AT Kearney, the management consulting company, has just released its 2017 Global Retail Development Index in which it expects the Malaysian ecommerce market to grow by 23% year on year until 2021. The company also ranks Malaysia in 3rd place among the top 30 developing countries for retail investment, behind China and India.
Figures from on a government-backed investment plan of USD 280 million to roll out high speed broadband infrastructure to rural areas have been used as the basis of the report. The plan was initiated in 2016 and is expected to be a core for the ecommerce expansion in Malaysia.
Malaysia’s increasing higher disposable income, as well as the government’s investment in infrastructure (growing retail growth in the tourism sector) is another set of key factors. In 2016, the country’s retail industry grew by 3.8% thanks to a 6.1% increase in private consumption.
The company also highlighted Malaysia’s plan to become a cross-border ecommerce hub with the opening of the first Digital Free Trade Zone in partnership with Alibaba, which will allow SMEs to process their online transactions through the Chinese group.