MALAYSIAN consumers’ habits have seen notable changes in this Covid-19-disrupted year with higher digital literacy, stickiness to e-commerce and the adoption of electronic wallets, said an e-commerce platform.

Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho said this was evident in the higher usage of e-commerce even in rural areas.

The average weekly browsing time of users increased by 20% from February to April, reflecting an increasing reliance on e-commerce to get household essentials, he said.

“We saw an increase in social interactions on our platform, with over three million messages sent daily on average, as consumers interacted directly with brands and sellers to check on prices, stocks, delivery speed and more.

“Consumers are purchasing just about everything, including premium items priced RM3,000 and above, such as Bosch built-in dishwashers and Delonghi coffee machines,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The most-sought-after product on Shopee so far this year is Milo, the chocolate malt drink, he said.

Also favourites are cereal, followed by washing powder.

Other products on the top 10 list are three-layered masks, storage boxes, baby wipes, oil filters, air fryers, smartphones and beauty masks.

Shopee’s most popular keywords in recent months are iPhone, laptop, washing machine and smart TV, Ho said.

Not only that, rural buyers were also seen getting comfortable with the digital ecosystem as many have converted from offline payment methods to ShopeePay mobile wallet at checkout.

Rural Development Minister Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad recently expressed gratitude for the business opportunities brought on by the pandemic.

He said the confidence businesses and consumers displayed on e-commerce platforms increased greatly. This was especially so on the ministry’s Desa Mall online platform, which assists rural-area merchants with e-commerce, allowing urban consumers to purchase their products.

He said that sales on the 11.11 online promotion alone reached RM42,000.

The government has also offered cash rewards through the e-Penjana e-wallets to encourage people to spend online while the economy was sluggish during the pandemic.

Special touch

Ho from Shopee said there is a growing demand for shopping entertainment by Malaysians, as evident on the Shopee app’s social features.

“From February to April 2020, we observed that the number of Shopee live streams from brands and sellers has increased by 70 times since the virus outbreak, as they look for a more personal approach to connect to their consumers virtually and in real time.

“In April 2020 alone, we saw over 25 million views on Shopee Live as consumers tuned in to connect and interact with brands and sellers while they shop.”

On the Penjana shop Malaysia online initiative under the national economic recovery plan (Penjana), which ran on Shopee from August to September, Ho said it was a major success, as participating local sellers and brands supported by the campaign jointly recorded more than RM500 million in sales.

“We foresee the retail demand through Shopee to continue staying strong on the back of great value offerings and convenience for shoppers, especially as the year-end e-commerce shopping season is upon us.”

Ho said the strong demand drives Shopee to support consumers with a holistic ecosystem that provides efficient and affordable logistics solutions.

“We believe that we will be of great assistance to Malaysians in the wake of the new Covid-19 wave. We are working very hard to put forth our best service while we work as a nation to continue our fight against the pandemic.”

Impact on brick-and-mortar stores

With online shopping becoming the mainstream shopping method, physical stores are affected.

KK Supermart Holdings founder Dr K.K. Chai said the biggest factor affecting chain stores during the pandemic was e-commerce.

KK Mart is a convenience store chain established in 2001. It has 491 branches nationwide, located in areas within a 10-minute walk from residential houses.

Chai said after the pandemic became severe, people reduced their shopping trips and chose a less crowded way of shopping, online shopping.

“E-commerce platforms selling fresh produce, agricultural products and clothing, and even daily essentials and groceries, have caused our chain stores’ business to drop by 25%.

“In addition, the business advantage of 24-hour convenience stores has been shortened due to Covid-19, that is, from 6am to 10pm, and the prohibition on crossing states and districts has indirectly affected our business volume.”

However, Chai said the prospects for the grocery industry are still there and that it is currently undergoing short-term “labour pains.”

“We are still confident that this industry will continue to thrive. This year, we plan to continue to open more branches to ensure that every residential area has a branch and where there is demand, our branch will be there.”

He said he noticed that recently, many consumers have begun to use credit cards and debit cards to pay.

He said that KK Mart stores were also operating online by adopting a “convenience store + e-commerce” business model, which can combine and complement retail models to achieve mutual benefits. – November 29, 2020.