Malaysians rank second in reading newspapers

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are the second-most avid newspaper readers in the Asia-Pacific region, revealed an online survey involving 28 countries.

As high as 82% of Malaysian respondents read newspapers on a weekly basis compared to the Asia-Pacific average of 62% and global average of 59%, said GfK, one of the world’s largest market research company.

India was found to have the most avid newspaper readers with 84% of respondents saying they read newspapers on a weekly basis.

Besides reading newspapers, listening to music and going grocery shopping topped the list at 63% and 56% respectively, with the three also being the top three frequent consumer activities globally and in the Asia-Pacific region.

Over 40,000 consumers were polled across 28 countries including Australia, China, Taiwan and Malaysia, with approximately 1,500 respondents per market surveyed on their attitudes, behaviours and values across a range of topics.

Selinna Chin, managing director for GfK in Malaysia, said there were vast differences in habits and behavioural patterns of consumers globally, even amongst the individual markets in one particular region.

She added the survey also revealed that compared to the regional average, more Malaysians were found to spend time outside of their homes when it came to food and drinks, rather than cooking for or entertaining guests at home.

Having a sit-down meal in a restaurant was ranked fourth on the list, with 40% saying they do this at least weekly, while 36% said they often patronised coffeehouses, teahouses, bars, pubs or cafes for drinks and snacks.

“Families with double-income earnings with less time to cook prefer to spend quality time together with friends and families by dining out,” she noted.

Alarmingly, the survey also revealed that Malaysians exercised the least regularly in the Asia-Pacific region, with just 23% of those surveyed saying they exercised to keep fit.

This is lower than the regional average of 36%, while 56% and 50% of Australians and Singaporeans surveyed respectively claimed to exercise frequently.

The findings were drawn from an in-depth analysis of GfK’s largest and longest-standing consumer trends study, Roper Reports Worldwide, with the latest survey done in January and February this year.