Hard to break loyalties in Malaysia

Malaysia - Brand loyalty in Malaysia is increasingly becoming important as only 44% of Malaysians across lower, middle and higher income groups in both urban as well as rural areas do not have time to shop and are satisfied buying brands they trust, according to a study by Synovate.

The study on the attitudes, purchase behaviours and prefernces of Malaysian consumers also found that almost half (48%) of Malaysian consumers between the ages of 15 to 24 also prefer to be informed about products through ads in print (newspapers and magazines) while in the 20 to 49 age range, 35% of Malaysians actually held greater trust in products advertised. Only 21% of Malaysians surveyed viewed the internet as a tool to get unbiased opinions on products. 

Other results showed that more than 50% of young Malaysian consumers seek quality above any other consideration when purchasing goods.

"We discovered that more than half (55%) of young Malaysians aged 25 to 34 seek quality above any other consideration when purchasing goods and they do not mind paying extra for it. This can be attributed to a growing domestic economy - more people can afford to care about quality. Taking this drive for quality a step further, one quarter (25%) of Malaysians in the middle and higher income groups living in urban market centres said they would prefer to buy designer goods and well-known brands. Perhaps more surprising, though, is that more men than women are likely to be influenced by designer goods and well-known brands - not your traditional image of the brand-wise shopper at all," Steve Murphy, MD for Synovate Malaysia said in a statement.

The findings are from the latest Synovate Media Atlas survey of 10,000 consumers living in Peninsular Malaysia.