Christmas shopping? Sliema and Valletta lose out to the internet

For the second consecutive year, Sliema emerges as a more popular than Valletta as a shopping destination for Christmas, a survey conducted by MaltaToday shows.

But both commercial centres have seen a significant drop in shoppers as consumers are more likely to buy online or from smaller localities.

MaltaToday surveys show a consistent decline in shopping in Valletta in the past years, with the percentage of those shopping for gifts in Valletta dropping from 45% in 2008 to 25% in 2011 - a decline of 20 percentage points.

Sliema has seen also seen a six-point drop from last year and is back to 2008 levels but above 2009 recession levels.

Sliema shoppers had increased by 7 points between 2008 and 2011 following the opening of the Tigné Point shopping complex and the pedestrainisation of Bisazza Street.

Another commercial centre which has seen a progressive improvement over the past years, is the Paola/Fgura area, which now attracts nearly 8% of shoppers. 

Hamrun has also seen a small increase in its market share which comes in the wake of the opening of a new shopping mall in the locality.

The decline of Valletta and Sliema as a Christmas shopping destination during the past year comes in the wake of an increase of internet shoppers.

If one were to consider cyberspace as a virtual city, it now represents Malta's third largest shopping destination.

But the survey once again confirms a digital divide, with 16% of under-34-year-olds buying online, with only 4% of over-55-year-olds doing the same.

The survey shows that Sliema is substantially preferred as a shopping venue of younger people. The survey also shows that 39% of over-55-year-olds prefer giving cash gifts.