Winter Sales Period in Italy Begins – Shop ‘Til You Drop

Anyone who’s been shopping in Italy knows to appreciate the “saldi” sign in a shop window – those sale signs are nearly drool-inducing. (Or is that just me?) At any rate, the first official post-holiday sales began today, and in some areas will go through the end of March.

Sale seasons are far more regulated in Italy than in the US – sure, there are expected sales stateside as well, but the duration of a sale is determined by a particular shop, not the city in which the shop is located. In Italy, the duration of the sales is generally set by a city or region. For instance, the post-holiday sales began today in Naples and L’Aquila, while Cantanzaro and Campobasso will be the last to begin their sales on January 15. Bolzano will be the first to end the winter sales on February 17, while Aosta and Trieste will be the last to end their sales on March 31. In the more popular shopping areas, the winter sales period will run from January 13 through February 23 (Rome) and January 7 to March 7 (Milan). Most cities’ sales run from January 7 to February 28.

Shoppers are expected to spend 4.5 billion euros, 4% more than last year. There’s still time for you to hop a plane and help them reach that target…