More Maltese buying online
A total 73 per cent of Maltese internet users shop online, a survey by the Malta Communications Authority has found.
The authority said the survey focused on internet access and usage, e-commerce usage, concerns when purchasing online and the perceptions and reluctance of certain demographic groups to purchase online.
As at September last year, 69 per cent of the population had access to internet but only 59 per cent made use of the medium.
However, the discrepancy between internet access and usage has gone down by 20 per cent since 2006.
The internet is predominantly used to send and receive emails (89 per cent), research information (77 per cent), buy online (73 per cent), browse products and/or services (72 per cent) and to carry out internet banking (54 per cent).
Despite Malta ranking as the best performing country in the EU along with Portugal in terms of sophistication and fully online availability of e-government services, only 35 per cent of internet users use such services.
Out of those who do not use the internet, 65 per cent claim to not need to use the internet or that they are not interested.
The other respondents who do not use the internet claimed they did not know how to use a PC and/or internet.
“The MCA will be facilitating the on-going roll-out of Community Technology Learning Centres in a number of localities, which offer free basic courses on the use of ICT with a view to driving this figure down” authority chairman Philip Micallef said.
The number of internet users who shop online has increased by 19 per cent since 2007, bringing the percentage of the population who did so up to 43 per cent.
The frequency and spend of online shopping was also on the increase, with 69 per cent of internet users making online purchases in the six months preceding the survey, 71 per cent made up to five purchases over that period. 41 per cent spent between €25 and €120 whilst 13 per cent spent in excess of €600 over a six month period.
The most common goods being purchased online were IT and electronic goods and clothing items (44 per cent each), closely followed by books and DVDs (39 per cent and 20 per cent respectively)
Only seven per cent of online purchases carried out in the preceding six months were from Maltese sites, with the most common purchases from local sites being flights and electronics (38 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively).
The most common method of payment has shifted from credit cards to other forms of online payment facilities with 62 per cent of purchases in the preceding six months being carried out using such facilities.
Only 22 per cent of those who made online purchases in the preceding six months encountered problems, out of which 83 per cent were satisfactorily solved. 88 per cent of the problems related to delays in delivery, 31 per cent non-delivery of items and only one per cent experienced stolen card details.
When asked whom to contact if the person was subject to a scam or fraud, 34 per cent replied that they did not know, indicating a need for further awareness on this front. On the other hand, 33 per cent would contact the bank, 17 per cent PayPal and 10 per cent the police.
The survey also revealed that a number of online purchases are made on behalf of others.
The survey also included questions to gauge people’s perceptions about purchasing online. Pricing emerged as a key driver of on-line sales with 59 per cent of the population agree that prices on the internet are cheaper than in shops, 48 per cent believe that purchasing online is more convenient that buying from shops but 45 per cent agree that online buying is more risky than traditional shopping.
58 per cent perceive buying online to be easy but 28 per cent believe that returning items is a complicated process.
The whole survey can been seen at:
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lou colclough
Feb 18th 2010, 07:50
I have just moved to Malta and cannot find anywhere that sells basic household bits and pieces. When I look on Ebay or Amazon it's going to cost a fortune in shipping!! What do people do here??
Nigel Lawrence
Feb 5th 2010, 18:33
@tony abela Have to agree with you Tony. Why should I have to waste half a day in Valetta to sign up for Egov. and not on line. If this is a sample of Egov efficiency, then I can do without it.
Patrick Sacco
Feb 5th 2010, 18:25
This news is exactly what I was waiting for. In fact, I buy almost everything online with the exception of food which I buy from supermarkets. In Malta customer care is simply non-existent. Besides, books, gadgets and DVDs plus shipping are a lot cheaper than in Malta. One should also mention that many maltese (me included) simply do not believe the lies broadcast on political radio stations and so we look for news online. Finally, if there was no customs clearance tax and VAT, I am sure the percentage would not be 73 per cent but 98 per cent or even more!
DVella
Feb 5th 2010, 18:05
@G. Pisani Ever considered why prices in Malta are so much higher for most commodities although overheads and expenses are much much higher for businesses abroad . . . YES actually, despite everybody's whining locally, they are much higher ! ! ! Yet strangely enough . . . we all know that we can buy numerous commodities at far cheaper prices (and often of better quality) from abroad . . . the prices are often cheaper even when one factors in the cost of shipping and handling ! ! ! I think the maltese public are fed up of being ripped off blind by local merchants and have started rising to the opportunities offered by modern technology, not to mention the removal of the old draconian 'communist-style' protectionist environment that was imposed on us until not so long ago!!! Good luck to them!
Adrian Borg
Feb 5th 2010, 17:31
Maltese businessmen? There's no such thing as a Maltese businessmen! All they care is about getting rich quickly! To make business you must attract customers ... not scare them with your prices! Another thing I hate about Maltese shops is that they don't specify prices outside of their premises. Keep it up!
S Abela
Feb 5th 2010, 13:10
In Malta customer care is non existent!!! Seriously customer care in Malta is not just zero but below zero! In all the purchases I make both for products and services locally I always end up complaining the way they treat the customer! Last month we were in London and you immediately fee and notice the difference when you enter a shop! You end buy something in Malta really because you need it or you simple like it but definately not because the way you are treated! Further to this why in Malta we have to pay more for the same product that abroad costs so much less!!
Clayton Gauci
Feb 5th 2010, 12:59
A.Schembri..........I totally agree with you. I cant be bothered to look in shops and find no parking. It is easier just from the comfort of my own home...plus it is cheaper and easier
G.Pisani
Feb 5th 2010, 12:31
Everyone is complaining about prices this and prices that, how can a business in Malta survive with the utility prices it receives, licenses to pay,insurance, employee overheads and the famous VAT which for a small country as ours is high + the eco Tax. As an ex business man I know how hard it is to run a business.
Everyone seems to complain so they buy online, than everyone complains that the unemployment is high!, well HELLO, the Maltese are giving their money to foreigners so of course 99% of Malta works for a business some way or another so you are jeopardizing your job by supporting foreign businesses.
Most People buy IT products online, all I have to say is there are some very good IT retail shops with prices close to those abroad. Search small shops not the big ones.
Also Maltese businesses cannot get the best deals the other big foreign businesses can as we are a very small market. You have to be in one shoes to know how hard it is.
mark tanti
Feb 5th 2010, 12:04
Mela mhux hekk iridu hawn malta, hallihom ha joghlew il prezzijiet! Kburi nghid li jien wiehed minn dawk li nixtri kollox minn barra, u ma nisthix nghid, u tiffranka ta, hafna tiffranka.
L'unika haga li sirt nixtri minn malta hija x'xirja mis-supermarket , il bqija kollox ebay jew sites ohra. Linka tal trinter 50 euros orhos, zraben, toys, fwejjah, hwejjeg, rigali, kollox orhos u dan bil posta b'kollox. Dan l-ahhar xtrajt camera u frankajt 70 euros (b xeba extras) . Ghaliex dan? Min jghid li rohsot il hajja hawn malta ikun qed jitnellah bik. Issa ma jivvintax xi taxxa tghid is sur Gonzi biex ma jhalliniex naghmlu dan aktar? DAN IL PAJJIZ SPICCA.
M.Bezzina
Feb 5th 2010, 11:49
Mela daqt naraw lil awtorita taghmel xi haga biex ma thallix lil poplu jixtri online!!Ghax alla jbirek il posta ghall Malta hija ferm ghola min postitijiet ohra!!
jimmy attard
Feb 5th 2010, 11:42
I give you all an example: I'm planning to purchase Samsung 46" LED TV. In Malta it is €1999, while you can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £1380 (€1585) including delivery to Malta! I'll save over €400. Where do you think I'm going to spend my money? And remember: the warranty that comes with it covers all EU countries!
Stefan Vassallo
Feb 5th 2010, 11:33
Most shop owner have no idea, what customer service is all about, to add insult to injury they do employ sales assistants who also have no idea, to most a consumer is just money walking into the shop, and have no idea on how to try and retain that customer for possible future custom, then they do wonder why consumers refrain from buying from the said shops, service is zero, prices are on most occassions high. If only they had the slightest idea of what real marketing is all about......
tony abela
Feb 5th 2010, 11:31
"Despite Malta ranking as the best performing country in the EU along with Portugal in terms of sophistication and fully online availability of e-government services, only 35 per cent of internet users use such services."
No wonder - it is rendered no user friendly because one has to go personally to Valletta to register for on-line e-gov. Surely the required security checks does not entail to go personally. Some scrutiny on line can be done, such as cross check ID Card No, Parents Names, Mothers Maiden Name, etc. One should be able to fill a long form of personal details and then it will be cross checked by the authorities, so that a Password can be mailed similar to the way the Banks send Credit Card or ATM Cards details.
It’s 2010!!!!
Paul Xuereb
Feb 5th 2010, 11:23
i toured valletta in the desperate search of a pair of shoe laces. I asked for biege though all the stores kept telling me 'Jew iswed, jew xejn'. I gave up and bought it off ebay, delivered at the door, for a euro more than the 'iswed' would have cost. Its not a question of price and service only, its also a question of choice.
A. Schembri
Feb 5th 2010, 11:20
'Only seven per cent of online purchases carried out in the preceding six months were from Maltese sites'
I am actually surprised it is as high as 7%. Try shopping online for a product from a Maltese website. Loads of website no prices let alone online shopping. Personally today I am in the process of purchasing an electric power tool, searched Maltese site in vain, simple go to screwfix direct, Amazon, etc and they deliver!! Do the Maltese outlets really believe that busy people really have the chance to run around in traffic struggle to find a car space to park and walk around from store to store looking for options? Let them learn maybe the hard way. One day they shall hopefully realise this before it becomes too late.
Online shopping is the only way forward
John Carmel Navarro
Feb 5th 2010, 11:17
So the moral of this piece of news is that at long last we are no longer prepared to be taken for a ride, as stated why pay up to treble more when you can get things via the Internet. We are in the European Union therefore we should not be expected to pay higher prices especially when wages lack so far behind other member states. There is a very easy solution for those Importers, shop keepers etc get your house in order otherwise things can only get worst. I would love to support the local business men if they treat me fairly, and not expect me to pay more for the privilege.
Daniel Vella
Feb 5th 2010, 11:06
Mhux ovvja nixtru kollox minn barra, meta haw Malta kollox gholi! I stopped buying books and DVDs from here a long while ago. I even buy my clothes online - it's cheaper, no shopping-hassle, they get delivered to your door, and no-one will be wearing the same thing you are (unless you buy from the more popular online shops)
Ms.M.Schembri.
Feb 5th 2010, 11:05
Just a hop to Catania and you will notice immediately the differance in prices,especially medicine.
Adrian Wirth
Feb 5th 2010, 11:05
.What local entrepreneurs and general businessmen need to consider urgently is what their client face service role will be in ten, fifteen and twenty years from now. The E.U. has already redefined the formal description of the role and responsibility of an 'agent' and/or 'distributor'. In many instances local commercial entities appear still to be adhering to the pre-independence understood commercial obligations of an 'agent' or a 'distributor' often not separating one function from the other.
Only when that definition is understood will the businessman be in a position to appreciate the vulnerability our traditional distribution channels face in the new world of virtual shopping and distance selling.
Some fifteen years ago we recognised that traditional distribution chains would disappear as e'selling became more prevalent and that situation is now apparant in the statistics just published.
Why would a car manufacturer require a formal stockist distributor when the car can be viewed in virtual reality, shortly even in 3D, ordered and paid for inclusive of delivery costs and either delivered to the door or via a local warranty and service provider contracted by the manufacturer to undertake predelivery checks and servicing.
This is a warning - listen to it.
Charmaine Chetcuti
Feb 5th 2010, 10:24
"The most common goods being purchased online were IT and electronic goods and clothing items (44 per cent each), closely followed by books and DVDs (39 per cent and 20 per cent respectively)"
Why buy from Malta when prices are sky high and customer care is below zero? I don't remember the last time I made a big purchase from local shops :)
Jeremy J Camilleri
Feb 5th 2010, 10:21
And yet, shop owners treat consumers terribly whilst over charging! time to wake up?