Year-end sales lose its charm amid inflation, weak ringgit

RETAILERS are advised to expect a lukewarm mood among shoppers despite their year-end mega sales, Christmas sales and New Year sales offerings. 

尽管有年终大减价、圣诞特卖和新年特卖，但建议零售商预计购物者的情绪会不冷不热。

After a period of lockdowns, the reopening of the economy initially drove many shoppers back to the stores, but that has largely faded. 

经过一段时间的封锁后，经济的重新开放最初促使许多购物者回到商店，但这种情况已基本消退。

The year-end sales through Christmas and Chinese New Year (CNY) are likely to be a more muted affair, with spending on non-essentials expected to fall amid inflation, weak ringgit, dwindling cash flow, and the distractions of the football World Cup. 

圣诞节和农历新年 (CNY) 的年终销售可能会更加平淡，由于通货膨胀、令吉疲软、现金流减少以及足球世界杯的干扰，非必需品支出预计会下降.

Shoppers had always looked forward to year-end sales, however, their general approach to spending has changed as of late, according to the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia treasurer-general Datuk Koong Lin Loong. 

马来西亚中华总商会总财务长Datuk Koong Lin Loong表示，购物者一直期待年底的销售，但他们的一般消费方式最近发生了变化。

Shoppers’ Spending Big 

购物者支出大

“The shopping mood is definitely there, but the question is whether shoppers are spending big. We will not see big spending as a large chunk of shoppers will be prone to spend on just the essentials. 

“购物情绪肯定存在，但问题是购物者是否花大钱。我们不会看到大笔支出，因为很大一部分购物者倾向于只在必需品上花钱。

“Consumers have started to be more cautious because of the money spent in the first nine months of the year. In addition, there are speculations that the 2023 economy will be gloomier. 

“由于今年前九个月花的钱，消费者开始更加谨慎。此外，还有猜测认为2023年的经济将更加黯淡。

“We have confidence in the new government but people are still sceptical because there are uncertainties as to how global and domestic affairs will unfold. That is why consumers’ spending behaviour remains cautious and prioritises savings,” Koong told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) in a recent interview. 

“我们对新政府有信心，但人们仍然持怀疑态度，因为全球和国内事务将如何发展存在不确定性。这就是为什么消费者的消费行为保持谨慎并优先考虑储蓄的原因，”Koong 在最近的一次采访中告诉The Malaysian Reserve（TMR）。

In the past nine months, he said, the retail industry had wonderful results as people had more cash flow and were eager to spend. 

他说，在过去的九个月里，零售业取得了很好的成绩，因为人们有更多的现金流并且渴望消费。

“Whenever there were long weekends and public holidays, everywhere was crowded, people went for trips and shopping sprees. Ironically, these spending activities in the early months of the year are the reason people spend less at year-end. 

“每当有长周末和公众假期时，到处都是人潮涌动，人们去旅行和疯狂购物。具有讽刺意味的是，年初几个月的这些支出活动是人们在年底支出减少的原因。

“People went on ‘revenge shopping’ from the end of 2021 to October due to the cash they had saved in 2020 and 2021 during lockdowns and quarantine. Moreover, many people still had jobs and income and there were more subsidised products than now. 

“由于他们在 2020 年和 2021 年封锁和隔离期间节省的现金，人们从 2021 年底到 10 月进行了‘报复性购物’。而且，很多人还有工作和收入，补贴的产品也比现在多。

“With subsidies and moratoriums, companies were able to stay in business and people did not need to pay hire purchase and mortgage then, so people could spend more thereafter. 

 “有了补贴和延期付款，公司得以继续经营，那时人们不需要支付分期付款和抵押贷款，因此人们以后可以花更多的钱。

‘Revenge spending’ Almost Over

“报复性支出”即将结束

“’Revenge spending’, or the tendency of consumers to spend, is almost over. Prices have now increased and people have spent most of their savings earlier. Now, people prefer to save money for rainy days,” Koong said.

“‘报复性支出’，或消费者的消费倾向，即将结束。现在物价上涨，人们更早花掉了大部分积蓄。现在，人们更喜欢存钱以备不时之需，”Koong 说。

Meanwhile, mini market operator Bazeer Ahmed from Shah Alam said he did not need to deal with excessive inventory but shortage of goods as he had not received sufficient supply of goods from local manufacturers since mid-year. 

与此同时，来自莎阿南的迷你市场运营商Bazeer Ahmed表示，他不需要处理库存过多但货物短缺的问题，因为他自年中以来一直没有从当地制造商那里获得足够的货物供应。

“For smaller businesses, I cannot get the stock I order from the manufacturer. I do not know the reason because they did not tell us. Those are essential items such as foods, cosmetics, and tissues, as well as over-the-counter medicine,” he told TMR. 

“对于较小的企业，我无法从制造商处获得订购的库存。我不知道原因，因为他们没有告诉我们。这些是必需品，例如食品、化妆品和纸巾，以及非处方药，”他告诉 TMR。

With prices for food, energy and other goods going up, consumers are worried about paying too much. 

随着食品、能源和其他商品价格上涨，消费者担心支付过多。

“People have started to save more because prices of goods have increased without subsidies and price control from the government. For example, cooking oil is priced at RM7 per kg now, it was only RM2.50 when the government subsidised it,” he added.

“人们开始储蓄更多，因为商品价格在没有政府补贴和价格控制的情况下上涨。例如，食用油现在的价格是每公斤7令吉，政府补贴时才2.50令吉，”他补充说。

The mega-sales and holiday shopping season started earlier this year because retailers had to lure back shoppers. 

大型销售和假日购物季于今年早些时候开始，因为零售商必须吸引回头客。

E-commerce platform Shopee and shopping mall Suria KLCC, for example, started offering deals tailored to the year-end sales and holidays or Black Friday in November. 

例如，电子商务平台 Shopee 和购物中心 Suria KLCC 于 11 月开始提供针对年终销售和假期或黑色星期五量身定制的交易。

Many retailers were already looking to further entice shoppers by rolling out advertisements for more discounts where stores are putting up discounts or “all-must-go” signages. 

许多零售商已经在寻求通过在商店张贴折扣或“必买”标牌的地方投放更多折扣广告来进一步吸引购物者。

Cutting Back On Discretionary Purchases

减少可自由支配的购买

However, even before the start of the season, many Malaysians were already cutting back on discretionary purchases, leaving retailers with an unusually high level of inventory, which they want to unload as much as possible before the start of the new year. 

然而，甚至在本季开始之前，许多马来西亚人就已经减少了可自由支配的采购，使零售商的库存水平异常高，他们希望在新的一年开始前尽可能多地卸货。

Koong said retailers had to clear their excess inventory, and more sales are expected until the early months of 2023. 

Koong 表示，零售商必须清理过剩库存，预计到 2023 年初几个月会有更多销售。

“Retailers imported many goods from other countries between July and August to prepare for the year-end occasions and CNY, so, now that they have to clear the excess inventory. 

“零售商在 7 月至 8 月期间从其他国家进口了许多商品，为年底和农历新年做准备，因此，现在他们必须清理过剩库存。

“They will organise more sales to get the money coming in and move their merchandise. Many businesses told me that they were optimistic and sales are still good for them. Despite efforts to save more money, people still shop for Christmas and the upcoming CNY albeit in smaller quantities,” TMR was told. 

 “他们将组织更多的销售活动以获得收入并转移他们的商品。许多商家告诉我，他们很乐观，销售额对他们来说仍然不错。尽管努力节省更多的钱，但人们仍在为圣诞节和即将到来的农历新年购物，尽管数量较少，”TMR 被告知。

High Rollers 

豪客赛

Meanwhile, Mainland Chinese are known to spend big on high-end markets worldwide including Malaysia. 

与此同时，众所周知，中国大陆人在包括马来西亚在内的全球高端市场上花费巨资。

Luxury goods retailers are waiting for the arrival of Chinese tourists since they rely on them to bring sales back to pre-pandemic level as they have higher spending power than Malaysians. 

奢侈品零售商正在等待中国游客的到来，因为他们依靠中国游客将销售额恢复到大流行前的水平，因为他们的消费能力高于马来西亚人。

A retail associate of a luxury brand at Suria KLCC said the store’s sales would not pick up until shoppers from China return.

Suria KLCC 一家奢侈品牌的零售助理表示，在中国购物者返回之前，该店的销售额不会回升。

As the day began at Suria KLCC, a premier shopping mall with over 300 flagship stores in Kuala Lumpur (KL), there was a steady flow of customers. Some said they were excited to shop but had concerns over prices. 

在吉隆坡 (KL) 拥有 300 多家旗舰店的首屈一指的购物中心 Suria KLCC 开幕之际，顾客络绎不绝。一些人表示，他们很高兴购物，但对价格感到担忧。

Consumer Spending Increased

消费支出增加

The Department of Statistics Malaysia recently revealed that consumer spending in Malaysia increased to RM235,858 million in the third quarter of 2022 (3Q22) from RM219,516 million in 2Q22. 

马来西亚统计局最近透露，马来西亚的消费者支出从 2022 年第二季度的 2195.16 亿令吉增加到 2022 年第三季度（3Q22）的 2358.58 亿令吉。

According to global economic statistics provider Trading Economics, consumer spending in Malaysia is expected to be RM227,476 million by the end of this quarter, based on Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. 

根据全球经济统计数据提供商 Trading Economics 的数据，根据 Trading Economics 全球宏观模型和分析师的预期，到本季度末，马来西亚的消费者支出预计将达到 2274.76 亿令吉。

“In the long-term, Malaysia’s consumer spending is projected to trend around RM236,575 million in 2023 and RM246,748 million in 2024, according to its econometric models. 

“从长远来看，根据其计量经济学模型，马来西亚的消费支出预计将在 2023 年和 2024 年分别达到 2365.75 亿令吉和 2467.48 亿令吉。

“Consumer spending in Malaysia averaged RM138,235 million from 2005 until 2022, reaching an all-time high of RM422,452 million in 1Q22 and a record low of RM56,768 million in 2Q05,” it said.

 “从 2005 年到 2022 年，马来西亚的消费者支出平均为 1382.35 亿令吉，在 2022 年第一季度达到 4224.52 亿令吉的历史新高，而在 2005 年第二季度创下 567.68 亿令吉的历史新低，”它说。