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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 JANUARY 2023 6 NEWS 7. Bring on Italy and England Malta's Euro2024 cup adventure starts in March but the highlights of this qualifying stage will be the games against Italy and England. Malta plays Italy at Ta' Qali on 26 March and England on 16 June. The away game against Italy will be played on 14 October and against England on 17 No- vember. 8. 20 years since EU referendum In March, it will be 20 years since Malta voted in favour of EU acces- sion in a referendum, a result con- firmed in a general election a month later. It won't be much of a national celebration but it is an occasion the Nationalist Party would like to milk, especially since the 2003 election was the last time the party enjoyed an absolute majority in the country. 9. Yorgen Fenech trial The man accused of masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Gali- zia, Yorgen Fenech, may finally face judgment day in court after more than three years. Although no date has been set for his trial, it is likely to be held sometime in 2023 unless complicated legal challenges keep pushing the date further down the line. First 'normal' Christmas post-COVID finds consumers more price- aware due to inflation MARIANNA CALLEJA A first 'post-COVID' Christmas free of pandemic restrictions has seen good foot- fall for retailers since the start of the Black Friday sales in November. Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO Abi- gail Mamo said sales had continued to pick up since the discount season despite initial predictions that more people would adhere to online buying. "People are out shopping and making an outing of it. We have noted good footfall so the comeback is there," Mamo said. The PG Group's CEO Charles Borg agrees with Mamo. "We've noted an in- crease in purchases and clothing in par- ticular has picked up more during 2022," he added. And from the catering business per- spective, ACE president Michelle Muscat noted an increase in bookings of larger groups. "In the past two years we had re- strictions on the number of people seated at one table, so without these restrictions we are seeing an increase in large tables. Some people still request outdoor seating weather permitting because they feel saf- er," she added. Malta has finally emerged from a two- year pandemic that had previously seem many Christmas gatherings and celebra- tions cut short or cancelled as the Omi- cron variant caused havoc. But there seems to be disparity between the differ- ent commercial hubs that have mush- roomed over the island. Muscat says ACE members report business in Valletta in- creasing considerably, however not the same is being reported in the St Julian's area. "People are generally keen to celebrate these events but others remain quite cau- tious," Muscat said, pointing out that var- ious cohorts preferred to gather in private houses and celebrate by cooking at home or organising small private gatherings. "These types of gatherings increased dur- ing COVID times and although establish- ments have no restrictions this year, these types of celebrations will carry on and in- crease for various reasons." Inflation and Christmas Both Mamo and Charles Borg attribute inflation to a certain sense of self-re- straint on high-end purchases, rather than the post-COVID recovery. "People have become more price-aware as a re- sult of inflation. In the case of food, in- flation did not drive consumers to buy less because, let's face it, you can't actu- ally take food out of your budget. It did, however, compel them to manage their finances and adhere to budgets," Borg said. The PG Group have noticed that more consumers in their supermarkets stuck to off-brands or cheaper options, making them more selective when buying. Borg said that as a long-term investor, PG was ready to take the risk of buying its own products, giving consumers a variety of options on the same product. "This al- lowed us to lower the pricing of basic items seen in other stores," Borg said. In catering, Michelle Muscat says high-income earners still frequent their usual eateries with high-end restaurants still keeping their usual steady flow of customers. But other establishments who cater for average spending custom- ers might have seen a decrease in custom, because people are being very careful of their average spend. And Mamo adds that a lot of product took longer to reach Malta with stock be- ing late for certain stores even on Black Friday. Amid the inflation concerns, both Ma- mo and Muscat feel businesses need to increase prices to counter rising costs. "Prices have increased considerably for everyone, however, the increase in pric- es affected customers in different man- ners," Muscat said. "There came a point, particularly at the end of last year, when things be- gan to change. Some, certainly, had to raise prices against their will after much consideration and internal debate," ex- plained Mamo. An online shift does remain prevalent in consumer habits, with businesses al- ready forced to shift online during the pandemic, helping more local businesses getting the edge on international online stores. Mamo adds that with skyrocketing rents forcing businesses to scale down and reduce outlets, investment in online platforms became a must. "Take, for ex- ample, Brexit. Most customers thought purchasing on British websites was worthwhile, but now they doubt it as it takes longer for that item to arrive and costs more money," Mamo said. With New Year's Eve bookings in the ca- tering appearing stable, Muscat reports, the hope is now that a constant momen- tum into the new year can be achieved. "Some client preferences may persist, but we believe we will see a healthy rhythm in the following months, as well as other rises into 2023," Mamo said. CHRISTMAS IS POSITIVE BUT INFLATION IS ON PEOPLE'S MINDS