There was a time when Malta, like Britain, could have easily been labelled as an ‘island of shopkeepers’. The time when every town and village had its own ironmonger, a few grocery shops, a tailor, a butcher and a greengrocer are slowly fading into oblivion. This is not a unique local experience because nothing seems able to stop the trend for making shopping easier for most consumers.
The latest piece of news that must be making many retailers lose much needed sleep is the decision by the planning authority to unanimously approve the setting up of Malta’s first ‘shopping village’ on a 32,000-square-metre site on the outskirts of Mosta.
The area is already industrial in nature, so environmental considerations are arguably less critical than was the case with the establishment of other business outlets. Inevitably, there is likely to be more traffic congestion in an already busy hub that connects Mosta with Naxxar and Birkirkara. Consumers, who are reluctantly getting used to driving in what seems a permanent traffic jam, will probably put up with the added inconvenience of visiting this retail village if it means they will reach a one-stop area where they can buy whatever they need.
The more important considerations relate to the likely economic and social impact that the fast-evolving retail industry revolution is likely to have on the local communities.
Small retailers feel that there seems to be a big conspiracy to drive them out of business. Lack of VAT enforcement on the importation of goods from mainland Europe, insufficient parking facilities in most towns, the ever-increasing practice of online shopping, as well as the opening of big supermarkets in Malta’s larger localities are formidable threats to most retailers.
When the almost inevitable happens and small shops in our villages start to close down because they cannot match the competition from bigger retail outlets, older people who are unable to travel by car or even by bus to procure their day-to-day needs will feel even more isolated. The social fabric of society will suffer when older people are marginalised because of lack of mobility.
Economists will argue that nothing can stop the evolution in the retail industry brought about by greater affluence, more liberal trade regulations, increased mobility for the vast majority of people who own a car and the fast pace of modern life that is leaving little time for families during which to procure goods and services.
What is interesting is that the concept of ‘shopping villages’ is already becoming outdated in some countries, like the United States, where online purchasing is emptying shopping malls. Some are in fact closing down while others are changing their business model by combing leisure facilities with retail outlets. It is not unusual, for instance, to have ‘parks, movie theatres, gyms and even fishing lakes’ in such shopping villages.
The Mosta shopping village will offer “a car-wash facility, ample parking, as well as a chapel” to enhance the retail experience of local customers.
The promised creation of 500 jobs may be more significant even if one has to see whether some workers employed in other smaller retail outlets will lose their jobs when this shopping village opens its doors for business.
While changes in the retail industry may be irreversible, the time may be ripe to launch incentives for smaller retailers to continue serving the local communities, especially the elderly who risk being left isolated.