Despite the fact that online retail in Malaysia accounts for less than 1% of total retail sales, Malaysia is included in the top 30 worldwide markets ranking for its B2C ecommerce potential.
Most of the online purchases are still paid for in cash. As for the online methods of payment, credit or debit cards and online banking are in the lead, with PayPal in distant third. In terms of delivery, the majority of online shoppers were willing to wait several days for the delivery of their purchases, while a significant share expect delivery in a maximum of 1 or 2 days.
The m-commerce segment of online shopping is spreading rapidly in Malaysia, boosted by the growing smartphone penetration and mobile internet usage, which is encouraged by governmental initiatives, such as partial reimbursement of smartphone acquisition costs for young adults.
Cross-border online shopping is a major trend in Malaysia. The key destinations for the online purchases outside the country are the US, China and the EU, with the most popular foreign merchants being respectively US-based Amazon, Chinas Alibaba and UK-based Asos.Online auctions, classifieds, deals websites and social network shopping are more popular with online shoppers in Malaysia than online retailers. Websites such as group buying merchant Groupon, online classifieds Mudah.my, online marketplaces Q0010, Youbeli and Lelong are among the customers’ favourite for internet shopping.
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