Will floods & traffic drive online shopping boom in Malaysia?
Don't laugh. Britain's surging online retail market has been partly attributed to the fact that its citizens prefer to stay indoors because of their infamous weather.I was caught in the massive jam last week on the KL-Seremban highway, sitting along with thousands of motorists for at least 3 hours trying to get home and being prevented from doing so by the flash floods at Sg Besi. All thoughts of buying groceries on the way home fell to bits when it became depressingly clear that no-one was going anywhere in a hurry.
So if weather is such a good driver for online shopping, then why hasn't it caught on in this country?
Connectivity for one. We still struggle with a low penetration of broadband usage in our households (about 8% versus say 25% for South Korea, or the massive 55% for the UK).
Secondly, there are hardly any local online shopping sites to speak of. A quick Google search unearthed this grocery site and even then, it's been suspended.
However, according to an AC Nielsen report, more than 55% of Malaysian online shoppers buy airtickets on the internet! Must be thanks in no small part to the aggressive marketing efforts of Air Asia.
Overall, however, if you see what people buy globally, it remains clear why Malaysians are generally still slow in taking to online shopping:
"Across the globe, the most popular items purchased on the Internet are books (34%), followed by videos/DVDs/games (22%), airline tickets/reservations (21%) and clothing/accessories/shoes (20%)."
- Books: It's a well-known fact that Malaysians don't read. Magazines and newspapers are NOT included thank you very much.
- Videos/DVD's/Games: The local Low Yat hole-in-the-wall stalls boast a better uncensored variety at a fraction of the price.
- Airline tickets: Okay, since there still aren't any convincing fakes of this around, we do quite well here.
- Clothing/Accessories/Shoes: Now which Malaysian woman would want to be deprived of the sensory delights of our gorgeous malls and do something as boring as shop for her clothes on the net???
posted by hew @ 6:44 pm
2 Comments:
i like your last four statement.. haha.. food delivery is not a bad choice...
Yeah, most Malaysians are still hesistant when it comes to online shopping. Thanks to all the frauds and scams. Here's hoping that we'll catch up with rest of the world eventually so our shopping malls can be less crowded on weekends.
Post a Comment
<< Home