Shops in Paola and Birkirkara had a bountiful Christmas this year, benefitting from parking problems that kept shoppers away from Valletta.
Sliema retailers too reported significant increases in sales, according to preliminary data collected by the GRTU – Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises.
Shops selling clothes, IT products and costume jewellery reported the highest sales.
“We are still compiling the official data but retailers in Paola and Birkirkara have indicated they experienced significant increases compared to previous years,” GRTU senior executive Carmen Borg said.
This was also the case in Sliema, she said, especially for outlets at The Point in Tigné but this was no news to the GRTU because the shopping complex had been reporting steady sales.
The only negative reports from the Sliema area were about traffic congestion caused during cable-laying works along The Strand in the first two weeks of December. Ms Borg said that was a crucial time for retailers because they would be expecting the first Christmas rush to hit on the two public holidays of December 8 and 13.
She said Valletta shops experienced drops in sales this Yuletide, mainly because of what she termed as convenience and accessibility.
“We believe parking options played an important role in people’s choice of location this year. Those in a rush do not want to waste their time looking for parking or having to walk a long way to get to the shops,” Ms Borg said.
In fact, a pattern was noted whereby outlets in shopping complexes reported better sales.
“We had cases where retailers owning outlets in Valletta and within a shopping complex in Birkirkara or Paola experienced a clear discrepancy in sales, with the outlet within the complex doing much better,” she added.
Jewellery shops in the capital were the only exception, with most retailers reporting strong sales throughout December.
“There are a number of jewellery shops in Valletta which have been open for years and have very loyal customers. These were the exception and they said they did very well,” Ms Borg said.
While some areas did better than others, Ms Borg insisted that concern about the ill effects of online shopping was reported across the board.
“Retailers from every sector said that competition from online shopping was constantly on the rise. This was the case not only at this time of year but throughout.”
Clothes shops and those selling IT products were mostly affected by online shopping, she noted, and the GRTU was working on helping retailers integrate this more-recent phenomenon into their existing practices. Some were very flexible and were willing to also move their business online but others hesitated and the GRTU was striving to get these retailers on board.
In Gozo, the majority of the shops reported very positive results, especially because many people from Malta crossed over during the two public holidays this month.
Shops retailing costume jewellery and accessories, such as scarves and handbags, did extremely well, Ms Borg said, adding this applied to outlets both in Malta and Gozo.
The GRTU said it would be issuing a detailed report in the coming weeks.