For residents of Malta, products and companies such as Lidl, Samsung, Nescafé, and Devon offer the best price–quality ratio (best value for money) in the Maltese market. These findings come from the first Best Buy Award research survey in the Republic of Malta, which was conducted by the Swiss organization ICERTIAS. The organization measures citizens’ experiences and satisfaction with the price–quality ratio of marketed products and services. The research was conducted in the Republic of Malta in February 2015. Respondents were asked what they felt represented the best price–quality ratio, i.e., the best value for their money, according to their personal experiences with specific products or service categories on the Maltese market.
The research in Malta encompassed 55 different economic categories in sectors such as retail, food, footwear, clothing, cosmetics, home appliances, telecommunications, and finance. The questions in the Best Buy Award research survey were open-ended, i.e. the examinees were not offered a choice of responses. They could freely state the names of products and service providers that, based on their experiences, offered the best price–quality ratio on the market.
In the instant coffee category, Nescafé won first place. In the smartphone category, Samsung took the number one position. First-place winners in the other researched categories included NIVEA (shower gel), Toyota (family cars), Colgate (toothpaste), Farsons (beer), Lidl (retail chain), Devon (biscuit), and Benna (milk). It is important to note that the Best Buy Award research does not measure brand equity or market share. The customers’ experiences, opinions, satisfaction, and perceptions are exclusively used to gauge the price–quality ratio of goods and services on the market based on their personal experiences.
The 2015/2016 Malta Best Buy Award Research survey was conducted by the International Certification Association GmbH (ICERTIAS), which is a Swiss organization, using a sample of 1,200 Maltese citizens who were Internet users over the age of 15. The survey used a web questionnaire that followed the Computer Assisted Web Interviewing – Deep Mind Awareness (CAWI – DEEPMA) method and was conducted according to the provisions of the International Codex for the Implementation of Market and Social Research, which were adopted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the European Association of Research Experts (ESOMAR). For further information visit www.icertias.com
