PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's retail industry may see improved performance in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022 in light of the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri period.
But concerns over the prospects lingered due to external factors that would affect the purchasing power of consumers, said Retail Group Malaysia.
RGM managing director Tan Hai Hsin said it was looking to revise its projection for Q2 2022 upwards as the positive circumstances during the festive period earlier this month had pushed more people to spend.
"Looking at what happened in the last month, we may have to revise the projection for Q2 2022 upwards but whether that will result in high overall growth rate for the retail sector, we have to wait and see because we do not know whether this is temporary or not.
"There is a lot of external factors such as inflation and prices going up, which is affecting the consumer's purchasing power. The higher interest rate as well as the Ukraine-Russia conflict are affecting us as well," he said at the launch of Xilnex Voucher Network today.
Previously, RGM projected the local retail industry to grow 4.2 per cent in Q2 with contribution mainly from Hari Raya festival.
It also projected for Q1 to record a strong growth of 16.5 per cent as well as 3.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent in Q3 and Q4 2022 respectively.
For the whole year, RGM projected a growth of 6.3 per cent for the industry.
Tan, however, noted that the public spending had been on a positive trend since August last year which gradually developed towards Christmas.
"Retailers are enjoying better sales and some even better than the period before Covid hits. At this moment, the trend says it is good so we can see that Malaysians are spending. But again, how long can it last?" he asked.
Meanwhile, Web Bytes Sdn Bhd launched a voucher network for its retail customers as part of its objective to help revitalise the retail market as Malaysia transitions out from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company is sponsoring RM300,00 worth of e-vouchers from its merchants to be distributed to university students through the student enrolment platform, Uni Enrol.
Uni Enrol is an online platform which is recognised by more than 80 private universities and colleges nationwide.
Tan said the pandemic had accelerated the digital transformation for retailers in Malaysia whereby payments via e-wallets or orders through QR code scans had become widely accepted.
"In the post pandemic era, retailers need to continue to leverage the right technology to offer value-for-money products and services that can be purchased conveniently through multiple channels," he added.
Web Bytes chief executive officer Ooi Boon Sheng said the retail sector played a vital role in contributing to the country's economic recovery as it moved out from the pandemic phase.
"In doing our part to help rejuvenate this sector, we are continuously developing new solutions such as this voucher system, that we hope can help boost sales for our retail merchants as well as equip them with the technology to leverage on a collaborative network in the Xilnex' ecosystem, to expand their customer base," Ooi said.
