E-commerce market value in Malaysia 2016-2021

The e-commerce market value in Malaysia was estimated at 28.5 billion Malaysian ringgit in 2021. This was approximately a 10.7 percent increase compared to 2020, when the e-commerce value was at 25.7 billion Malaysian ringgit. The value of e-commerce in the country has increased by nearly threefold since 2016.

Online shopping behavior

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malaysian government imposed the Movement Control Order (MCO), which drove consumers to shop online instead of at physical stores. Malaysia’s high internet penetration rate also became a factor that contributed to the rise of the e-commerce industry. The share of online shoppers in Malaysia gradually increased from the second quarter of 2020. The majority of consumers also admitted that the pandemic had changed their shopping habits, especially the frequency of making online purchases.

Popularity of e-commerce marketplaces

The increasing value of the e-commerce market was also caused by the popularity of online marketplaces. The leading e-commerce sites in Malaysia, like Shopee, Lazada, and PG Mall, received millions of clicks monthly. The gross merchandise value (GMV) of the Malaysian e-commerce market, or the total value of merchandise sold in C2C exchange sites, is expected to increase by at least 35 percent by 2025.