The local e-commerce industry in Malaysia is expected to grow up to 30% next year, supported by advancement in technology and wider access to virtual buying platforms.
A leading expert in e-commerce stated that the positive growth of the industry will also be driven by government initiatives to expand the country’s broadband across rural areas.
Malaysia is currently seeing a growth in the number of people making purchases online and trusting e-commerce sites. In addition, there are increasing numbers of merchants who are starting to sell their products online.
Accessible facilities to rural areas also provide opportunities for most Malaysians to shop digitally, thus enabling the e-commerce industry to grow rapidly.
In addition, the government’s initiative on e-wallets will be another factor that will drive growth and enable the development of a secure and seamless e-commerce industry.
Improved logistics capabilities and growth from the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment will also encourage the industry to maintain its expansion trajectory.
SMEs are getting better at selling their products online. They are getting smarter and spending on the right avenues such as digital marketing and influencers, the expert noted.
Meanwhile, online banking e-commerce transactions have achieved an inflection point in Malaysia.
This is why experts foresee a trend of more people buying local products on e-commerce platforms in 2020. In addition, it is expected that there will be an increased number of consumers from rural areas.
FPX MyCyberSale Asia generated a 20% increase in growth, with a gross merchandise value (GMV) of RM392 million and RM2.8 billion in online banking transactions.
The Chairman of the National Tech Association of Malaysia stated that the sale also saw 1,510 registered merchants and the inclusion of Taiwan as the first country pavilion of MyCyberSale, which had paved the way for regional participation.
In 2018, the e-commerce industry’s revenues stood at RM115 billion with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%. From that value, over 20 million online shoppers were direct contributors.
The government, in turn, has consistently given its full support to boost Malaysia’s e-commerce industry.
This is evident in the measures that the government has undertaken via the National E-commerce Strategic Roadmap. In fact, all these moves have positively impacted the CAGR.
The export GMV for the MyCyberSale also rose by 38%, contributed by transactions from travel, fashion and entertainment categories that served 35 countries – a good indication that merchants are seeing the importance of cross-border e-commerce.
The Commerce Development Research Institute of Taiwan has brought in more than 60 Taiwanese merchants, representing 2,400 brands and it sold over 35,000 products within that 10-day period.
One firm, through its network of banks, has also secured the participation of 30 banks and introduced seamless cashless payments for all merchants that joined MyCyberSale this year.
MyCyberSale, established in 2014 by Malaysia’s e-commerce ecosystem, has opted to be more regionally focused this year.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister stated that the country should impose an e-commerce tax against online businesses, given how their growth presently exceeds that of businesses utilising ‘traditional’ models such as physical retail stores, OpenGov Asia reported earlier.
The PM noted that governments have been collecting “less tax” as many brick-and-mortar stores have been shutting down, as many goods can be bought online now.
Online business is affecting other businesses. Through direct-selling, less tax is obtained, also the tax goes to the country where the product is generated, and Malaysia is not able to make anything, he said.
The PM noted that taxation will assist governments in gauging the amount of profit being made by online businesses.
