COVID-19: Online Retailing Could be the New Permanent Normal in Malaysia Says Finance Minster

Speaking at an exclusive interview on Bernama TV, Malaysia’s Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz stated that as the country opens up for business activity, the retail sector was looking at a new normal.

According to the Finance Minister (FM), since the imposition of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March 2020 amidst COVID-19, there has been a 40% increase in online sales of fast-moving consumer goods in Malaysia. He noted that Malaysia is a consumer-driven nation, reliant on consumer spending for its economic growth.

Given this, the FM stressed that the retail sector needed to understand how consumer behavior has changed since the MCO, with consumers having adapted to online buying, and new buyers now accounting for 40% of all online sales. In a...