KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade registered total sales of RM163.7 billion in December 2025, a year-on-year (y-o-y) increase of 7.6 per cent, and this contributed to total annual sales of RM1.87 trillion in 2025, representing annual growth of 5.6 per cent.
Chief statistician, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, said the increase in sales for December was primarily driven by the wholesale trade and retail trade sub-sectors.
The wholesale trade recorded total sales of RM71.1 billion, an increase of RM4.6 billion, translating to a year-on-year growth of 6.9 per cent, while the retail trade also posted total sales of RM70.4 billion, rising by RM4.6 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 6.9 per cent.
"Meanwhile, the motor vehicles sub-sector registered total sales of RM22.3 billion, an increase of RM2.4 billion, representing a year-on-year growth of 12.2 per cent,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Uzir said online retail sales continued to grow in December, with the sales index rising 8.9 per cent year-on-year, compared with 7.3 per cent in the previous month. This performance reflected sustained strong demand within the e-commerce segment.
Digital payment activities continued to gain momentum in December, with e-money transactions rising 64.2 per cent year-on-year to RM29.4 billion, highlighting the growing adoption of cashless payments.
The real-time retail payments platform maintained a strong performance, with total transactions reaching RM362.3 billion. FPX transactions increased 20.6 per cent to RM42.2 billion, and credit card and debit card transactions stood at RM21.4 billion and RM15.0 billion, respectively.
Mohd Uzir said for the full year of 2025, retail trade expanded by 6.1 per cent to RM811.5 billion, wholesale trade grew 5.8 per cent to RM827.4 billion, and the motor vehicles sub-sector increased 3.2 per cent to RM226.1 billion. - Bernama
