile, although older adults are more likely to read newspapers than their younger peers, occupational status also plays a key role. Italy’s most engaged newspaper readers in this respect are executives and employers, with more people in this category reading papers several times per week than retirees and blue-collar workers combined. These more affluent and high-earning Italians could be the key group keeping the newspaper market afloat, and signal a small ray of hope for the future of publications looking to target these consumers.What is next for Italy’s newspapers?
Newspapers will continue to struggle in Italy as more consumers turn to online options (many of which are free). It is unlikely that print publications will see any kind of future uptick in circulation and readership, particularly as Italian consumers are increasingly using social networks to keep up to date. In fact, reading news stories ranks as the most popular reason for using social media, ahead of multiple other pastimes including keeping in touch with friends and family. Newspaper publishers are also likely to suffer further as older readers are gradually replaced by younger digital-native audiences.
