PayPal: Overseas Online Shopping Continues to Soar in Malaysia this Festive Season

Local shoppers set to take advantage of the year-end online shopping rush this year, as PayPal data reveals peak of 6 transactions per minute last year.

Malaysia, 27 November 2013 – The end-year holidays are once again upon us, and increasingly, more Malaysia shoppers are flocking online to get their gifts for their loved ones. For a wider variety of choices, and items not found locally, many look beyond Malaysia’s shores for their online shopping needs. Between October and December, a traditional festive shopping rush period around the world, PayPal observed a 28% year-on-year increase in purchases made by online shoppers in Malaysia from overseas sellers in 2012, compared to the same period in 2011.

The most popular buying categories for last year’s festive shopping season were Fashion, Auto parts, Toys, Travel and Sports Equipment.  The top five countries that Malaysia online shoppers bought from were United States, China, Great Britain, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The fever surrounding Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a traditionally US-celebrated weekend shopping sale in late November, has also continued to captivate Malaysia online shoppers, with sales from US merchants during this period increasing by 24% from 2011 to 2012. The Black Friday weekend last year also saw a 12% increase in sales from Malaysia buyers from the weekend before. The busiest day for Malaysia online shoppers last year during the festive season was recorded on 11 December 2012, where Malaysia buyers were shopping at a rate of 6 transactions per minute from overseas websites.

Audrey Ottevanger, Country Manager for Malaysia & the Philippines, PayPal said, ”The festive season is a great time for local shoppers to get gifts for their family and friends online, with merchants around the world offering massive discounts. There is no better time to shop, especially with the Black Friday and Cyber Monday super sales just around the corner, which Malaysians can enjoy from the comfort of their homes.”

She added, “In addition to the offers and the wide variety of goods found online, with PayPal’s Buyer Protection policy* online shoppers have a more enjoyable online shopping experience this holidays, knowing that we keep them protected while they shop the world online.”

PayPal has launched a holiday shopping microsite http://www.paypal.com.sg/ppwish/where-to-shop to help shoppers in Malaysia find holiday gifts and deals from retailers around the world who accept PayPal.