Although the general feeling among those working in the business community is that better sales had been expected during the run up to Christmas, businesses that provide a good, all-round package and service – including an element of entertainment – are not being disappointed, Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU) director-general Vincent Farrugia said yesterday.
Giving his comments to The Malta Independent on the volume of business four days before Christmas, Mr Farrugia said the GRTU has been encouraging business owners to try to move away from the traditional way of doing business, because the current trend is that people do not want to simply go Christmas shopping, they also want to be entertained.
“We had experimented with the introduction of entertainment in Mosta. We had some bands playing, extended hours and entertainment for the whole family, and sales shot up. So our message to business owners is that people want an enjoyable experience. A little bit of motivation is needed,” he said.
“Sales were generally moving upwards at a steady rate during the past two months, but then appeared to have slowed down. One hopes that the recent trend that people leave the shopping to the last four days will come into effect and it probably will, since many people would have had received their salaries yesterday,” said Mr Farrugia.
Mr Farrugia also mentioned the fact that people are after those areas where a concentrated number of shops may be found. “It is more like the popularity of the locality where a shop is found, rather than the specific shop itself,” said Mr Farrugia.
Moreover, businesses found in shopping arcades seem to be doing even better – “above average” – than others scattered in well-established shopping localities like Hamrun, Mosta and Birkirkara.
While studies carried out by GRTU have shown that the amount of money in people’s pockets is not bad at all, and the variety being offered in shops is also very good, the missing factor in a number of places is entertainment, he insisted.
“There is no reason why we should have a bad Christmas. One might have expected something better, but so far we’re doing just fine and by the end of the Christmas cycle it will probably have been a very good Christmas. It simply should have picked up more,” he said, adding people have become more conscious as to how to spend their money and they are nowadays more interested in quality.
When asked whether the park and ride system in Blata l-Bajda did improve business in Valletta at Christmas time, he said it only appears to have increased the volume of people so far.
The post-Christmas sales that come about very early – sometimes as a result of the fact that businesses wouldn’t have been doing too well – are also an important factor that has a strong effect on trade at Christmas time.
As regards leisure trends, Mr Farrugia said people are increasingly having their own home entertainment, and the increasing variety of products offered in shops has been a determining factor in this area.