KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade registered a total sales of RM154.3 billion in May 2025, reflecting a 4.4 per cent growth year-on-year (y-o-y), according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In a statement today, its chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth was primarily supported by the performance of the retail and wholesale trade sub-sectors.
"The retail trade sub-sector registered RM67.1 billion in sales, an increase of RM3.1 billion or 4.9 per cent y-o-y.
"The wholesale trade sub-sector recorded RM68.2 billion, up RM3.1 billion or 4.7 per cent y-o-y, reflecting steady business activity across supply chains,” he said.
May’s online retail sales showed an increase, with the index rising by 2.2 per cent y-o-y, he said.
"However, after seasonal adjustment, the index recorded a month-on-month decline of negative 3.4 per cent,” he said.
In terms of volume index, he said wholesale and retail trade posted a higher y-o-y increase at 4.1 per cent, driven by the wholesale trade sub-sector, which rose by 5.8 per cent, followed by retail trade with a 3.7 per cent increase.
Complementing the trade growth, Mohd Uzir said Malaysia’s digital payment transactions recorded a strong y-o-y gain in May 2025.
"E-money transactions surged by 70.2 per cent y-o-y to RM21.5 billion, reflecting heightened adoption of digital payments.
"Real-time retail payments platform transactions amounted to RM289.4 billion, underscoring the growing demand for instantaneous payment solutions.
"Meanwhile, financial process exchange transactions expanded by 21.1 per cent to RM39.2 billion, driven by increased online banking activity,” he said.
The chief statistician said credit card usage remained stable at RM18.7 billion, while debit card transactions registered an eight per cent growth to RM14.1 billion.
"Collectively, these trends highlight the sustained expansion of digital payment channels, in line with evolving consumer preferences and the broader digitalisation of Malaysia’s payment infrastructure,” he added. - Bernama
