KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's e-commerce outlook remains positive backed by the growth of consumer online spending.
According to Meta and Bain & Company's annual SYNC Southeast Asia (SEA) report, the region was expected to perform better than global peers in longer term growth prospects in spite of a speed bump in gross merchandise volume (GMV) growth owing to supply chain and inflationary pressures.
In Malaysia, the report said overall digital shopping outlook remained positive, with GMV still expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11 per cent from 2022 to 2027.
"This is largely driven by the steady growth of Malaysia's digital consumer population.
"This was the highest among Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam with 25 million digital consumers accounting for 99 per cent of the 15-year-olds and above population," it said.
Meta Malaysia country director Nicole Tan said online shopping in Malaysia remained an important channel for shoppers in the entire consumer journey, even though the company sees consumers are back at physical stores.
"Businesses and brands can leverage these opportunities to provide a seamless and integrated shopping experience.
"That will let them tread fluidly between online and offline in an endemic world," said Tan.
The report also showed that the desire for more experimentation and engagement had prompted the rise of business messaging and video consumption in the digital shopping space.
It said Malaysians were shopping on more platforms than ever before where the average number of online platforms used per person saw a 1.9 times growth from 2021 to 2022.
"As Malaysians digital consumers get savvier in the way they approach shopping experiences, it leads to an alternative e-commerce rise.
"Social media dominates within the realm of alternative eCommerce, representing 61 per cent of the share of online spending through live buying, 34 per cent of the share through classifieds, and 36 per cent through business messaging," it said.
The report also showed that the creator economy in Malaysia was on the rise as consumers seek more engagement in their purchase journey, which was key in driving the shift to video.
Globally, SEA sees a higher penetration of e-Wallets, cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens compared to most other markets such as China, the United States, Europe and Japan.
Seven in 10 respondents in Southeast Asia have tried a metaverse-related tech in the past year.
Within the region, the adoption of future tech varies by market with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam being the faster-adopting markets among their peers.
Fintech in the region is receiving more investments, while healthtech and edtech are still nascent.
Singapore and Indonesia account for the majority of private equity and venture capital investment deal value in SEA.