The Chamber of SMEs has said it is optimistic of this year’s Black Friday results despite the adverse weather conditions.  

However, with rain battering the country heavily in some locations, stores in particularly hit areas were likely to struggle more, it admitted.  

“Weather conditions are known to impact some areas more than others,” confirmed the chamber’s CEO Abigail Mamo.  

“However, from early reports, while some stores are saying the day has been business as usual, others have described activity as very bright,” she told Times of Malta on Friday.  

Shoppers taking advantage of the break in rain to get in some Black Friday shopping. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

“We’re quite optimistic it will be a decent Black Friday this year,” she said.  

The chamber’s Black Friday portal – a page on its website with information and links to Black Friday deals – had experienced a “very good” level of traffic, Mamo said, adding around 500 businesses had participated in the website promotions.  

The chamber had encouraged businesses to create vouchers for the day of shopping, which is expected to have driven the high levels of consumer registrations on the site, she said. 

Pedestrian traffic on the high street was expected to increase throughout the afternoon due to some employees finishing work early, Mamo noted, adding the more dedicated shoppers, meanwhile, had been known to take a day of leave to get to the shops early and beat the rush.  

And with many people across the country facing rising costs of living, the day could be seen as an opportunity by some to save money on some early Christmas shopping, Mamo said.  

Shop workers getting ready for the sales on Friday morning. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

Meanwhile, earlier this week consumer watchdog the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) warned retailers to be clear about Black Friday discounts to make sure consumers are not misled by prices. 

“When a trader offers a discount, the price of that product has to be compared to the price that was being sold 30 days before,” MCCAA director Grace Stivala said on Monday. 

“This means that during those 30 days, the trader cannot put up the price of the product to make the discount look better”, she said.  

Originating in the US, Black Friday is now considered one of the shopping high points of the year. Although originally confined to just one day, in recent years businesses have increasingly moved to extend the duration of their discounts to a week or even the whole of November.