Sixty-five shops will be offering their wares online by next month through a new website designed specifically to boost Maltese businesses.

The eMall, at www.trolleymania.com, hosts 37 shops and features 4,000 different products, said a spokesman for its developer, Alert Communications. But since it was launched earlier this week, another 28 businesses had applied to set up shop on the portal.

An initiative of the IT Ministry, its aim is to help businesses venture into e-commerce and start selling their products via internet.

Speaking during the launch, Communications Minister Austin Gatt said statistics showed that 69 per cent of Maltese used the internet on a regular basis, with 99 per cent of them having access from home. But although 73 per cent of them said they recently made an online purchase, only seven per cent of those purchases were made through local retailers.

“We want to change this scenario by supporting local businesses of all types and sizes in their online endeavours,” he said.

The response in the first few days was described by the spokesman as “astounding”, with the site experiencing an average of 917 visits an hour.

Setting up a shop through the site costs a one-time set-up fee of €250 and another €232 fee per annum, excluding VAT. There is also a transaction charge of 0.25 per cent on each purchase.

Each operator has a stand-alone shop with a unique web address, giving merchants the opportunity to promote their online stores individually.