Setting up an online store in Italy is a strategic choice for businesses with a physical presence looking to expand their market. This guide walks through all the practical and regulatory aspects to understand. You will discover the advantages and disadvantages compared to your current brick-and-mortar store, the technical requirements for building a webshop, the relevant Italian regulations, and how to get started easily. We also analyze the importance of offering local payment methods, how to synchronize your on-premise and digital stores, and why user experience (UX) is a foundational element for the success of an online retail venture.

What’s in this article?

• Why establish an online store in Italy?
  
• Technical requirements for setting up an online store
  
• What are the requirements under Italian law?
  
• How to start selling online the easy way
  
• What are the costs involved in setting up an online store?
  
• Synchronizing your in-store and online sales channels
  
• The importance of UX
  

Why establish an online store in Italy?

If you already run a storefront, you have probably wondered at least once whether it makes sense to establish an online store as well. To answer this question, it is helpful to consider a few factors. For example, expanding into the digital realm does not mean abandoning traditional points of sale, but rather complementing them through an additional channel that creates fresh opportunities for growth and customer loyalty.

Ecommerce is now a key lever for increasing sales, improving the shopping experience, and reaching those who would be unlikely to visit your shop.

The latest findings from the Italian ecommerce site observatory, conducted by Netcomm in collaboration with Cribis, show that in 2025, about 91,000 Italian companies run a webshop, representing a growth of 3.4% compared to 2024. These numbers show a clear trend toward adopting online retail by Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which view it as a natural extension of their activity.

Naturally, setting up a webshop also brings new challenges: marketing to logistics, global competition to managing digital customer service. However, with the right solutions and a well-planned strategy, you can successfully overcome these obstacles and grow your business.

Advantages

Below are the main advantages of launching an online store:

• Broaden the customer base nationwide and abroad: You can sell throughout Italy and beyond without opening up new physical locations.
  
• Reduction in fixed costs: No costs for rent, furnishings, or permanent staff to manage the store.
  
• Always-on availability: Orders arrive 24/7, including holidays and overnight.
  
• Process automation: Handle orders, payments, and shipments automatically.
  
• Real-time data access: Monitor the best-selling products, purchasing behavior, and advertising performance.
  
• Flexible logistics: Run delivery in-house or rely on external services (fulfillment or drop-shipping). Fulfillment is a service where you purchase products, and a third-party supplier handles storage, packaging, and shipping on your behalf. Drop-shipping, on the other hand, is a business model that eliminates the need for physical product ownership. When you receive an order, the supplier takes care of shipping it directly to the end buyer.
  

Main challenges

Launching a webshop also brings its own challenges, outlined briefly below:

• Greater competition: You will have to compete with prominent national and international ecommerce companies.
  
• Investments in visibility: To stand out online, deploy search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, advertising campaigns, and a strong social media presence.
  
• Complex logistics management: Shipping times, returns, and customer service must be carefully planned.
  
• Omnichannel support: Unlike a brick-and-mortar location, where you can talk directly to shoppers, provide help via email, chat, or social media, while keeping communication fast and effective.
  
• Constant updating: With fiscal regulations, technical developments, and new digital trends, selling online requires ongoing training.
  

Summary table of the advantages and disadvantages of setting up an online store

Technical requirements for setting up an online store

One of the most important areas when planning a webshop is the tech stack. Luckily, numerous solutions are available that make it straightforward for people without advanced computer skills to create and manage an ecommerce site.

If the goal is to start at no cost, many platforms offer free basic plans that cover some of the features listed below. For a professional, scalable setup, set aside at least a modest initial budget.

Review the following core technical elements carefully:

• Web domain
  This is the URL of your online store (e.g., www.nameofthecompany.it). Register it through one of the available providers. We recommend choosing a name that is simple to remember and consistent with the brand.

• Ecommerce platform or content management system (CMS)
  You can pick simpler turnkey options, such as Shopify or Wix, or install an open-source CMS such as WooCommerce (on WordPress) or PrestaShop. Open-source software is distributed under a free license, allowing download, modification, and customization to fit your needs. But, it requires technical know-how for installation, configuration, and server administration.

• Reliable hosting
  This is the service that hosts your site. Some platforms include hosting in their packages, while open-source CMSs installed on self-managed servers need a separate plan. To select one, evaluate uptime, speed, and support quality.

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate
  This certifies that data exchanged between the browser and the website is protected. Besides being a security requirement, it is also a ranking factor for Google. Many server providers bundle it at no cost.

• Responsive web design
  Responsive web design ensures the site is simple to navigate on smartphones and tablets. Confirm the template chosen for your webshop is fine-tuned for all devices, delivering consistent UX across screens.

• Mandatory pages
  Every ecommerce site has to have legal sections covering terms and conditions of sale, privacy notice, cookie policy, and clear information on the right of withdrawal and the return and refund policy. These documents must follow applicable law.

• Integration of a payment system
  It is important to offer customers a secure and straightforward way to complete purchases. Start with ready-to-use tools or plugins dedicated to the leading services.

What are the requirements under Italian law?

When operating a brick-and-mortar store and wanting to form an online shop, the regulatory requirements are less stringent than for those starting fresh. Still, it’s necessary to revise fiscal and administrative status to operate in line with the law.

Here is what you need to do:

• Update the Classification of Economic Activity (ATECO) code
  If the current value-added tax (VAT) number does not yet cover a specific ATECO code for ecommerce, add one. The most common codes are:

  • 47.91.10: Online retail of any product.
    
  • 47.99: Other retail trade outside stores, stalls, or markets. Notify the Internal Revenue Agency to make the change.
    

• Notification to the Chamber of Commerce
  Update the Chamber of Commerce registration to include web sales. To do so, submit a change request that retains the same Economic and Administrative Index but broadens the scope of the business. File via the relevant Chamber of Commerce portal using the ComUnica service. Alternatively, assign the procedure to an accountant or authorized intermediary.

• Updating the Certified Notice of Business Start (SCIA)
  Before selling online, verify with the local municipality whether the SCIA you submitted for your storefront requires modification or supplementation to cover ecommerce.

• Creating a website for your ecommerce business
  Regardless if a corporate site exists, a dedicated section or platform for online sales is needed, with specific features for shopping carts, payment, and order management.

• Privacy policy and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance
  You will also need to provide a privacy notice, cookie policy, and a consent management system for your webshop. If you haven’t yet done so, now is the ideal time to update your company website.

• Information requirements for the website:

  • Complete company details (name, address, contact info, VAT number).
    
  • General conditions of sale.
    
  • Return, refund, and shipping policies.
    

• Fiscal and regulatory aspects
  The webshop uses the same bookkeeping model as the storefront; track web orders separately, chiefly for statistical purposes or inventory management.

We recommend consulting with an accountant to make sure that you are operating in full compliance with current Italian regulations.

What do you need to establish an online store?

To summarize, if you already have a physical store and plan to launch an online one, follow these main steps:

• Add the appropriate ATECO code
  
• Update the Chamber of Commerce registration and integrate the SCIA notification
  
• Create of a website for your ecommerce business
  
• Ensure compliance with website information requirements
  
• Meet all accounting and tax obligations
  

How to start selling online the easy way

Setting up a web shop nowadays is much easier than you might think, mainly thanks to the tools and services that simplify each step. Launching an ecommerce site now requires neither coding skills nor major investment—it can go live within days.

End-to-end solutions make it possible to create and manage a digital store independently, without requiring prior web knowledge. Use platforms that offer predefined themes, tools for adding products and handling orders, and support modules that guide you step by step. Interfaces are built for accessibility, enabling the site to go live in just a few clicks.

Accepting payments

Ease of setup is not enough. To deliver your customers a smooth and secure shopping experience, implement a reliable payment system. And this is where Stripe comes in: one of the most comprehensive toolkits for anyone aiming to launch an online store and start selling right away.

Stripe lets you accept online transactions without handling complicated integrations or navigating complex regulations. Its features adapt to any platform, making setup quick and simple.

Why choose Stripe to accept online payments?

Stripe provides intuitive and powerful tools designed for every stage of ecommerce:

• Stripe Payments allows you to accept payments with cards, digital wallets, and local methods securely, via a modern and transparent interface.
  
• Stripe Checkout is the perfect choice if you want to get started right away: a preconfigured payment page that’s enhanced for mobile devices and compliant with regulations, enabling collection in just a few minutes.
  
• Stripe Elements lets you customize payment forms directly on your website, keeping brand continuity. The elements actively strengthen security and boost conversion.
  

Whether building a webshop from scratch or digitizing an in-store operation, Stripe supplies the tools to do it easily, securely, and efficiently.

The importance of local payment methods

Another key area around payments for your online store concerns the importance of offering local payment methods: a Stripe study notes 85% of shoppers abandon their carts if their preferred option is not available. Stripe Payments, with its payment optimization suite, supports the most popular ways to pay for ecommerce in Italy, such as credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, wallets, bank transfers, and many more. Planning to sell abroad? Stripe Payments covers over 100 payment methods worldwide and automatically suggests the most relevant options based on the customer’s location.

What are the costs involved in setting up an online store?

If a retailer already operates a storefront, launching an ecommerce channel involves lower startup outlays than building one from the ground up. In brief, the budget areas break down as follows:

• Technical costs: Domain, servers, SSL certificate, graphic themes, and ecommerce services.
  
• Administrative and legal costs: Procedures with the Chamber of Commerce and GDPR consulting.
  
• Operational costs: Online promotion and management tools.
  

Let’s examine the details:

Technical costs

First of all, let us consider the technical costs, which include the domain and hosting for the site, the graphic theme and design, the SSL certificate for security, and the use of an ecommerce platform.

• Domain and hosting: A domain runs on average between €10 and €30 per year. Hosting can range from €50 to €150 per year, depending on the quality and scalability of the service.
  
• Graphic theme and design: Many platforms offer free themes, but premium themes can cost between €50 and €300. Custom designs can exceed €1,000.
  
• SSL certificate: Imperative for ensuring transaction security and user data protection. Many hosting services bundle it at no charge, otherwise it can be €20 to €100 per year, depending on the level of protection and the provider chosen.
  
• Ecommerce platform: If you decide to use a preconfigured platform (e.g., Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace) to simplify the creation and management of your webshop, solutions such as Shopify start at around €25 per month, while others, such as WooCommerce, are free but require paid plugins. Working with an agency or developer for customization often adds a one-time fee of between €500 and €2,000.
  

Administrative and legal costs

You will also incur costs for updating related public administration paperwork, such as adding or changing the ATECO code and modifying the Chamber of Commerce registration, as well as fees for specific legal advice to prepare privacy notices, terms and conditions, and cookie policies.

• ATECO code update and administrative procedures: If handled by an accountant, these operations can cost between €150 and €400.
  
• Legal advice and GDPR: If you hire a professional, the cost of drafting documents such as privacy notices, terms and conditions, and cookie policies can range from €300 to €700.
  

Operational costs

You will also need to consider the costs associated with promoting your online store, as well as any subscriptions to additional tools, such as email marketing.

• Marketing and promotion: Google Ads, social media, or SEO campaigns involve a variable investment, estimated at a minimum of €100 per month.
  
• Subscriptions to additional tools: For instance, for email marketing or inventory management, you need to budget between €10 and €50 per month.
  

How much money does it take to establish an online store?

In a nutshell, expect an initial investment of between €500 and €3,000, depending on the level of customization, technical support, and marketing strategy you plan to adopt.

Synchronizing your in-store and online sales channels

Owners of brick-and-mortar stores often look for ways to synchronize stock, orders, and customer data. Some of the possible solutions include:

• Using a single management system, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) or point-of-sale (POS) with ecommerce integration
  
• Connecting warehouse and inventory in real time
  
• Synchronizing promotions and marketing campaigns
  
• Offering in-store pickup or returns
  

Stripe can play a foundational role in this integration process. Thanks to its unified commerce solutions, Stripe enables handling in-person and online transactions consistently, maintaining a centralized view of all your revenue.

With the integration of Stripe Terminal, you can accept in-store payments via Stripe-compatible physical POS devices that synchronize with your ecommerce system. This means that online and in-store sales are consolidated into a single dashboard, simplifying reporting, reconciliation of accounts, and data analysis. Stripe Terminal uses application programming interface (API) integration, which necessitates the involvement of a developer or technical team for initial setup.

Establishing a webshop is particularly beneficial when leveraging the connection across channels, which simplifies workflows and improves the buyer journey.

The importance of UX

UX is at the heart of every successful ecommerce retail. Simply setting up an online store is not enough; it needs to be user-friendly, intuitive, and enjoyable to use. Investing in UX means building trust and making the purchasing process more natural and fluid. From first visit through checkout, UX directly influences conversion rates and customer loyalty.

Cluttered navigation, unresponsive layouts, or a complicated checkout flow can lead to lost sales, regardless of how competitive the product is. By contrast, a well-designed UX guides the user through every step, reduces cart abandonment, and raises overall satisfaction.

Tips for improving UX:

• Straightforward navigation and well-organized menus help users easily find what they are looking for
  
• Efficient filters and search, especially for catalogs with many products
  
• Detailed product sheets with high-quality images or videos, accurate descriptions, and information on availability and shipping
  
• Quick and intuitive checkout that minimizes steps and offers multiple payment options
  
• Mobile-friendly design, important as an increasing share of purchases occur on smartphones
  

Specifically, Stripe Checkout contributes significantly to UX. As noted earlier, this is a conversion-refined payment page designed to load fast, be clear in its steps, and be accessible from any device. It already complies with the latest regulations (including 3D Secure) and supports over 100 local and international payment methods.