CPA Australia: Digital transformation and e-commerce growth are the trends for Malaysian businesses

The report said 2020 was a weaker year of growth for small businesses in Malaysia compared to 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 51.0% in 2020, lower than 67.7% in 2019.

Compared with other ASEAN countries, this figure is better than Singapore (growth rate of 35.5%), but lower than Vietnam (63.2%) , the Philippines ( 61.7%) and Indonesia (57.5%).

Judging from the current development and growth rate, 2021 will be a year of faster growth for small businesses in Malaysia, with 66.6% of businesses expected to grow beyond expectations .

For the country's businesses, many small businesses have characteristics that are very relevant to growth, including innovation , e-commerce , employees and development strategies.

Among them, enterprise digitalization and e-commerce growth will be a major trend in the country's business development, which will enable Malaysia to recover from the epidemic and grow in the second half of 2021.

One of the factors driving the development of small businesses in Malaysia is their relatively extensive use of digital technology , and online sales are becoming increasingly important for small businesses in Malaysia.

In 2020, 63.9% earned more than 10% of their income from online sales, up from 47.5 % in 2019.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a catalyst for the growth of online sales , with 40.4% of small businesses in Malaysia starting or increasing their focus on online sales .

Additionally, most small businesses in Malaysia offer customers the option of paying via new digital and mobile payment technologies, such as Alipay , PayPal and iPay88. 52.5% receive more than 10% of their sales through this technology .

Cash remains a very important payment method for small businesses in Malaysia, though . 61.6% said it accounted for 50% or more of sales in 2020, well above the survey average of 46.4%.

Given the wide range of industries represented in the Malaysian survey, it can be assumed that many B2B transactions are completed in cash.

Moreover, small businesses in Malaysia take cybersecurity more seriously , with 44.4% reviewing their cybersecurity measures in the past six months , and 46.7% expecting their business to be subject to a cyber attack in 2021.

By 2020 , 42.4% of small businesses in Malaysia had increased their investment and use of technology, and currently, these businesses are profitable.

Cross-border e-commerce market

Southeast Asia