Rome

• 

Shopping tips and trends

The days when Rome‘s shopping districts were a succession of family-owned businesses – whether those families were greengrocers or haute couture Fendis – are a thing of the past, and the busy retail artery here, as in all western cities, is increasingly dominated by chains.

 

Paying
The city echoes with complaints about the price hikes introduced along with the euro. Whether buying a banana, a bus ticket or a bikini, if you last came to Rome with the lira you’ll notice that it ain’t that cheap any more, although home-grown designer names are still a little easier on the wallet.

 

Bargaining belongs firmly at the flea-market: in shops, prices are fixed. In theory you should be given a scontrino (receipt) for any purchase you make. If you aren’t, then ask for it: by law, shops are required to provide one. Major credit cards are accepted just about everywhere, although it’s still worth checking before getting to the till.

 

If you have second thoughts, most shops will take back your hasty buy, giving you a full refund or a credit note; however, they are not obliged by law to do this. Damaged goods, on the other hand, must be replaced by the shop.

 

Once you’ve paid for your purchases, you’ll usually find that your change is placed on the counter rather than in your hand. You’re not being cold-shouldered: that’s just the way it’s done here.

 

Tax rebates
Non-EU residents are entitled to a sales tax (IVA) rebate on all purchases of personal goods over €155, providing they are exported unused and bought from a shop with the ‘Europe Tax Free’ sticker. The shop will give you a receipt and a ‘Tax Free Shopping Cheque’, which should be stamped by customs before your departure from Italy. For further information see www.agenziadogane.it.

 

Opening times
An ever-increasing number of city-centre shops stay open non-stop from 9.30 or 10am to 7.30 or 8pm, Monday to Saturday, although many independent stores still stick to the traditional 1-4pm shutdown. In the centre, more and more stores also open on Sundays.

 

Times given in this book are winter opening hours; in summer (approximately June to September), shops that opt for long lunches tend to reopen later, at 5pm or 5.30pm, staying open until 8-8.30pm. Most food stores close on Thursday afternoons in the winter, and on Saturday afternoons in summer. The majority of non-food shops are closed Monday mornings.

 

Many shops shut down for at least two weeks each summer (generally in August) and almost all are shut for two or three days around the 15 August public holiday. If you want to avoid finding a particular shop chiuso per ferie (closed for holidays), be sure to ring ahead.

 

• Did you find this useful? Yes No
• 

       

---