Malaysia E-Commerce Market Yet To Reach Full Potential, Says iCommerce

By Massita Ahmad SINGAPORE, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia e-commerce market has not reached its maximum potential, says iCommerce Asia's Founder and Managing Director, Syed Ali Ridha Madihid. "The majority of e-commerce transactions in Malaysia happen in the Klang Valley, followed by states of Penang and Johor. However, there is a massive potential market outside those states, especially in east Malaysian states, Sabah and Sarawak," he said in an email interview with Bernama. However, Syed Ali said, the challenge now is to educate the market on how to use e-commerce and reap its benefits. He noted that although the logistics in Malaysia require further improvements, the country's service providers are going in the right direction, citing POS Laju's significant progress in beefing up its supply chain channel, operations and technology to support the burgeoning e-commerce market. Syed Ali was responding to a question on Malaysia's e-commerce developments and trends compared to Singapore's. The island republic's e-commerce market is expected to exceed S$7 billion (S$1 = RM3) in 2025. In spite of the close proximity, both countries' e-commerce markets are unique in their own right, he said, noting that Singapore's geographical size makes it easier to operate an e-commerce website than in other ASEAN countries. "The uptake for e-commerce is also higher vis-à-vis population size, and the consumer market may be deemed much more mature. "This has led to e-commerce becoming part of the consumer lifestyle now," he said. However, he said, the geographical size also limits the market potential and as such, many e-commerce brands established in Singapore are looking at adjacent markets for growth, with the obvious target being Malaysia due to the close geographical proximity. On Aug 19, Singapore supply chain management group iCommerce Asia officially announced its foray into Southeast Asia's e-commerce industry with its one-stop integrated e-commerce solutions platform. Syed Ali launched the company in April 2016 with only S$300,000 in funds from angel investors after discovering how difficult it was to create a professional online store. iCommerce Asia aims to provide businesses with hassle-free solutions through its expertise in areas ranging from logistics to warehouse storage, order management, social media marketing and strategy consulting through its all-in-one comprehensive platform. POS Laju is a local and global delivery tracking system for Malaysia. --BERNAMA