KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Shopping, a favourite lifestyle past-time, is different today compared to a decade ago following the rise of e-commerce.

With another decade starting, Malay Mail takes a look back at the shopping habits of Malaysians in 2019, in particular online shopping, with data provided by two of Malaysia’s largest e-commerce websites, Shopee Malaysia and Lazada Malaysia.

Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho said Selangor dominated the list of top purchasing states in the country followed by Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang for 2019.

"We recorded stellar performance on all fronts of our business during the first half of 2019, which was supported by increased shopping activities particularly during Chinese New Year and Hari Raya.

"The second half of the year recorded robust shopping activities driven by regional and global online shopping festivals — 9.9, 11.11 and 12.12,” he said in an email statement.

Among the top keyword searches by the four states were: powerbank (Selangor), kasut or shoes (KL), blouse (Johor) and smart watch (Penang).

The following is the list of top products sold in each region throughout the country: sports wristband (central), Milo powder (northern), baby diapers (east), sling bag and blouses (south) and powerbank (East Malaysia).

For Lazada Malaysia, the list of top products sold in each region throughout the country in 2019 were washing machines (central), detox foot patches (northern), car wash towels (east), disposable diaper dispenser plastic bags (south) and softcover photo books (east Malaysia).

Malaysians love their footwear and their Milo

One thing is for certain, we Malaysians love our footwear and Milo powder.

Shopee’s Ho revealed that shoes topped the chart of most-sold items under its fashion category in 2019, followed by dress and trousers.

The high number of shoe purchases is also reflected in the top purchase list of products under the lifestyle category where shoe storage boxes came in first place among the top three.

Shoes, in particular women’s sports shoes, even made it to the top three products purchased in the East Coast of peninsula Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Malaysians’ favourite chocolate and malt powder brand Milo came in first in the list of overall most-purchased product under the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) category, followed by diapers and lipsticks.

Milo was also listed among the top three products for both the Central Region and the Northern Region throughout 2019.

Ho said most of the items under the FMCG and lifestyle categories were purchased by working adults aged between 20 and 49.

"Trendy teenagers and young adults seek after products such as wireless Bluetooth earphones, sneakers, sunglasses, clothing, watches and wearables. Basically, going along with fast fashion and new trends that are driven by social media.

"Working adults tend to buy more household items and necessities such as Milo, detergent, storage boxes and diapers,” he said.

According to Lazada Malaysia’s data, Home and Lifestyle products topped the list of categories whose items were purchased the most.

This was followed by accessories (electronic and fashion), health and beauty and fashion (men and women).

Gender and age buying trends

According to Ho, male users were seen to be more keen on shopping for mobile gadgets and tech accessories as compared to their female counterparts.

"There has always been a general association between women and shopping.

"However, in 2019, we found that more males have jumped on the bandwagon to shop online, with keywords such as powerbank, speaker, earphones and iPhone being searched for over 2.9 million times in total during our 11.11 Big Sale,” he said.

Among the top products purchased by male users were wireless earbuds (overall top product purchased under the Electronics category), powerbanks, motor oil filters, T-shirts, dishwashing liquid and mops.

As for the ladies, they were seen to be mostly searching for blouses, bags and shoes, including more frequent purchases from the Groceries & Pets, Women’s Clothing and Health & Beauty categories.

"They were looking for products such as lipsticks and facial masks, household products such as laundry detergent and shoe storage boxes, as well as fashion products such as dresses and shoes,” Ho added.

As for those over 50, Ho said health-related items were most sought-after apart from basic necessities.

Record-breaking feats

Ho said Shopee achieved consecutive records in their three major sales in September (9.9), November (11.11) and December (12.12) in 2019 — a testament to the success of its campaigns and increased confidence in online shopping across Malaysia.

"On 9.9, Shopee recorded three times the number of orders as compared to 2018. At its peak, 187,606 items were sold in a minute.

"On 11.11, we sold 70 million items in a single day with three times more orders recorded in the first hour compared to 2018.

"On 12.12, Shopee achieved a record-breaking performance with 80 million items sold. On this day, the total number of diapers sold could last a baby for 12,002 years,” he said.