As we approach the end of 2023, we find ourselves at a unique point in Malaysian times where rapid technological advancements are accompanied by evolving consumer behaviors in a year where Malaysian consumer confidence has risen to new heights.
With Malaysians experiencing better financial well-being in recent times and having a positive outlook for their own finances in the coming year, the time is ripe for businesses looking to expand their revenue and bring in new customers. However, doing so requires an understanding of the purchasing behavior of Malaysian consumers so that your business can formulate effective strategies suited to your target customers and the landscape of the current market. We dove deep into the purchasing behaviors of Malaysians over the past 3 months in 3 major product categories to see exactly what we could find.
The Purchaser Profile of the Past 3 Months
When looking at how age affects the purchasing of certain product categories, we see that buyers of groceries and personal care products generally fall within a similar age range. For these categories, there was a similar percentage of buyers across all 4 age groups with the average age of purchasers coming out to an average of 35.8 years for groceries and 33.8 years for personal care products.
Buyers of tech devices typically fall into a slightly older age bracket, with 35% of purchasers falling under the 40-54 years old age bracket which was significantly higher than the percentage of purchasers for that age group under groceries and personal care products. This trend aligns with the higher average monthly household income (MHI) associated with these individuals, as older individuals generally have higher salaries on average compared to their younger counterparts. This correlation makes sense considering that tech devices generally come with higher price tags, and older individuals have a higher MHI on average, and hence have more disposable income available to spend on new tech devices.
When it comes to gender, we see that the groceries category has a relatively balanced gender distribution with the percentages being split almost equally between male and female buyers. On the other hand, the percentage for personal care products was skewed towards female buyers at 61%, which is in line with the nature of the products and the tendency for the female demographic to spend more money on personal care products on average. Meanwhile, the opposite was true for the category of tech devices, with this category skewed even further towards male buyers at 65%. This is in line with a higher percentage of the male demographic displaying an interest or having a hobby related to tech devices in general.
Incidence of Online and Offline Purchases
When looking at the breakdown of whether buyers chose to purchase their goods online or offline, a notable trend emerges in the purchasing behavior of groceries and personal care products. For these categories, a combined total of nearly 90% of those buyers make their purchases offline (in-store), with only 1 in 10 indicating a preference for online purchases.
When it comes to tech devices however, the incidence of online purchases is much more prominent, with 34% of buyers stating that they had a preference for buying online, which was not far off from the 40% of buyers who stated that they had a preference for only buying offline.
These patterns indicate a preference for in-store purchases when it comes to fast-moving goods that are consumed on a day-to-day basis and need to be repurchased often such as food and toiletries. However, for significant purchases such as tech devices, consumers tend to favor online transactions. This might be due to consumers wanting to search for the best deals online as tech devices tend to be significantly more expensive than items in the other two categories. Since online platforms provide an easier way for customers to explore more deals, product choices and purchasing options, they could be seen as more desirable compared to the inconvenience of having to go to multiple physical shops.
Payment Methods for Groceries
Digital payments are currently the leading choice of payments when purchasing groceries online, being used by 92% of buyers while cash is the preferred payment method for offline (in-store) purchases. However, digital payments are still not far behind cash even in an offline setting, with 80% of buyers using cash and 70% of buyers using digital payments.
Examining digital payment preferences, it is evident that debit cards are the favored method for purchasing groceries in both online and offline settings, while e-wallets also see a decent amount of usage as the 2nd most popular digital payment option in offline settings.
Payment Methods for Personal Care Products
The payment methods for personal care products show a similar trend to groceries, with digital payment methods taking precedence for online transactions, while cash is the preferred choice for offline transactions.
The difference here comes from the most used digital payment method for online purchases, with bank transfer being the most popular digital payment option for online purchases at 47%.
Payment Methods for Tech Devices
With tech devices, we now see a different trend from the previous two categories, with digital payment methods dominating both online and offline purchases. This preference can be attributed to the higher average price point of tech products, making digital payments a far more practical choice compared to having to carry large sums of cash in order to make your purchase.
Looking at the most preferred method for digital payments, the usage of debit cards still significantly surpasses other payment methods for tech device purchases, being used by 51% for online purchases and 61% for offline purchases.
Frequency of Promotion-Searching
When it comes to attitudes towards promotions, consumers show a greater inclination to seek deals while shopping online than when making offline purchases across all three categories. This goes back to the convenience that shopping online provides when it comes to being able to search for different shops and buying options and compare deals. The convenience of online promotion searching is such that even though there were instances of people stating that they never looked for promotions when purchasing groceries or tech devices offline, all buyers who have purchased goods online from any of the three categories have searched for promotions on at least one occasion.
Want to dive even deeper into the purchasing behaviors of Malaysians to gain the edge in your market? Feel free to contact us at theteam@oppotus.com
