The postage of small parcels under 2kg shot up by a staggering 72% last year, suggesting that people are resorting to online shopping more frequently, according to new data published by the Malta Communications Authority.
Although the overall use of postal services dropped by over a fifth in the first three quarters of 2023 compared to the previous year, the use of parcel mail is up by almost 10%.
While small parcel items increased by 72%, the number of larger items posted (weighing up to 31.5kg) also increased last year, albeit to a lesser degree at 5.5%.
According to MCA, this surge is, “potentially driven by the evolving and expanding e-commerce landscape”.
Until recently, people appeared to be shunning online shopping, with industry insiders saying that the double blow of Brexit and the pandemic brought about higher shipping costs and drove people to buy from their local retailers.
However, this new data suggests that shoppers may once again be returning to online shopping in search of cheaper prices, as they feel the pinch of Malta’s increasing cost of living.
Mobile data usage grows by over 50%
The use of mobile data has continued to increase rapidly, rising by 51% in the first three quarters of 2023.
The previous year had seen an even higher surge of 61%.
This comes as an ever-increasing number of people use messaging apps such as WhatsApp to communicate both through text and audio or video calls.
IPTV subscriptions up
People's TV-viewing habits also appear to be shifting, with IPTV subscriptions growing at the expense of traditional cable TV services.
Over 10,600 new IPTV subscriptions were registered in the first three quarters of 2023, a 15% rise over the previous year.
Meanwhile, cable TV subscriptions dipped by over 5%, or a little more than 6,000 fewer subscribers.
MCA attributes this change to “the ongoing shift to app-based television services”, such as streaming services.
More people want high-speed internet
With more people consuming media through streaming services, high-speed internet is becoming increasingly important for consumers.
While the number of fixed broadband subscriptions continues to inch upwards, growing by just over 3% in 2023, MCA reports that there is an ever-growing demand for high-speed connections of at least 100 megabytes per second (Mbps) and, in many cases, 500Mbps.
2023 saw almost 18,000 more subscribers logging on to broadband connections of over 100Mbps, compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, the number of subscribers with a connection of at least 500Mbps has now risen to almost 39% of all subscribers.