PayPal has extended its lead as the preferred method of payment online, and is now used by 88 per cent of Maltese, compared with 44 per cent for credit cards.
According to a survey carried out by the Malta Communications Authority, PayPal was only used by 31 per cent of online shoppers in 2008, but has risen steadily since then.
The three most popular foreign merchants are eBay, Amazon and Sports Direct, while the Maltese ones are Air Malta, Maltapark and Agenda.
The most popular country of origin for goods is the UK with 91 per cent, followed by China and Hong Kong with 44 per cent – with only a third of online purchases from Malta.
The reasons given for not buying from local websites are: no need to (36 per cent), prices are not as competitive as those on foreign sites (32 per cent), and limited choice (30 per cent).
The ninth study in this series once again gauged the growth of e-commerce use in Malta and Gozo and found that 54 per cent of respondents – including those who don’t use internet – buy online, up from 51 per cent in 2010 and 30 per cent in 2008.
Only 15 per cent of internet users have never bought anything online. The main reason given for not buying online is that the user is not interested or doesn’t feel the need to do so (32 per cent), followed by lack of knowledge on how to do it (26 per cent) and a preference to see/try an item before buying (22 per cent). Security doesn’t seem to be an issue. In the 2010 edition of this survey, preference to try out the products and security were the two most important issues.
The biggest spenders are male (81 per cent compared to 69 per cent female) and 97 per cent are in the 18- to 29-year age bracket. There is a marked decrease as the age goes up and only 40 per cent of those aged over 66 buy online.
In terms of the amount spent, over half spend up to €500 a year, while a quarter spend up to a €1,000 a year, 12 per cent up to €2,000 a year and 6 per cent spend more than €2,000 a year.
The most popular items bought from foreign websites are clothes and shoes (63 per cent), IT and electronic goods (45 per cent), books (35 per cent), and flight tickets (28 per cent). The nature of the items changes for goods and services purchased from Maltese websites. In this case, the most popular are flight tickets (35 per cent), books/CDs/DVDs (23 per cent), booked service/appointment (11 per cent) and IT electronic goods (10 per cent).
Price and shipping fees remain the most important factors when choosing which website to buy from. Positive reviews about the retailer and products, a good product description and security features of the website come next. Potential shoppers like websites that have good search facilities to find what they want, are user-friendly and have good site navigation.