Malaysia

While demand for wearable electronics remains relatively limited, it is expanding rapidly, with retail constant value sales rising by more than a fifth during 2022. Smart wearables dominate, but activity wearables and digital activity watches are…

Having plunged by more than a quarter during 2020 due to pandemic restrictions and the economic shock that they engendered, retail constant value sales (2022 prices) of luxury goods began to rebound in 2021, with this trend continuing into 2022.…

Wheat beer saw total volumes stagnate in 2021 following a marked fall in volume sales in the previous year. During the year, the category benefited from the increased availability of products such as Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc, as well as the…

With life expected to resume a more hectic pace and consumers set to return to their workplaces in 2022, consumers will spend less time with their pets. As such, they are likely to increase their purchases of toys (in other pet products) and other…

Overall skin care recorded a positive performance in 2021, with many of the products deemed to be an essential part of consumers’ beauty routines, particularly moisturisers and treatments. COVID-19 related restrictions remained in place in the first…

In 2021, as COVID-19 related restrictions were gradually relaxed, local consumers gradually returned to working and socialising outside of the home environment, which drove up stronger growth rates for hair care. While colourants portrayed positive…

The one of the most obvious and serious consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the Malaysian population has been the adverse and uncertain economic situation that has unfolded due to the interruption that the pandemic caused to the commercial…

Consumer demand changed focus as a result of COVID-19 in 2021. Notably, there was considerably lower demand for formal footwear in 2021, such as dress shoes made from leather and women’s high heels typically worn to work. Such footwear was least…

During 2020, retail current value sales of shoe polish declined for the first time in well over a decade. With consumers socialising less frequently due to the pandemic and many working from home, they were wearing leather footwear less frequently.…

The rate of growth in retail current value sales of laundry care accelerated during 2020 and remained elevated in 2021. During 2020, the fact that many local consumers were washing their clothes more frequently in an effort to reduce their risk of…

Consumers in Malaysia tend to prefer standard mints to boiled sweets, due to the mint flavour being widely popular in the country. Players in standard mints also offers larger pack sizes for home consumption, which are available through both…

The significant increase in the amount of time consumers spent at home and the restrictions placed on consumer foodservice operations led to a considerable increase in home cooking and at-home dining during the pandemic years. With takeaway food not…

The COVID-19 lockdowns have had a strong positive effect on the gardening category in Malaysia, boosting demand as consumers spend more time at home and turn to gardening as a hobby. Multiple lockdowns over 2020 and 2021 have meant that consumers…

Dog food is expected to record a marginally lower rate of retail volume growth in 2022 due to an expected decline in dog adoptions as consumers reconsider the responsibility of owning a pet as the pandemic comes to an end and they prepare for…

In 2021, demand for fragrances in Malaysia demonstrated stronger volume and value growth driven by the mass segment as COVID-19 related restrictions were gradually relaxed and Malaysians gradually returned to the workplace and socialising. Increasing…

In 2021, the easing of COVID-19 related restrictions in the course of the year prompted consumers to look for grooming products, including hair removers/bleachers, women’s razors and blades, as they began spending more time outside and felt the need…

Current value sales growth will accelerate in sanitary protection in Malaysia in 2021. Overall, towels remains the preferred format, accounting for over two thirds of the Malay sales, due to the affordable price range of such products and the…

Full-service restaurants and cafés/bars have been badly hit by the prolonged COVID-19 crisis due to ongoing restrictions on movement, a ban on dining in and a variety of restrictions on standard operating procedures. Along with concerns about…

Direct selling was one of the few retailing categories to buck the negative sales trends that were seen across the Malaysian retailing industry at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020. The category continued to register positive growth in…

Social distancing measures remain in effect in Malaysia in 2021, with consumers forced to avoid spending time outside of the home wherever possible and huge numbers of white-collar professionals, office workers and service industry personnel working…