Warm weather ‘has harmed Christmas clothes sales’

The relatively warm December weather has harmed the sale of winter clothes during the Christmas festive period, according to a short survey carried out by the General Retailers and Traders Association.

“We’ve never experienced this issue before but several business owners we spoke to mentioned it this year,” GRTU official Carmen Borg said.

The study was based on comments from around 60 shop owners, the majority of whom own businesses in Sliema and Valletta.

“While sales in Sliema appear to have increased, sales in Valletta appear to have increased,” Borg said.

Indeed, a recent survey carried out by MaltaToday indicates that Sliema is the preferred Christmas shopping locality for 33.6% of the population (up from 32.7% in 2013) while Valletta is favoured amongst 33% of the population (down from 39.7% in 2013).

“Many Valletta shop owners blamed this on the lack of parking spaces in the capital city,” Borg said. “On the other hand, the parking situation in Sliema has improved since a new car park was built near the Pjazzetta site.”

While 13 December (Republic Day) is typically the most popular day for Christmas shopping, the most popular day this year was 8 December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Borg pinned this irregularity down to the fact that the latter feast occurred on a Saturday this year.

While clothes sales may have plummeted this year, Borg said that several people have bought electronics, jewellery, handbags and other accessories this year. Confectionaries are also doing well, as is common for this time of year.

“Maltese families always love buying sweet food items during Christmas-time,” Borg said.

Shop owners also warned that the rise of online shopping has harmed their businesses.

“The GRTU has long been pre-occupied with the online shopping phenomenon,” Borg said. “It’s pointless to grumble about it though. It’s a reality that we have to face and Maltese shops must now stand up and be counted. They need to become more competitive by constantly upgrading and by going online.”

The full results of the GRTU’s study on festive sales will be published in January.