Malaysians spending up online, says iPay88

Despite a sluggish economy, Malaysians are buying online more than ever, according to payment service provider iPay88.

A subsidiary of Japanese company NTT Data, iPay88 claims to cover 70 per cent of Malaysia’s e-commerce market. It recorded 38.2 million online transactions via its payment gateway systems last year, a leap of 161 per cent from 14.6 million in 2015.

Executive director Lim Kok Hing says e-commerce and online purchases soared by 210 per cent last year, mainly because of convenience and the ability to find better deals online.

Transactional data from iPay88 shows that the volume of marketplace shopping for the first quarter of this year grew by 293 per cent, with purchases mainly being online games, ticketing, and fashion and apparel.

While the type of goods being bought online have not changed, people are spending more online. Main purchases include apparel and footwear (RM25.3 million, or US$5.7 million), accessories and jewellery (RM5.1 million), and electronics and sports equipment (RM3.3 million).

An interesting trend noted by iPay88 is that online shopping spikes during week days, with the two daily peak times being 11am to 3pm, and 7pm to 11pm. The most popular days for shopping are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Set up in 2006 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, iPay88 has also established a presence in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.