There was a time a few decades ago when consumers bought their day-to-day needs in their town or village with an occasional visit to Valletta to buy that special item for a special occasion.
Up to the early 1970s the high streets of our towns and villages were lined with poky shops that did not look very different from the grocer shop depicted in the British comedy series Open All Hours.
When people wanted to indulge in a special retail therapy treat they travelled by bus to Valletta where they could find modern well-stocked shops offering goods that were generally not available in other shops throughout the island.
Valletta was indeed the Mecca of shopping for a community that was slowly but surely embracing consumerism after many years of post-war austerity.
The retail scene eventually evolved when more and more modern and spacious shops opened for business in towns like Birkirkara, Mosta, Ħamrun, Paola and, of course, Sliema. Soon after this expansionary phase, the first supermarkets and shopping malls were introduced, mainly in Sliema and St Julian’s. In the last two decades, the dynamics of retail business changed irreversibly with Valletta losing its predominant position as the shopping capital of Malta.
The first Malta Retail Review carried out by Deloitte confirmed the perceptions of many observers of the local retail scene. The review would have been even more interesting had it analysed the ages of shoppers who prefer to shop in Valletta rather than in other localities.
Some retail analysts point out that a quick observation of shoppers milling up and down Republic Street and Merchants Street (where most of the best shops are located in Valletta) indicate that most shoppers tend to be older people. Younger shoppers seem to prefer the more glitzy outlets in Sliema and the other larger localities.
The retail business community in Valletta complains about the seemingly endless infrastructure projects in the capital. If it is not the roads that are being repaved with lava flagstones, it is the building of a new Parliament that makes a shopping trip to Valletta not very enticing.
Lack of affordable and adequate parking facilities and an erratic bus service could be other reasons why fewer people shop in Valletta. But there are other reasons behind the changing dynamics in retail business.
Modern shoppers treasure their free time and any shopping location offering adequate parking facilities and a wide choice of large, modern retail outlets is bound to be a magnet for such shoppers.
The new shopping malls offer such benefits and, therefore, it comes as no surprise that their turnover is growing steadily while traditional shops in Valletta continue to languish. Online shopping is, of course, another factor.
Valletta has increasingly become an administrative centre with many small professional businesses taking over old unoccupied residences or other buildings previously used by larger professional firms that have now moved to bigger premises outside the capital.
The shops that are still doing brisk business in Valletta are those that cater for tourists as well as small restaurants that are attracting visitors, especially in the evening when the capital city offers a unique attractiveness.
The prospects of retail businesses in Valletta will undoubtedly improve if better parking facilities are created and when disruptive infrastructural projects are completed. But the demand for modern extensive shopping facilities outside Valletta is unlikely to be reversed.