Enthusiasm for online shopping creates giant e-commerce opportunities for MalaysiaTaiwan External Trade Development Council

Source：Taiwan External Trade Development Council

According to statements made by Google and the Singapore-based Temasek, Malaysia and Southeast Asia have demonstrated great potential for e-commerce development. At the end of 2017, e-commerce had an estimated value of approx. US$50 billion (approximately MYR 195.73 billion).

An iPrice e-commerce study report demonstrates that although 74% of Malaysian consumers enjoy or evaluate products via smartphone, most do their online shopping on a desktop computer. The pleasure derived from the desktop experience underlies the gap in e-commerce shopping, between mobile and desktop devices.

In contrast to Singapore-based consumers, Malaysians like to shop during work hours, with the most preferred online shopping time being 4pm on Wednesday. Over the weekend, Malaysians prefer shopping on Sundays. Online weekend orders are relatively less, but Malaysian consumers still shop online, and mobile traffic soars on weekends.

Malaysia ranks third among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in preference for online shopping, with the number of consumers slightly trailing Singapore and the Philippines. Malaysia is similarly slightly behind Singapore and the Philippines in the amount spent per order, leading Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, portraying Malaysia’s enormous potential.

Based on surveys by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), nine out of ten business transactions in Malaysia are executed by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the digital economy pertains to giant growth potential. The organization is currently focused on working with large partners such as Alibaba to promote the world’s first ‘digital free trade zone’ outside China, and are planning the development of an e-commerce trade platform for SMEs.


Source: Economic Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia

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