ROMA (ITALPRESS) – Befana holds, but with a “measured” profile. For the Epiphany 2026, 66% of Italians plan to celebrate the last appointment of winter holidays by making children find a gift in the form of stocking, while 34% will not make gifts. The tradition, however, remains more felt in the Centre and in the Mezzogiorno, where the share of those who prepare stocking rises to 71 and 70% respectively, against 61% of the North: a gap that signals a territorial rooting still strong for this anniversary. This is what emerges from the usual survey conducted by IPSOS for Confesercent on the consumption of winter holidays.
The estimated total expenditure is 64.05 euros on average, but the “typical” amount is lower: the median stops at 40 euros, confirming an Epiphany made especially of small thoughts. You spend less than 18-34 years (average 42.69 euros; median 25) and more between 35-65 (average 72.77 euros; median 50). And the Centre-South is not only the area where the Befana is most widespread: is also the one where it is more generous, with the Mezzogiorno expressing the highest values (average 75.65 euros; median 50), clearly above the North (average 57.30; median 30) and the Center (average 57 euros approximately; median 40).
When you choose to make a gift, in the vast majority of cases you remain faithful to the classical formula: reporting the answers to 100 among those who give something, the stock collects 94% of preferences (97% between 18-34 years), against a 6% that indicates more. Among these alternative solutions however “read” and immediate: small toys and pocket games, books and illustrated books, cartolery articles, gadgets and objects (dashes, key rings), hair accessories and jewelry, simple garments such as socks and pyjamas, products for the care of the person and wellness set for the bathroom, some purchase of basic technology (cuffiettes, cover, cables, mini powerbank), creative materials and kits of bricolage, plush, up to good gifts or rigs.
“The Epiphany confirms a section that crosses the whole season of the holidays: the desire not to give up symbolic moments, but with a prudent and selective expense,” says Confesercenti. “The stocking works because it is flexible: it allows a ‘made-to-measure’ gift, made of small purchases and attention to quality. It is a celebration that remains more ‘community’ in the Centro-Sud, where the tradition of stocking is more widespread and also translates into an averagely higher budget, even within a logic of small and targeted gifts – continues Confesercent -. It’s not a second Christmas. is the last event of the holidays and rewards quick and tailor-made purchases – sweets, small toys, items for the person – often made under the house. For the network of neighborhood shops it is an important step because it intercepts a capillary consumption, linked to trust in the point of sale and rooting in the territories”.
– Photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
