Market Research Companies in Italy

Key figures for researchers

Population

58.9 million (1 January 2026, provisional)¹

Population by area

North 27.6m, Centre 11.7m, South and islands 19.7m (1 January 2026)¹

Aged 65 and over

25.1% of the population; 4.3% aged 85+ (1 January 2026)¹

Average age

47.1 years (1 January 2026)¹

Foreign residents

9.4% of residents: 11.7% in the North, 5.0% in the South and islands (1 January 2026)¹

Fertility

1.14 children per woman (2025)¹

Internet users

83.1% of people aged 6+ in the last three months; 35.7% of those aged 75+ (2025)²

Internet use by area

above 85% in the Centre-North, 78.5% in the South (2025)²

Mobile subscriptions

133 per 100 people (2024)³

GDP per capita

about US$43,300 (2025)⁴

Research guide

Research landscape

Italy has a well-established research industry. Many agencies are based in Milan and Rome, with others in Turin, Bologna, Naples and other regional centres. Full-service agencies work alongside specialist qualitative, B2B and healthcare firms, opinion pollsters, telephone and field networks, and online panel providers.

The industry body is ASSIRM, founded in 1991, which brings together Italian companies doing market research, opinion polls and social research. Its members sign a self-declaration of conformity with the association’s research code (ethics, quality standards and best practice) when they join and again every year.

Languages and fieldwork

Italian is the fieldwork language for almost all studies: questionnaires and discussion guides should be translated by native speakers and tested before fieldwork. Interviews in English are rarely practical outside some B2B targets: only about 15% of adults aged 25–64 claim to be proficient in their best foreign language.

A national sample must reflect large regional differences. The North has 27.6 million people, the Centre 11.7 million and the South and islands (Mezzogiorno) 19.7 million, and foreign residents make up 11.7% of the population in the North against 5.0% in the South. Quotas or weighting by area and region are standard, and online samples may need boosts in the South, where internet use is lower.

Which methods work

Online surveys using access panels are widely used for consumer and B2B research: 83.1% of people aged six and over used the internet in the last three months, and there are 133 mobile subscriptions per 100 people. Coverage is uneven, though: internet use is above 85% in the Centre-North but 78.5% in the South, and only 54.3% of people aged 16–74 have at least basic digital skills.

Age is the main gap. With 25.1% of the population aged 65 and over and an average age of 47.1 years, older people matter in most samples, but only 72.5% of people aged 65–74 and 35.7% of those aged 75 and over used the internet in 2025. Telephone (CATI) and face-to-face interviews remain needed for older and offline audiences. Focus groups are usually held in dedicated facilities in the major cities.

Timing

Summer is long: in 2027 schools close in early June (5 June in Emilia-Romagna, 8 June in Lazio and Campania) and reopen between 7 and 17 September depending on the region. 15 August (the Assumption, known as Ferragosto) is a national public holiday in the middle of this period: avoid mid-August for B2B and family targets and allow more fieldwork time over the summer.

Christmas holidays run in almost all regions from 23 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, Epiphany, which is also a public holiday. Easter falls on 28 March 2027, with school holidays from 25 to 30 March in most regions and Easter Monday as a public holiday. Plan around the other national holidays: 25 April, 1 May, 2 June, 4 October (Saint Francis of Assisi, listed again as a national holiday), 1 November, 8 December and 26 December.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the GDPR and the Italian data protection code (Legislative Decree 196/2003), as amended by Legislative Decree 101/2018, in force since 19 September 2018 to bring the code into line with the GDPR. The supervisory authority is the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali.

Telephone research needs particular care. Since DPR 26/2022, the Registro pubblico delle opposizioni (public opt-out register) covers all national fixed and mobile numbers, listed or not, and registration blocks calls for advertising, direct sales, commercial communication and market research. The exclusion for statistical purposes covers only the bodies of the national statistical system. Violations can be fined up to €20 million or 4% of worldwide annual turnover. Ask your agency how phone samples are checked against the register or based on respondents’ consent.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, regions (North, Centre, South and islands), method, languages and deadline.
• Ask whether the agency is a member of ASSIRM and follows its research code.
• Ask which panels or telephone networks will be used, how older and southern respondents are reached, and how quotas by area, age and gender are weighted.
• For telephone fieldwork, ask how numbers are checked against the Registro pubblico delle opposizioni.
• Agree in writing who is controller and who is processor of the personal data, and the retention period.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.