Editorial: For every euro spent on consumption
After three years of restricted social interaction, consumers have rediscovered the joy of retail therapy during the festive season. While the volume of business is still below the levels recorded in the pre-COVID period, this boost in retail sales is most welcome to the many companies that have been squeezed by the pandemic slowdown.
Economic reports confirm that the main reason behind consumer enthusiasm this year is the pent-up demand for a return to the normality experienced before COVID instilled fear in most people. Starting on Black Friday, people's desire to grab a bargain lasted until the year’s first week.
It seems that most sectors, including hospitality, catering, retail and entertainment, experienced increased sales even if the distribution may not have been spread well enough. As usual, Sliema, Valletta and St Julian's were the preferred target destination for the young and not-so-young. Of course, one needs to wait for official statistics to confirm whether the anecdotal positive comments by the business lobbies were indeed correct.
The Maltese economy is heavily dependent on private consumption.
If the trend of increasing retail activity persists throughout...