Towns in Italy will typically have a large variety of small stores for all products plus restaurants and pizzerias. The tobacco stores (il tabacchi), unlike the name may indicate to you, do sell cigarettes, but they also sell stationery and office supplies, candies, and very often books or magazines. Unless something is very expensive, people usually pay for things with cash.
Major department stores are located throughout Italy, from north to south, and they have many departments. They sell almost anything, including food, clothes, books, appliances, toys and stationery. A salumeria (delicatessen) carries all the local food specialties as well as a wide variety of cheese, ham, sausages, yogurt and bread. People shop at this type of store several times a week. Postal stamps are usually sold at the tabacchi and the bar, but they may be purchased at the post office as well.
There are also open markets that are colorful and noisy with the loud voices of the vendors who try to attract peoples' attention to the products that they are selling. Another typical Italian kind of store-though it's getting more rare-is the artisan's store: a place where all the items are handmade. These products will vary, according to the regional traditions. In Umbria you will find the finest handmade pottery; in Calabria there are baskets, chairs and tables made from wicker; in Naples artisans specialize in constructing crib scenes of the infant Jesus, and Murano is famous for its stained glass. Handcrafted items are usually sold by the craftspeople who made them.