Analytics company GlobalData predicts the Malaysian e-commerce market will expand by 19.9 per cent this year, reaching US$9.2 billion in value.

GlobalData further projects that e-commerce sales in Malaysia will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.1 per cent between this year and 2026 to reach $16.6 billion by then, supported by the fast-expanding shift from offline to online purchasing.

“Malaysia is among the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia,” said Ravi Sharma, lead banking and payments analyst at GlobalData. 

“The growth is supported by the rapid adoption of smartphones, growing internet penetration, and the availability of secure online payment systems.”

Despite the reopening of physical establishments after the epidemic, a significant portion of Malaysian customers still favour online shopping. Less than 6 per cent of Malaysian customers claimed they had never purchased online, while nearly 90 per cent said they had done so within the previous six months.

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

Alternative payment methods including ShopeePay, GrabPay, and Boost are gaining in popularity and collectively account for 41 per cent of payments.