KUALA LUMPUR, 17 December 2025 – This year’s 11.11 shopping season was marked by consumer apathy, conservative spending, and rapid platform disruption. Malaysians engaged only when promotions offered clear, relevant value, signalling a decisive shift away from impulse-driven purchases. As one of the world’s largest retail events, year-end shopping provides a preview of consumer priorities heading into 2026, underscoring the need for businesses to understand which categories resonated, which stalled, and what these patterns reveal about evolving expectations.
Central Force International’s survey report, The True Impact of 11.11 Sales in Malaysia, found that 68% of Malaysians did not purchase 11.11. Among non-buyers, 55.7% cited irrelevance of offers, while nearly a third reported they were unaware of the sale. The report concluded that this reflects not a marketing failure but a fundamental issue of relevance, as consumers now engage only when promotions align with practical needs and priorities.
While participation in mega-sales has declined, e-commerce engagement remains strong. Online shopping has become routine for many households, but rising living costs and stretched budgets are driving selectivity. Mega-sale events no longer trigger automatic splurges; instead, consumers use them to restock essentials. Spending was modest, with 82.5% of buyers limiting expenditure to under RM500, reinforcing the trend toward value-focused, strategic purchasing.
Platform dynamics are also shifting. Shopee remains dominant with 79.7% usage, but TikTok Shop has surged to 65.8%, reflecting the growing influence of content-driven experiences such as live selling and creator-led product demonstrations. Nearly half of shoppers used multiple platforms, often pairing Shopee and TikTok to compare deals and verify value, highlighting the need for seamless commerce and cohesive experiences across channels.
See Toh Wai Yu, CEO of Central Force International, commented:
“These insights are less a reflection of consumer disengagement and more a signal of shifting priorities. Malaysian consumers today are no longer shopping for the sake of shopping; they buy when promotions make sense, not merely when they promise savings.”
For SMEs, the findings are instructive. Campaigns must focus on relevance, everyday essentials, and clear value rather than relying solely on large-scale promotions. Social commerce, content-driven engagement, and transparent pricing are critical to capturing attention and building trust in a landscape where consumers actively compare deals and prioritise essentials.
Central Force International’s The True Impact of 11.11 Sales in Malaysia offers businesses a data-driven roadmap for the next retail cycle: essentials over extravagance, relevance over hype, value over volume, and consistency over fragmentation.
