News Analysis: Italy's retail sector needs to modernize to recover from pandemic impacts

ROME, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Italy's in-person retail sector suffered during the country's coronavirus lockdown and in its wake, and analysts say retailers will have to rethink the way they do business before they are able to recover.

A dramatic slowdown in shopping at brick-and-mortar businesses during a pandemic is not unexpected. Every economy hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak has suffered economic consequences. But studies show the impacts are particularly severe in Italy, which had a bigger retail sector than most countries and where consumers have been slow to shop online.