With its dynamic economy and developed infrastructures for digital technologies, Malaysia is a very attractive market for e-commerce in Southeast Asia. Several websites and digital applications are already present in the Malaysian e-commerce landscape, with some global, regional and national players grabbing their shares.
Well-established as one of the most dynamic digital ecosystems in Southeast Asia, the Malaysian e-commerce market is growing fast. It is growing both in terms of scale and scope: sales volumes and numbers of online shoppers as well as in terms of categories of products being bought online. Though leading actors are already in place, new national and foreign companies are pushing their way into Malaysia’s attractive market.
Top 10 e-commerce websites in Malaysia
Global, regional and national e-commerce websites have already taken the lion’s share of the Malaysian market. Yet, with fast-growing volumes, current actors and newcomers can still change the forces in presence as there is still room for growth to reach Malaysia’s total population of more than 30 million.
Note that this post is part of a series on top e-commerce sites in Southeast Asia:
To give you more perspective on the leaders of Malaysian e-commerce, here are the current top 10 leaders of e-commerce websites in 2019 and their estimated monthly traffic from SimilarWeb from April 2019.
For those who want to go further and expand their e-commerce or Internet business, buy our “succeed online in Malaysia” ebook which will guide you through the Malaysian digital landscape and best practices of digital marketing. You can also purchase our spreadsheet of 400 top blogs of ASEAN-5 to easily find partners for influencer marketing and SEO.
10. Qoo10 Malaysia
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 440,000
Qoo10 is an online marketplace especially developed in women and fashion with a large portfolio of Korean products. Operated by a joint venture with eBay following the acquisition of the South Korean site Gmarket, which rebranded to Qoo10 in 2012, it is present in other Asian markets, especially in Singapore and Japan, and aims at expanding to other Asian countries.
Website: qoo10.my
9. Hermo
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 470,000
Another specialized e-commerce store, Hermo.my is a leader in beauty and cosmetics online retail in Malaysia. Enabling brands to sell directly through its marketplace since 2012, Hermo MY is a Malaysian company operating from Johor Bahru.
Website: hermo.my
8. eBay Malaysia
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 730,000
The Malaysian local site from one of the leaders of e-commerce in America and a global giant of e-commerce, eBay was originally created for consumer-to-consumer sales. Having expanded since into business-to-consumer products and special deals, eBay Malaysia caters to all product categories.
Website: ebay.com.my
7. Go Shop
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 780,000
Go Shop brings its customers a multichannel retail experience, offering home shopping convenience through an online platform and a 24-hour television channel. Go Shop provides a wide range of products including electrical and electronic appliances, home and kitchen products, fitness, beauty, and fashion accessories.
Website: goshop.com.my
6. 11street Malaysia
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 1,350,000
One of the two main challengers of Lazada, 11street is also an online department store providing a marketplace for retailers to sell their products online. Created in 2014, 11street Malaysia is a joint venture between the Malaysian mobile telecommunications group Celcom Axiata and SK Planet, owner of the original 11street site from South Korea.
Website: 11street.my
5. Zalora Malaysia
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 1,450,000
Leading the followers’ pack, Zalora is the largest and fastest-growing e-commerce site in Southeast Asia specialized in fashion. Enabling fashion brands to sell their products to the site’s visitors, Zalora was founded in 2012 by Rocket Internet. It is present in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and has recently launched in Taiwan.
Website: zalora.com.my
4. Carousell Malaysia
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 2,200,000
Originally a mobile platform, Carousell has developed a web shopping site to cater to computer users too. It allows anyone, brands or individuals, to take pictures of their products with a phone, sell easily through the Carousell platform and chat with the sellers to buy directly. Carousell is also present in Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, and Hong Kong.
Website: my.carousell.com
3. Lelong.my
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 3,650,000
Closely following in terms of estimated traffic, Lazada’s other challenger, Lelong.my is an e-commerce marketplace both for Consumer-to-Consumer and Business-to-Consumer transactions. Operated by the Malaysian company Interbase Resources Sdn Bhd, Lelong was founded in 1998 as an auction website and has since expanded to become a general marketplace.
Website: lelong.com.my
2. Lazada Malaysia
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 20,000,000
A leader of e-commerce throughout Southeast Asia, also present in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, Lazada is an online department store and marketplace for retailers to sell their own products. Founded in 2011 by Rocket Internet, the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba acquired a controlling stake in Lazada and its operations in Southeast Asia in 2016.
Website: lazada.com.my
1. Shopee Malaysia
Monthly Traffic Estimate: 20,900,000
An important player in the region, especially in “mobile-first” countries, Shopee is a primarily mobile, diversified online shop also providing a regular web shopping experience. A leading platform throughout Southeast Asia, Shopee is also present in Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, as well as in Taiwan.
Website: shopee.com.my
Top e-commerce mobile applications in Malaysia
In addition to their web versions, most of the top 10 e-commerce websites presented above also have mobile applications available on the various platforms to enable e-commerce through mobile devices. Shopee, Carousell, and GoShop are especially strong in mobile commerce.
Besides, some other websites that are not in the Top 10 have a powerful presence on mobile in Malaysia like imSold, TaoBao or AliExpress.
Malaysia’s top e-commerce websites compared by estimated traffic
The estimated monthly traffic from the top 10 e-commerce websites shows the domination of Shopee and Lazada over the Malaysian market with about 20 million visitors per month respectively. The pack of followers stands in the range of 400,000 to 4 million visitors per month.
Though generalist or industry-specific websites make up for the bulk of Malaysian e-commerce, some specific brands are also picking up some traction, notably Tesco and MBO cinemas who respectively lead the market of groceries and movie tickets.
The leader of peer-to-peer classifieds in Malaysia with more than 11 million visitors per month, Mudah.my can also be highlighted for its potential. Though it’s not a pure e-commerce player, it allows buyers to pay online in some product categories.