In 2026, mandatory expenses, that is those related to goods and services that families cannot do without, such as housing, energy, bills, healthcare, transport, and insurance, continue to ”consume” a very large share of total family consumption, with an incidence of 41.7%.
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In thirty years, the share of consumption allocated to supporting these expenses has increased from 37.0% to 41.7%, squeezing the portion reserved for the purchase of those goods and services that belong to consumers’ free choices and are linked to the preferences and lifestyles of individuals or families.
This emerges from the analysis by the Confcommercio Research Office on the mandatory expenses of Italian families in the period 1995-2026.
Housing, energy, and insurance: the items that weigh the most
Conversely, among free expenses, the share allocated to services is slightly increasing (+2.9%), while that for goods is contracting (-7.6%).
Housing expenses remain the largest cost item with 5,335 euros per capita, 72 euros more than in 2025, out of total mandatory expenses amounting to 9,693 euros.
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Followed by insurance and fuels (2,310 euros) and energy (1,829 euros); the latter is, however, the component that, while maintaining a high incidence on family budgets, has recorded the most significant reduction since 1995 (-1,231 euros), a consequence of lower family consumption in response to rising prices, but also and above all technological advances that have favored energy savings.
Prices of mandatory expenses increased by 140%
«The greater incidence of mandatory expenses on family budgets – explains Confcommercio – is mainly determined by the different price dynamics, which have increased much faster than those of goods and marketable services: from 1995 to today, their index has grown 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 increased by 211% in thirty years.»
Families forced to reschedule consumption
The analysis highlights, however, how «families have shown a significant capacity to cope, trying to maintain consumption levels by rescheduling 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.»
