Italian retail sales dropped 0.4 percent in November compared to the level in October, official data showed on Thursday, in the fifth monthly drop running.
A breakdown of figures published by the national statistics institute Istat showed that sales of food items had gained 0.1 percent, while non-food sales were 0.6 percent lower on the month.
On a 12-month basis, retail sales fell by 3.1 percent, Istat said.
Retail sales dropped 2.0 percent in the 11-month period from January to November 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, pulled down in particular by non-food sales, which plunged 2.6 percent, Istat said.
Italian retail sales drop 0.4% in November: Istat
