DOSM Reports Surge in Retail Trade Growth

DOSM: Malaysia's Wholesale And Retail Sales Hit RM156.3 Billion In February

Christina Chandra

13th April 2026 - 4 min read

Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade reached RM156.3 billion that month, 5.3% more than the same period last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). Retail trade, which covers what consumers buy directly, like groceries, clothing, and fuel, posted stronger gains than wholesale trade, which covers goods sold between businesses before they reach shoppers.

The month happened to concentrate several major spending drivers into a single window, with Chinese New Year, the one-off Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) cash disbursement, the upward revision in civil servants’ salaries, and early Ramadan preparations all falling within the same reporting period. That combination means the numbers look stronger than what a normal February would produce.

Everyday Spending Led The Retail Increase

Retail trade came in at RM70.1 billion for the month, up 7.7% from a year ago. The biggest jump was in non-specialised stores, which covers the supermarkets, provision stores, and mini markets most people shop at regularly. That segment grew 10.4% to RM27.6 billion, a figure that lines up with how packed the aisles tend to get during Chinese New Year and in the weeks before Ramadan.

Specialised stores, covering pharmacies, clothing outlets, and jewellery shops, grew 7.4% to RM14.8 billion. Retail sales of food, beverages, and tobacco rose 7.7% to RM4.5 billion, with stronger purchases of meat, fish, and seafood, while automotive fuel retail grew 6.2% to RM6.3 billion.

Wholesale Trade Held Steady Across Most Categories

On the wholesale side, trade recorded RM69.5 billion in sales, up 5.7% from a year ago. Household goods wholesale grew 9.6% to RM15.0 billion, with stronger sales of pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetics, toiletries, and furniture. Food, beverages, and tobacco wholesale rose 5.7%, while the other specialised wholesale group grew 3.7% to RM25.6 billion on stronger demand for fertilisers and metal-related products.

Car Sales Slumped

While most categories posted gains, car sales bucked the trend. The motor vehicles sub-sector recorded total sales of RM16.7 billion, down RM0.9 billion from the previous year, with vehicle sales specifically falling 17.1% to RM7.3 billion. DOSM noted this was consistent with Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) data showing 52,414 units sold in February, alongside 56,690 vehicle registrations recorded by the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

The rest of the sub-sector held up, with parts and accessories up 6.6%, maintenance and repair services up 9.5%, and motorcycle-related sales up 0.7%.

Malaysians Are Paying Differently, Not Just Spending More

The shift toward cashless payments continued in February, with e-money transactions reaching RM30.2 billion, up 74.8% from a year ago.

The Real-time Retail Payments Platform (RPP), which handles instant bank transfers like DuitNow, processed RM323.8 billion in total transactions, up 29.4%. Financial Process Exchange (FPX), the system behind online banking payments at checkout, grew 23.3% to RM40.6 billion. Credit card and debit card transactions came in at RM18.2 billion and RM13.5 billion respectively, while online retail sales grew 5.8% from a year ago.

What DOSM’s Report Says About Your Spending

Much of what drove February’s figures came down to timing. The SARA payout, the civil servants’ salary revision, Chinese New Year, and pre-Ramadan preparations all happened in the same month, compressing spending that would otherwise have spread across a longer period. If your grocery bill felt heavier than usual in February, that is partly why.

Regarding supermarket and food spending a good portion of that activity was seasonal or tied to one-off payments. If you received the SARA payout or a salary adjustment, some of that likely went straight into daily essentials rather than representing a permanent shift in what you can comfortably spend each month.

The dip in car sales reflects something different. Buying a car means committing to a loan and years of repayments, and that kind of decision did not move with the festive mood. A temporary cash boost rarely changes whether a hire purchase feels manageable over the long run.

The digital payment figures sit in a different category entirely. If you have been reaching for your phone to pay instead of your wallet, you are already part of a shift that has been building for years. At nearly RM30 billion in e-money transactions in a single month, that habit is not reversing anytime soon.

Christina Chandra

Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.

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