In the Italian economic and commercial scenario, exports it materialises as one of the pillars on which the Made in Italy – supported by a world-renowned reputation for build quality and craftsmanship – which represents the strongest hand that domestic companies can play in international markets.
However, global trade is changing dynamics and characteristics very rapidly and structures traditional businesses find themselves having to absorb these changes, reworking processes, relationships, times and places related to production. According to the data and projections held by Istat and Intesa Sanpaolo-Prometeia, in 2024, Italy exported goods worth €623.5 billion, in very slight decline compared to the previous year due to widespread geopolitical tensions and the possibility of new tariffs from the US administration.
However, forecasts for the future paint an international scenario where European caution and inflation should gradually subside and demand – both within and outside the Union – strengthen. It is therefore clear that, in such a context, for a company producing electronics and targeting foreign distributors or buyers, remaining tied only to the physical channels meaning giving up a growing share of the question that, even before manifesting itself in a commercial negotiation, has already formed elsewhere.
When purchasing moves online – or starts there
For a wide range of sectors, online purchasing dynamics are the majority choice, so much so that the latest surveys from the Netcomm Consortium show that over three-quarters of product purchases now go through e-retailer platforms or marketplaces.
Exactly electronics figure among the product categories where the link between online research and purchase is strongest, as the 78% of those who buy an electronic device in a physical shop consult at least one digital touchpoint before making their decision. This data profoundly changes the perspective related to trade fairs and agents, because the digital channel no longer simply supplements the physical channel, but precedes it and often guides it, regardless of whether the sale is finalised online or in-store.
Already significant growth with a challenge for businesses
The economic scale of the phenomenon confirms how relevant commercial appeal already is for businesses. Thanks to research from the Digital Export Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, it has been found that in 2025, Italian digital exports exclusively in the B2B sector reached €175 billion, representing a 20% increase on the previous year.
Despite these figures, the same source reports that a significant portion of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still at an early stage of digital maturity, especially with regard to the adoption of structured online sales channels and the use of strategies and indicators to monitor internationalisation projects, while skills related to communication and project governance are relatively more solid. It is precisely in this gap, between an already enormous potential and still partial adoption, that is hidden the most immediate growth margin for companies that they decide to quickly integrate into this commercial dynamic.
Digital Export Between Strategies and Appropriate Channels
Building a digital presence capable of generating concrete results requires precise choices and a business plan which defines how to guard private marketplaces, reserved for companies that join specific supply chains or associations, and public marketplaces open to anyone, which remain an indispensable point of reference, especially in the initial stages of market entry.
This is also accompanied by the need for a truly localised multilingual website – ideally an adaptation to the cultural references and search habits of the local audience, rather than a simple mechanical translation of the content – whereas LinkedIn confirms it as the most effective tool for building direct relationships with buyers and distributors through targeted social selling strategies.
Italian companies must consider a range of factors together, from the choice of channels through which to sell, up to the logistics capable of supporting them, without forgetting that digital marketing only works if supported by an internal organisational structure capable of maintaining it over time.
Among the cornerstones of business strategies, to quote the Polytechnic University of Milan, is the awareness that there is no universally valid configuration, given that each combination depends as much on the target market as on the product sector in which the company operates, not to mention the price positioning chosen for the product. For this very reason, The most common mistake remains to slavishly replicate abroad a model designed for the domestic market.
Ensure compliance for export products
All this digital architecture, as one might imagine, rests on a premise that no platform can replace, namely the product's actual compliance with the regulations of the country in which it will be distributed. An electronic device destined for the European market must first of all comply with the requirements of the CE marking, a step that no online business strategy can bypass, whatever the platform chosen for sales.
If the company looks overseas, the question shifts to Valid FCC certifications for the United States and Canada, while the British market requires its own marking UKCA. These obligations are added to the electromagnetic compatibility tests hey Electrical safety test, even more delicate when the product integrates radio components or connected functionalities, while also needing to be verified separately RoHS compliance, the European directive that limits the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic components.
It is the job that Sicom Testing, as Specialist laboratory active since 2003, it carries out every day, alongside the electrical and electronic industry companies in the preparation of technical documentation and in the execution of tests required by different markets. To ensure companies that their products are effective, safe, and compliant; ready to take the path that digital strategy is opening up for them.
To request further information on this topic, write to info@sicomtesting.com
or call +39 0481 778931.
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