Business was less favourable during the last festive season when compared to December 2013, according to the latest PwC retail market barometer.
There was a subdued level of business activity in December, a feeling that was experienced across Malta and Gozo and in all business segments targeted. The market barometer was conducted by PwC in the second and third week of January, with over 300 local retailers participating.
Retailers comprise retail operators in the food and beverage, clothing, ICT, and the cultural and recreational businesses located in Valletta, Sliema, St Julian’s, Ħamrun, Paola and Gozo. The survey excludes catering establishments and bars.
Business owners participating in this barometer are reportedly less buoyant than they were in September 2014, with 29 per cent anticipating a gloomier six months. Nearly a fifth (22 per cent) have a positive outlook, while 26 per cent expect a constant follow of business and the remaining 23 per cent declaring they are unsure.
Consistent with similar PwC exercises in recent months, retailers in the southern areas of Malta are the less upbeat. St Julian’s tops the list of areas to do business in.
Retail business in Malta is increasingly being seen as competitive, with just over half (53 per cent) of participants indicating competition to be their top concern.
It transpires that in Sliema and Paola this sentiment is more acute. For the first time since PwC has run this market exercise, the incidence of public lotto has surfaced in the top seven concerns articulated by retailers. Supermarkets and other retailers engaged in the sale of food and beverage signalled that this was a factor that affected performance.
Other major concerns consistently emerging are lack of accessibility and parking, falling disposable income and the trends in tourism. Accessibility in Gozo is deemed more of a concern than in other areas. Almost a quarter of retailers (24 per cent) in Gozo interviewed expressed accessibility, or the lack of it, as their top apprehension.
This barometer also focused on the recently announced Sunday trading regulation. A significant 49 per cent of those interviewed consider that these regulations will have an adverse effect on their business. Only 14 per cent have taken a favourable view on the proposed legislation. The remaining 37 per cent are either neutral or unsure.
Another noteworthy statistic in the barometer is the extent to which internet shopping is affecting the traditional sales. Almost two in every three (61 per cent) retailers expressed concern that this new retail reality is trimming their margins. The only sector in which this effect was deemed less significant was, as expected, in the retail of food and beverages. All other sectors, including the most significant one – clothing – are increasingly wary of internet shopping.