E-Commerce Landscape in a Reopened Economy - an Ipsos study

Ipsos has just released the following data from their study on “E-Commerce Landscape in a Reopened Economy”.

The findings from the “E-Commerce Landscape in a Reopened Economy” study reveals that:

• Almost half of Malaysians have made a recent purchase on an e-commerce platform, which is similar to one year ago when the pandemic was at its height.
  The trends in online shopping are diverging between people at different life stages. Among young people, there’s continued movement towards online shopping, while a drop among the 50+ segment indicate a return to pre covid habits.
• As the pandemic recedes and the removal of movement restrictions allows brick and mortar retail to return to normal, a new picture for online shopping emerges – there’s continued high demand for fashion items and groceries online, while Malaysians are less inclined to buy more pricey specialty items such as electronics and home appliances online compared to last year.
• Shopee maintains its position as the leading e-commerce platform in Malaysia, boosted by word of mouth – Malaysians are fairly loyal to their preferred platform, using between one and two online retailers on average.
• The major e-commerce retailers in Malaysia attract shoppers by offering good value for money, staying relevant in the face of changes in consumers’ lifestyle and needs, and delivering services that are customer centric.

Lars Erik Lie, Associate Director of Ipsos Malaysia Public Affairs said, “The retail sector experienced a major shake-up when the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in March 2020 – overnight, consumers of all walks of life had to rely on online shopping as a necessity rather than a convenient option. More than two years on, the move towards online shopping looks to be structural; as the country has opened, Malaysians have the same propensity to shop online as they had one year ago when the pandemic was at its height.”

“However, trends are diverging between people at different life stages. The share of young people shopping online continues to increase, while for older people, the uptick in online shopping during the pandemic appear to be more cyclical – many are now returning to old habits,” Lars Erik added, “There’s also a divergence in terms of product categories purchased – online shopping of fashion items and groceries have become a mainstay, while a drop in online purchases of electronic devices, home appliances and cosmetics may reflect a pivot back to physical retailers for pricier specialty items. Among the online retailers, Shopee maintains its dominant position in the Malaysian market, with good value for money as a major pull factor.”