David Tabone on the changing Maltese shopper

Maltese shoppers are becoming more deliberate about where their money goes, according to David Tabone. The Chief Executive Officer of The Convenience Shop (Holding) plc sees customers weighing purchases more carefully while continuing to expect quality and convenience. For retailers, that makes value a question of the whole shopping experience.

Speaking to Malta Business Journal, Tabone explains how MyConvenience and MySupermarket are responding through their neighbourhood stores, digital services and MyRewards programme. His account connects the daily realities of grocery shopping with wider decisions about customer loyalty and how a growing business stays close to the communities it serves.

As he looks towards 2027, Tabone discusses what customers expect in return for their loyalty and how retailers can combine better data with the personal understanding behind good service.

1. What does convenience mean to customers beyond longer opening hours and proximity? Convenience today is about much more than being close to home or having a shop open when you need it. It is about making everyday life easier by saving customers time, effort and unnecessary complications. Customers want to find what they need quickly, in a pleasant and familiar environment, with reliable product availability, efficient service and prices they can trust. Increasingly, they also expect convenience to extend into the digital space, whether through loyalty benefits or the option to order online for home delivery or click and collect.

At MyConvenience and MySupermarket, we see convenience as a complete customer experience. We combine the personal familiarity of a neighbourhood shop with the standards, technology and purchasing advantages of a large retail network. Ultimately, genuine convenience means removing friction from the shopping experience, while making customers feel that their time and money are respected.

2. How can neighbourhood stores remain relevant as delivery platforms change shopping habits? We see neighbourhood retail and delivery as complementary models serving different customer needs. Delivery offers obvious advantages, particularly when customers value the comfort of shopping from home. Physical neighbourhood shops, however, retain important strengths: immediacy, accessibility, personal interaction and the ability to choose products in person.

Customers no longer divide their shopping into physical and online. They choose whatever is most convenient for what they need at that moment, and that can change from one day to the next. The challenge for retailers is to be ready for both.

Our strategy reflects this. Customers can shop in any of our MyConvenience and MySupermarket stores, order online for home delivery through our own service, or order ahead and pick up in store with click and collect. Our aim is one integrated experience, whichever way a customer chooses to shop with us on a given day. The successful neighbourhood retailer of the future will not simply be a shop around the corner. It will be a trusted local service that combines physical accessibility with digital convenience.

3. How should a retailer balance local customer needs with consistency across its network? This is one of the most interesting challenges in managing a network of our size, with 107 shops across Malta and Gozo. Every locality has its own character. Shopping patterns in our busier urban areas are very different from those in smaller towns and villages, in tourist areas or in Gozo. Customer demographics, lifestyle, seasonal activity and purchasing habits all influence what people expect from their local grocery store. At the same time, customers must be able to recognise and trust the brand wherever they encounter it.

Our approach is to keep consistent standards in customer service, product quality, store presentation, technology and loyalty benefits, while allowing flexibility in product selection and other aspects of the local shopping experience. We increasingly use sales data and feedback from our store teams to understand these differences and adapt.

Consistency should define the quality of the experience, not impose an identical shopping experience on every community.

Tabone links the pressure on household budgets to a more considered approach to spending. He explains how that is influencing the retailer’s offer and the benefits customers expect from MyRewards.

4. How are customers' priorities changing as they balance quality, convenience and household spending? The Maltese consumer is becoming more deliberate and value conscious. Household budgets are under real pressure, and we see that in our stores every day, but the response is more careful spending rather than simply less spending. Shoppers are weighing what they receive for their money, and that does not always mean choosing the cheapest product. Quality, freshness, trusted brands, convenience and the overall shopping experience still matter.

What is changing is the thought behind each purchase. Customers pay closer attention to promotions, compare alternatives more readily and look for benefits that add up to meaningful savings over time. That thinking has shaped how our MyRewards programme has developed.

We were particularly encouraged that the Women's Choice Best Buy Award 2026/2027 recognised MyConvenience as Malta's 'Best Value for Money Neighbourhood Grocery Chain'.

For retailers, the message is clear: value is not simply about price. It is about the right combination of quality, affordability, convenience and trust.

5. What builds loyalty when customers can compare alternatives more easily than ever? Loyalty can never be taken for granted. Customers have more choice, better access to information and fewer reasons to stay with a retailer that does not meet their expectations. Lasting loyalty has to be earned week after week, through reliability and genuine appreciation of the customer.

A loyalty programme plays an important role, but it must offer meaningful benefits rather than simply reward transactions. With MyRewards, we have moved beyond a traditional points-based scheme. Members now combine loyalty points with exclusive member prices, special offers and everyday savings that give them immediate, tangible value. Today, more than 43,000 customers are MyRewards members.

Technology and incentives are only part of the equation, though. The experience customers have in our shops, the friendliness of our staff, product availability and the way we respond when something goes wrong matter just as much.

A loyalty programme can encourage customers to return, but it is the overall experience that gives them a reason to stay.

Customer insight and the outlook for 2027

The discussion turns to how a large retail network understands individual customers. Tabone describes the role of store teams alongside analytics, before considering the expectations he believes will shape 2027.

6. How can a business use customer data without losing the personal understanding behind good service? Data has become an essential tool for understanding customer behaviour, particularly in a retail operation handling millions of transactions across a large network. It reveals purchasing trends, changing preferences, the effectiveness of promotions and differences between localities that might otherwise be hard to see. But data should support human judgement, not replace it.

Our store teams understand the practical realities behind purchasing decisions, and they often spot emerging needs before these show up in formal reporting. We are using systems and technology to take routine work off their hands, so they can spend more time with customers. Our objective is to combine both perspectives: stronger analytics alongside the personal relationships that have always been central to neighbourhood retail.

Responsible data management, customer privacy and transparency matter just as much. Customers should feel that technology is being used to improve their experience, not intrude upon it. The real opportunity lies in using data to make a large retail organisation more responsive and personal, rather than more impersonal.

7. What change in consumer behaviour should Maltese businesses pay closest attention to in 2027? The most important development will be the continued rise of the value-conscious, digitally savvy consumer, who expects more flexibility, transparency and personal relevance from the businesses they choose.

Customers are used to comparing prices, discovering offers online and moving seamlessly between physical and online channels. They expect businesses to recognise their needs and give them tangible reasons to choose them over the alternatives. For Maltese businesses, that is both a challenge and an opportunity.

Competing on price alone is rarely a sustainable long-term strategy. Businesses will need to show their value through better service, convenience, relevance and customer relationships, supported by intelligent use of technology.

For our part, these are the areas we are investing in: MyRewards, our home delivery and click-and-collect services, and our network of MyConvenience and MySupermarket stores. Looking towards 2027, I believe the businesses that succeed will be those that understand that customers are not necessarily becoming less loyal; they are becoming more selective about who deserves their loyalty.