Consumer Profile - Malasya

Consumer Lifestyles in Malaysia
Consumer Lifestyles | 06 Jul 2011
Shopping for Food and Drinks

Consumer expenditure on food grew by a significant 17.6% (in real terms) during the review period,reaching RM44.1 billion in 2010. Of
this, consumer expenditure on fish and seafood accounted for 27.7% of total expenditure on food, increasing by 18.5% during the review
period and reaching RM12.2billion in 2010. Rising disposable incomes and increasing affluence has increased the appetite of Malaysian
consumers for fish and seafood, two types of fresh food which are typically more expensivein Malaysia than others. This was followed by
consumer expenditure on meat which accounted for 18.6% of total expenditure on food, growing by 18.5% during the review period to
reach RM8.2 million.Again, this growth in spending was a reflection of the increased ability of Malaysian consumers to afford to buy
better food.
Hypermarkets are common in major Malaysian cities as well as in certainrural regions and smaller towns. They are the favoured retail
channel for food and drink among Malaysian consumers due to the vast selection of products on offer, the convenience and comfort ofshopping in their clean and modern environments and, very significantly, their low prices. Thanks to the growing number of outlets and
their proximity to major residential hubs, hypermarkets areincreasingly taking over the role once held by supermarkets in Malaysia. In
2010, hypermarkets accounted for 42.6% of all value sales in the grocery retail market in the country. Tesco, Carrefour, Mydin andGiant
are the hypermarket chains that dominate the distribution channel.
The wide reach and popularity of hypermarkets has helped popularize retailing concepts such as loyalty cards and no-frills andprivate
label brands. For example, both Tesco and Carrefour have their own point-based loyalty card program that gives consumers the
incentive to return to their stores. Major hypermarket and...