One4all launches Malta’s first national Christmas shopping survey

The Malta survey follows on from the research work which One4all have been conducting in Ireland and the United Kingdom, where the survey has been established for a number of years. General Manager for Malta, David Borg Hedley says: “It is our hope that this proves a success and goes on to become a national initiative each year from here on in.”One4all are collecting research into local consumers’ Christmas shopping experiences and habits. By taking this very quick online survey participants could be in with a chance of winning a €100 in One4all Gift Vouchers. Entries close on Saturday 15th December and the winner will be announced on Monday 17th December.

The winner will be randomly selected from survey participants to win €100 of One4all gift vouchers and qualified by a skill-question, just in time to help with that last minute Christmas shopping. Traditionally, the festive season brings in a significant part of retailers' annual takings over six or seven weeks. Christmas is just 2 weeks away now, and Malta’s shops have their shelves sagging under the weight of holiday items.

Many of us have already started crossing items off their holiday gift list. Of course, there are always going to be those who wait until the very last minute. Do you want to know where you fall on the spectrum? When do you start your Christmas shopping? One4all are conducting a national survey of Malta’s Christmas present shopping habits to find out how Malta compares to other parts of Europe.

While traditionally we tend to think of the festive season as consumer-led in Malta, research by One4all in the UK showed that in terms of increasing productivity among employees, 60% of employers cited small gift incentives as the most motivating non-salary reward. Other useful incentives include company entertainment such as Christmas parties or team nights out (32.5%), professional training (38.4%), flexible benefits (39%) and health and relaxation activities (12.3%).

Some of the worst Christmas presents to be received last year from the Northern European surveys included a waste paper basket from an Aunt, wrinkle cream from a husband, a farting gnome and in one case the flu! One4all’s figures suggested that 20 million British left their Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve last year and one in five are planning on leaving their gift buying this year until the week before the big day.

Of those who are leaving it until the last minute, over half (53%) say they are waiting for inspiration, nearly a quarter (22%) say they don’t have the time to shop before and one in six (17%) are hoping to benefit from last minute bargains. Mr. Borg Hedley concludes, “Almost 10 million people in the UK returned their unwanted Christmas presents last year, showing that leaving shopping for Christmas presents with days or minutes to go can be a risky business, so we are very keen to see how Malta compares with the rest of Europe in this regard.”