The Malaysian e-commerce market is estimated to register a growth of 19.9% to reach MYR38.2 billion ($9.2 billion) in 2022, supported by a rapidly growing shift from offline to online purchasing, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s E-Commerce Analytics reveals that e-commerce sales in Malaysia will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.1% between 2022 and 2026 to reach MYR69.3 billion ($16.6 billion) in 2026. The sales were MYR31.9 billion ($7.6 billion) in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 22.4% between 2017 – 2021.

Ravi Sharma, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Malaysia is among the fastest-growing ecommerce markets in Southeast Asia. The growth is supported by the rapid adoption of smartphones, growing internet penetration, and the availability of secure online payment systems.”

Despite the opening of brick-and-mortar stores post pandemic, a large number of consumers in Malaysia still prefer to shop online. According to GlobalData’s 2022 Financial Services Consumer Survey*, nearly 90% of the Malaysian consumers reported having shopped online in the past six months, while only less than 6% indicated that they never shopped online.

To boost e-commerce sales in the country, the government is also taking various initiatives, including the ‘Go-eCommerce Onboarding campaign’ to encourage SMEs to go online by providing them with financial aid/subsidies. The campaign, which ran between July to December 2021, onboarded over 500,000 businesses, out of which over 320,000 are new sellers on ecommerce platforms.

GlobalData’s survey also revealed that credit, charge, and debit cards together account for 26.7% of total e-commerce spending in Malaysia. This can be attributed to the discounts, cashback, and promotional offers associated with these cards.

Alternative payment solutions such as ShopeePay, GrabPay and Boost are also growing in popularity and collectively account for a 41% share.

Sharma concludes: “The pandemic has brought a shift in consumer buying behaviour, pushing them towards online, a trend that is expected to continue.”

*GlobalData’s 2022 Financial Services Consumer Survey was carried out in Q1 and Q2 2022. Approximately 50,000 respondents aged 18+ were surveyed across 40 countries.