Sales generated by Black Friday once a year are not enough for business – The Malta Chamber

Black Friday outcomes that occur once a year are not enough for business, particularly given the current circumstances when business is going through a tough recovery period, The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry noted following last weekend’s Black Friday sales.

In a statement, The Malta Chamber said it believes that there should be more incentives that help businesses to innovate and strengthen their online presence as well as further investment in well thought out infrastructure suitable for bad weather conditions.

Indeed, it took note of a “major shift” in customer behaviour, particularly the move from shopping in-store to online, “hence the importance for business to keep abreast with and invest in digital innovation”.

It also noted the need to invest in infrastructure suitable for bad weather conditions given the mammoth volume of rain that came down on Malta last Thursday, the day before Black Friday, which is widely believed to have hampered sales.

Despite the number of challenges faced by business, The Malta Chamber noted: “that this year’s Black Friday, like in previous years, in general, left a positive impact on business, particularly since the majority anticipated the challenging environment and sought to work around it”.

“In fact, many businesses spread their offers over a week and even longer periods.  Ensuring extra precaution to avoid COVID spread, logistics and transhipment issues in respect of stock and the very bad weather conditions were just some of the few challenges experienced.”

Finally, it added that “a resilient environment will help businesses anticipate and set trends whilst ensuring good sales all year round.”