THE way Malaysians shop inline has indeed changed over the past one year. Based on a survey recently carried out by ShopBack Malaysia revealed that Malaysian shoppers are becoming even more budget-conscious.
The survey, which was participated by 2,408 Malaysians revealed that 94 percent of them said they compare the prices of an item across different websites and marketplaces before making a purchase. Among these, 75 percent said they spend more time comparing product prices now, compared to last year.
“It indicates cost-saving is the priority of consumers; they are willing to invest more time to manoeuvre among tons of online offers to get the best deals,” said ShopBack Malaysia’s country general manager, Eddy Han.
Besides that, the survey also indicates that on average, shoppers spend over 30 minutes comparing prices, with 16 percent indicating that they usually spend 90 minutes or more.
“The rapid growth of online shopping and challenging economic outlook in 2020 and 2021 has brought about a new era of value-consciousness, and this trend will continue to grow even as economies stagger out of the tough situation. This environment will see a fair share of shoppers retain their ‘value mindset’ with an increased preference to hunt for the best deals and best ways to stack their savings,” said Han.
“Merchants and brands are adjusting to this by exploring newer formats of sales including more mega sales days such as 2.2, 3.3, creative promotional mechanics (e.g. in-store flash sale, games), and more,” he added.
Another finding gathered from the survey indicates that shoppers want high quality products with affordable pricing and good reviews.
“This used to sound too good to be true, but the competitive landscape of online shopping is raising the bar higher. Locals are seeking for Peng, Leng, Zeng (Cantonese, means affordable and high quality) items. Sellers have to make sure their products fulfil these criteria if they want to stay ahead,” said Han.
Ninety-four percent of the respondents said both pricing and high quality (products) are the top influential factors during their decision-making process, and 88 percent read customer reviews before they make a decision, while 57 percent said customer service performance will influence their buying decisions.
Shoppers’ loyalty
ShopBack said shoppers are loyal to their wallet, not platform.
Shoppers don’t stick with just one platform. They choose to make purchases anywhere that can fulfil their needs, and have no problem changing it from one to another.
Close to 80 percent of the respondents said they did purchase from another platform than their usual shopping website/marketplace last year, and the top reasons include ‘cheaper products’ (73 percent), ‘wider selection’ (47 percent), and ‘platform is easier to use’ (40 percent).
When choosing the sources of inspiration for online purchases; 70 percent of the respondents said the ideas came from online advertisements, 60 percent expressed they were inspired by social media influencers and personalities, and more than 50 percent of them got the ideas from brands’ social media content.
Social commerce is growing
The movement restrictions order has not only accelerated the growth of online shopping but also social commerce (buy and sell via social media apps or platforms such as FB marketplace or pages, IG shop or pages, Whatsapp DMs, etc) in the country.
“With the increase of screen time and social media usage over the past year, retailers and sellers have been revising their targeting strategy, which results in a commendable social commerce growth last year,” said Han.
More than 50 percent of the respondents bought products directly from a brand through its social media channels, such as Instagram/Facebook shops, direct-messages via chat apps in 2020. The majority of them are from 18 to 44 years old.
Among these, 65 percent of them made more of these purchases compared to 2019
Besides that, brand values are also said to affect customer advocacy and sales.
“While price remains the main concern for online purchases, shoppers are becoming conscious of the brands that they support. They understand a brand’s identity and offerings through their social media channels and customer service, and they are more keen to support products/services which align with their personal values,” said Han.
Sixty-seven percent of the respondents expressed they have stopped using products/services from a brand that violated their personal values.
Furthermore, more than half of the respondents are willing to pay more for an eco- friendly product or product of a brand that contributes to social/charitable causes. Among these, 50 percent of them expressed they can fork out an extra 50 percent, on average, with 12 percent would pay a 100 percent premium. The majority are aged from 18 to 44 years old.
On the other hand, shoppers under 18 years old said it doesn’t matter to them, whether the brand or product is eco-friendly.
As their top cashback partner, Han said ShopBack Malaysia constantly helps to grow merchants’ businesses by strategising a rewarding shopping journey based on our up-to-date understanding of shoppers preference, while giving the best returns and value deals (epic cashback, promo codes) for users to gain their bank savings.
Source:
NST