A consultation document for a national strategy on e-commerce has been launched with the aim of giving this flourishing sector a push in a country that has not yet exploited its online potential.

Yet very few Maltese purchase products from local sites, which is unsurprising given that most of them do not even display their product’s prices, Economic Growth Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera said.

E-commerce is radically changing the way business is conducted, affecting all areas of economic activity one way or another.

Online shopping is fast becoming popular with the Maltese, with some 46 per cent saying they purchase items, while around €40 million is spent each year by the Maltese on internet shopping.

Seventy-seven per cent of consumers aged between 16 and 24 years purchase online. However, only seven per cent of consumers shop from local sites.

This could partly be attributed to the lack of local businesses selling online, with only 12 per cent of Maltese enterprises claiming to have done so in 2013.

Dr Herrera said he was worried by the results of a study by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA), stating 61 per cent of Maltese businesses do not sell online because their product or service is unsuitable for e-commerce.

“We can’t act when we see that the majority of Maltese sites not only do not offer the facility to shop directly from their site but neither do they offer a product catalogue nor a price list.”

Through the strategy, he continued, the government will be providing businesses with the necessary resources for them to capitalise on the opportunities created by e-commerce.

The government also wants to assist those industries for which e-commerce presented real opportunities for development and expansion.

€40 million

- the total Maltese spend each year on internet shopping

The draft strategy suggests having an online directory for e-commerce service provision, while promoting and showcasing best practice use of ICT by local enterprises – such as e-business awards.

It recommends setting up information sessions on security measures and card fraud-related issues as well as developing e-commerce action plans for the crafts industry and the tourism and hospitality industry.

Vulnerable sectors ought to be helped through the provision of tailored training programmes and support services.

The strategy also focuses on targeting e-commerce operators from emergent markets such as China and India, aiming to penetrate the Middle East and North Africa region and supplying digital goods (such as digital games).

The Malta Bankers’ Association suggested setting up a common central platform/web portal and payment gateway for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to overcome the financial barriers that small businesses encounter when seeking to penetrate foreign markets due to the high costs associated with trading online.

Meanwhile, the General Retailers and Traders Union and the Malta Chamber of Commerce suggested that retailers should be encouraged to invest in a website that portrays their products and services, without necessarily selling over the internet.

They highlighted the need for more concrete assistance to start-ups and for organising seminars and training sessions targeted at (micro) retailers to explain the benefits of e-commerce.

Wine, supermarkets and tourism were the three sectors identified as having the potential to successfully benefit from engaging in e-commerce.

Feedback should reach the Malta Communications Authority on ecommerce@mca.org.mt by August 15.

The document may be viewed at http://meibcms.gov.mt/en/public_consultation/Pages/National-eCommerce-Strategy.aspx​ .