Internet traffic increased by 91.7% in 2020, and Malaysia's e-commerce boom continues to be hot

According to the Statistics Department, the usage of mobile phones and computers among Malaysian households increased to 98.6% and 77.6% respectively in 2020 .

Moreover, in Malaysia, the most popular Internet activity is participating in social networks. In 2020, Malaysia's Internet access increased by 91.7% .

During the pandemic, Malaysian users engaged in services related to e-health , e-government , e-commerce, and entertainment including :

Order goods or services online , seek health information , use online banking , take an informal online course, take a formal online course, purchase goods or services through e-commerce .

On the other hand, the proportion of consumers purchasing goods or services through e-commerce platforms such as Shopee , Lazada and Grab increased from 35.2% in 2019 to 45.0% in 2020 .

A whopping 61.9% of Malaysians used online banking services in 2020, compared to 50.5% in 2019 (+11.4 percentage points).

During the pandemic, the proportion of ordering goods or services online, such as through Whatsapp and Facebook, increased from 22.5% in 2019 to 54.4% in 2020 (+31.9 percentage points).

The proportion of using the Internet to search for health-related information or services increased by 12.0 percentage points, among which 61.9% of Internet users were searching for health-related information or services, compared with 45.2% in 2019.

The number of people watching TV online increased from 47.8% in 2019 to 55.5% in 2020 (+7.7 percentage points). The proportion of Internet users who obtain information from government organizations through e-government platforms also increased from 45.5% in 2019 to 52.9% last year, an increase of 7.4 percentage points.

It can also be seen from these data that the Internet penetration rate in Malaysia is high and the increase in the Internet penetration rate has also laid a good foundation for the development of e-commerce in Malaysia.

The need to utilize e-commerce as a social alternative to meet people’s needs continues to increase, especially during the pandemic. The increase in e-commerce users today has also encouraged merchants to grow their business through e-commerce , whether it is entrepreneurs from the MSME sector or well-known brands.

Cross-border e-commerce market

Southeast Asia