The quick summary:
If you want to develop an online shop or ecommerce-enabled website, 2022 is your year, and right now is your chance.
The updates to the ERDF e-Commerce Grant Scheme for 2022 include;
- €4800 lump sum cash grant available for EACH e-commerce project in EU grant funds
- Simplified application process for beneficiaries
- Broader eligibility of costs
- Quicker reimbursement of eligible expenses
Overview:
Malta is becoming more economically digitised by the day.
The total turnover generated by Maltese businesses through e-commerce sales in 2020 amounted to €2.1 billion, an increase of 6.4% over sales recorded in 2019, according to the National Statistics Office.
E-commerce sales in Malta are five percentage points higher than the EU average.
E-commerce is indeed the present and the future. If these raw statistics have not yet convinced you to develop your own e-commerce website, here are some more reasons for you to consider;
In a post-pandemic society, the increasing popularity of convenience shopping and delivery options is evident; we are at a stage where it is expected for businesses to offer a complete ecommerce service.
The end-consumer has become used to a world of instant feedback both digitally and physically. Having your food arrive through the ease of a mobile app and contactless payment and delivery has become the norm.
Think back a few years back and ask yourself, “Were there as many motorbikes delivering food back then?”
Present & Future
While the situation in Malta has been improving, this does not mean that the rest of the world is not still in turmoil.
The global economy was recovering from both COVID-19 as well as the ramifications brought on by Brexit, resulting in the postal supply chain to be broken, delays and overall higher prices, only to be dealt another blow with the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Regardless of the turmoil, there are opportunities in which a better system would shine.
It is up to local businesses to compete with the likes of giants such as Amazon and start taking over their slice of the e-commerce empire. Offering a more convenient and quicker alternative is an essential advantage.
We have become more conditioned to a world which interacts and responds instantaneously, the quicker, the better.
So it’s your turn to beat the e-commerce giants on the crucial measures for shoppers – convenience and speed.
If Amazon Germany delivers in 3 days, but you charge €5 more for the product and deliver free within 48 hours – the sale is yours to lose.
Moving your business to an e-commerce-based model opens the door to multiple advantages and opportunities;
Open 24/7
Unlike physical shops which need staff, electricity, insurance, and rent payments, and that’s just to stay open, your ecommerce website is open 24/7, and you won’t believe what times of the day people do their shopping in.
Hint: it’s any time they have a free minute, and you don’t have to wait behind a shop counter to accept their business.
Increase Sales
Gain Insight
Enter an entirely unique market place by selling online. Convert website visitors into customers at a click.
Obtain useful information about your customers through Google Analytics. Discover consumer demographics and behaviour.
Get Tactical
Be Mobile
Use measurable consumer insights to develop your marketing plans and further increase your sales conversions.
Extend your market by ensuring your online shopping experience is mobile-friendly with a fully responsive eCommerce solution.
Now is the perfect time to start your own e-commerce website in Malta through the ERDF e-Commerce grant scheme, offered via Business Enhance, with a maximum cash-back grant of €5,000 to part-finance up to 50% of eligible expenditure.
The purpose behind this grant is to support investment towards the design, development, implementation, and delivery of an e-commerce website and/or mobile application to enable further sales.
Systemato is one of the registered service providers.
We create solutions catered towards the needs of your business; an effective design that turns visits into sales, backed up by functionality and responsiveness.
Ecommerce solutions by Systemato are:
- Effective — designs that sell
- Functional — fast and easy to navigate around
- Responsive – work on any device
- Reliable — perform 24/7 & load without delay
- Secure — complete payment security
In conclusion, there isn’t a better time to get started on an e-commerce project for your business than right now.
The fact is you’re already late and you probably already have competition out there, whether it’s similar retailers or service providers, or competitors of yours offering your products using couriers such as Bolt, Wolt, eCabs, and others.
But, just because you’re late, it doesn’t mean you’re dead.
Businesses that were ready to go and moved online with purpose and determination did better during the pandemic than in the prior boom years. We point to the online success of clients such as Vileda Malta and Megastore as evidence.
And, there is still lots of room to grow in and loads of products and services that are poorly served online in Malta. Your little idea could just be the next big thing.
