People seem to have been much more careful with their cash this Christmas, with retailers reporting a 25 to 30 per cent drop in sales. Although business was quite brisk on Christmas Eve, this was not enough to make up for the plunge in sales during the rest of the season.

A survey among retailers carried out by the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU, indicated a substantial drop in the sale of clothes despite some pre-Christmas discounting.

However, a surge in the purchase of gift vouchers was reported, possibly the smarter way of getting more for one's money by taking advantage of post-Christmas sales.

The biggest rush was seen by supermarkets, major shopping arcades and commercial centres.

While total retail figures were much lower than those of previous years, the last-minute shopping spree meant the dismal season ended on a bit of a brighter note.

GRTU general director Vince Farrugia said the survey showed there was a surge in the purchase of gadgets but a sharp decline in the sale of hampers, jewellery and perfumes.

Supermarkets reported the standard pre-Christmas performance with plenty of consumers going for quality products for home cooking and private parties.

People also expressed more interest in giving alcohol and special gourmet food items as gifts to take to their hosts at dinners and parties.

Mr Farrugia said shops selling computers, hi-fi equipment, televisions and other large electronic items saw their sales plummet this Christmas, adding that in January many of these places would probably resort to lay offs.

"Usually Christmas is magic for these retailers because they depend on this period to boost sales but this time it was one of the worst Christmases for them."

Mr Farrugia said the opening of the refurbished St George's Square certainly helped to bring people into Valletta but this was not enough to get them to shop.

He complained that the new water and electricity tariffs, which will come into effect on Friday, dealt another blow to retailers because people were already being more cautious with their money.