KUALA LUMPUR: Eight out of 10 people in Malaysia have made second-hand purchases, said Carousell Group in its inaugural Carousell Recommerce Index 2021 report.
The report is an initiative to highlight the importance of sustainability and recommerce in Southeast Asia.
The report covers findings across eight markets - Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam, involving over 3,000 buyers and sellers.
Carousell said there was a strong preference for 46 per cent buying photography and electronics such as computers, mobile phones and tablets.
Home, furniture and appliances made it to top-selling categories with 48 per cent— where thousands of items make their way to new homes instead of landfills, providing income to sellers and delivering value for money to buyers.
"At Carousell, we have always aimed to provide a new lease of life for underused items as a means to reduce waste and to help people get more value for money," Carousell country head for Malaysia Tang Siew Wai said in a statement.
Over the last two years, Tang said the Covis-19 pandemic had upended normal consumer behaviour.
"Hence the Carousell Recommerce Index is a timely report card on where we are now and how we can make secondhand the first choice in our effort to practice a more sustainable lifestyle and support a circular economy," he added.
As for motivations for buying second hand, the report revealed 78 per cent of Malaysian respondents who have purchased second-hand items cited "value for money" as the top reason, coming out ahead of the regional average of 68 per cent.
Overall in the region, fashion remains the top category with the most secondhand listings (29 per cent), with women's fashion dominating the top spot across the region, and men's fashion becoming increasingly popular.
This is echoed in Malaysia where men's fashion surged 76 per cent in listing views and 74 per cent in listings created on Carousell Malaysia, with men's tops followed by sneakers as the most popular purchases.
Regardless of fluctuations in buying and selling, Carousell said it continued to make headway in fostering community while promoting second hand.
"This includes Malaysia's Betul-betul Free campaign, which was inspired by generous users who listed items for free using the hashtag #blessings.
"The popularity of the campaign led to a dedicated free items category that is now available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines on Carousell, as well as Chợ Tốt in Vietnam and OneKyat in Myanmar," it said.
Carousell co-founder Lucas Ngoo said it had constantly been working to remove friction and enable secure and seamless transactions.
"With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data, we have been focused on accelerating our e-commerce leadership in the region to make buying secondhand trusted and convenient," Ngoo added.