That's probably the biggest reason why there are so many clearance sales all year round, and why the 11.11 or 12.12 sales are such a big hit.

But do you know what your fellow Malaysians love to buy the most on e-commerce sites?

The popular trends

According to a report by Malay Mail - who quoted facts and figures obtained from Malaysia’s largest e-commerce websites, Shopee Malaysia and Lazada Malaysia - Malaysians splurge the most on Milo, shoes and home and lifestyle products.

Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho told the news portal that shoes topped the chart of most-sold items under its fashion category in 2019, followed by dress and trousers while Milo came in first in the list of overall most-purchased product under the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) category, followed by diapers and lipsticks.

Milo was also listed among the top three products for both the Central Region and the Northern Region throughout 2019.

Ho said most of the items under the FMCG and lifestyle categories were purchased by those between the ages of 20 and 49.

“Trendy teenagers and young adults seek after products such as wireless Bluetooth earphones, sneakers, sunglasses, clothing, watches and wearables. Basically, going along with fast fashion and new trends that are driven by social media.

“Working adults tend to buy more household items and necessities such as Milo, detergent, storage boxes and diapers,” he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, lifestyle products were purchased the most in Lazada followed by accessories (electronic and fashion), health and beauty and fashion (men and women).

Ho said most of Shopee’s customers in 2019 were from Selangor followed by Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang for 2019.

Among the top keyword searches by the four states were: powerbank (Selangor), kasut or shoes (KL), blouse (Johor) and smart watch (Penang).

For Lazada Malaysia, the list of top products sold in each region throughout the country in 2019 were washing machines (central), detox foot patches (northern), car wash towels (east), disposable diaper dispenser plastic bags (south) and softcover photo books (east Malaysia).

Ho noted that men has a tendency to buy mobile gadgets and tech accessories while women were mostly searching for blouses, bags and shoes, including more frequent purchases from the Groceries & Pets, Women’s Clothing and Health & Beauty categories.