Free shipping, knowledgeable staff high on Malaysian consumers' list when shopping online and in-store

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian consumers list free shipping and knowledgeable staff as necessities when shopping online and in-store, respectively, according to the Southeast Asia Retail Report 2024 released recently.

The report, released by Shopify, a global commerce company that provides essential internet infrastructure for commerce, said that the top three must-have considerations among Malaysian consumers for online shopping are free shipping (77 per cent), a convenient mobile application for online shopping (48) and free returns (45).

The top three priorities when shopping in-store are knowledgeable staff (64 per cent), stock availability (62) and personalised service (47).

The report, which surveyed consumers and retailers, also said that 68 per cent of Southeast Asian retailers are placing big bets on social media as they plan to increase investments in social commerce over the next 12 months.

"This dovetails with the finding that social media is now the biggest driver of brand and product discovery in Southeast Asia, with more than four in five consumers or 82 per cent discovering new products through social media,” Shopify said.

Social commerce platforms are seeing staggering growth in the region, with platforms like TikTok projected to grow their user base in Asia-Pacific by 11.3 per cent in 2024.

In line with this, 39 per cent of retailers surveyed for Shopify’s report said social media engagement is one of the most crucial metrics for determining the returns on investment (ROI) of commerce infrastructure, ranking just behind profit margin (44 per cent).

"Given the economic climate, customers have become more discerning and selective with how they spend their money,” Eugene Chua, executive head of Global E-Commerce and Sales at Secretlab, a Shopify client, said in the report. "Social media continues to play a big role as a platform of discovery and in influencing customer’s decisions,” he added.

The report said that a unique challenge for retailers is that when it comes to where Southeast Asians like to shop, over half (52 per cent) of the people surveyed said they prefer shopping online.

Given that technology is set to reshape the retail landscape, an overwhelming majority (93 per cent) of retailers believe that a chief technology officer will contribute to the evolution and revenue growth of the business, the report said, adding that the CTO would be the new powerhouse player for retail. - BERNAMA