The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has reported that the online retail sales index, which portrays e-commerce activity, continues to surge in 2021 after seeing growth in 2020 compared to 2019.

This year, the online retail sales index recorded a 28.7% growth year-on-year for January and 23.1% growth year-on-year for February. “For March 2021, the online retail sales index continued to surge to record 18.3% growth year-on-year,” said DOSM chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

May 2020, which was the Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri period for last year, recorded the highest online retail sales index, with 39.3% growth year-on-year and a 9.3% growth month-on-month.

This year will mark the second year in a row that Malaysians will celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri during the pandemic. During both Ramadan 2020 and this year, baju raya was the top search on local e-commerce sites.

“This year, Malaysians continued to search for new Raya attire online as they are able to make price comparisons from the comfort of their homes,” said Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho. Hygiene products also continue to see high demand as part of the ongoing precautionary measures against the spread of Covid-19.

For Ramadan 2020, the top searches on Shopee were Raya clothes, air fryers, and wallpapers. “The ban on interstate travel during that period triggered Malaysians to look for home improvement products like wallpaper to spruce up their homes for the upcoming festive celebration,” said Ho. “As for cookware, many people searched for cooking appliances and one of the most searched items by Malaysians was air fryers.”

Similarly, the most searched Raya items on Lazada for Ramadan 2020 were baju raya, modern baju kurung, and telekung. During the first week of Ramadan this year, the most searched Raya items on Lazada were modern baju kurung, women’s baju raya, and men’s baju Melayu.

(Source: The Star)

• TAGS:
• Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin
• Department of Statistics Malaysia
• DOSM
• E-Commerce
• E-Commerce Platforms
• Hari Raya
• Hari Raya Aidilfitri
• Lazada
• Ramadan
• Shopee