KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — E-commerce is among reasons why the country's retail growth is not more apparent, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said.
During Question Time in Parliament today, he said the economy was performing well despite claims otherwise.
He said that while physical retail was not doing as well as previously, this was made up by online shopping that recorded 73 billion transactions in 2017.
“So when it is online, it is not recorded in shops, but in the Statistics Department, it will be recorded as 73 billion. That's why when we combine all these, our consumption is still positive,” Johari added.
He said that Malaysia’s retail outlets have also increased in numbers, with approximately 73,000 businesses recorded as of last year, compared to 66,000 in 2016.
This, he said, created heightened competition.
“Meaning the number of retail outlets has increased. So when they increase, they will cannibalise each other. Secondly, if we observe the expenditure of people today, last time, people rarely buy things online, and now people do,” he said.
On Malaysians’ spending pattern, Johari said that the spending quantum of Malaysians who travel overseas had also increased in 2016, with RM46 billion spent that year, compared to RM41 billion in 2015.
“If the economy is not doing well, I don’t think people can afford to go overseas,” he added.
