LETTERS: The pandemic has changed consumer behaviour towards online shopping.
Online shopping is part and parcel of the new norm.
It offers convenience and many choices at a fraction of the time and effort.
The rise of online shopping can also be attributed to large e-business sites, such as Lazada, Shopee, Taobao, Amazon, Mudah and Carousell.
Lazada Malaysia reported a 300 per cent increase in the number of new online sellers since the start of the pandemic.
A Juwai IQI survey reported that 57 per cent of Malaysians were spending more time shopping online than before the pandemic.
Bank Negara reported that online retail sales nearly doubled during the pandemic.
In a survey conducted on students' behaviour towards online shopping at a local university, almost half of them preferred buying beauty products, fashion-related products, games and books online.
The students gave reasons for their preferences, which included time savings, comparisons can be made, shopping can be done throughout the day, stress releaser and lower prices.
However, the study also found that 59 per cent of them were wary of online fraud, 75 per cent were wary of the hassle in the shipment of goods, 87.5 per cent felt the lack of "feel" for the merchandise, and 75 per cent encountered difficulties when returning goods.
So while online shopping is popular, there are improvements that can be done for a better online shopping experience, especially in delivery and shipment, and there should be measures to control online fraud.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR SOO KUM YOKE
Academy of Language Studies,
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Negri Sembilan branch campus
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times