Learn how Malaysians are purchasing and consuming food during the Recovery Movement Control Order period and their concerns when eating, packing food from a restaurant, or ordering from food delivery services.

Some points to take note of are:

Consumer Behaviours during the RMCO period

  • Many Malaysians are still cooking at home while some say they eat home cooked food often but still pack food from restaurants on some days.
  • Majority (85%) of Malaysians are still cooking at home since the RMCO period started. Only 12% are eating out.
  • 63% Malaysians cook at home 5 or more times a week, 49% order in 1-2 times a week, and 19% pack food from restaurants 3-4 times a week.
  • Malaysians who have been eating out, ordering in and packing food from restaurants have spent less than RM20 on individual meals before the MCO period (42%) and during the MCO period (39%). During this current RMCO period, 36% say they spend less than RM20 on individual meals while 29% say they spend between RM20-RM30.
  • 45% Malaysians say they purchase local food brand items only, while 53% purchase food brands of a mix of international/global and local brands.
  • Since the RMCO period started, Malaysians are mostly shopping on both Online and Offline mediums (58%), while only 12% are shopping Online.

Cooking At Home

  • Those who practice cooking at home are mostly cooking elaborate meals which require longer preparation time (72%), easy to cook meals / 15 min prep meals (47%), and instant meals such as instant noodles or can food (30%).
  • Those who have been cooking at home during this RMCO period are largely using home appliances such as a rice cooker (84%), microwave (33%), instant pot/electric pot (28%), food steamer (27%), and baking oven (27%).
  • 30% who have been cooking at home say they spent RM100-RM200 on groceries before the MCO period, whereas during the MCO, 33% say they spent more than RM300, and during the RMCO period 28% say they spend RM200-RM300.

Packing Food

  • When packing food from restaurants during this RMCO period, Malaysians are practicing only packing from stalls they are familiar with (69%), only packing from fast food restaurants (33%), and only packing from restaurants where all staff are wearing gloves and masks (33%).

Ordering In

  • 20% of those who have been ordering food in during the RMCO period say they are only slightly concerned about hygiene.
  • 78% of Malaysians say they are regular users of food delivery services. They make orders at least once every week.
  • Majority (98%) of regular food delivery users have been using the service since the RMCO period started.
  • Those who have been using food delivery services during this RMCO period are opting for cashless deliveries (65%), ordering from restaurants they are familiar with only (51%), and always opting for contactless deliveries (45%).

Eating Out

  • Only 3% say they are not at all concerned about hygiene when eating out, while 28% are only slightly concerned.
  • During the RMCO period, majority Malaysians express that they prefer dining in open air restaurants and not air-conditioned as the air ventilation is smoother. Some also say that since most restaurants are adhering to the current SOPs, they do not mind dining anywhere.
  • 74% of those who have been eating out during the RMCO period say their dining habits have changed as compared to before the pandemic.
  • Those who are eating out largely practice sanitising before and after meals and before leaving the restaurant (61%), sharing tables with a maximum of 2-3 people only (40%), and, only dining in restaurants they have previously dined in (39%).
  • Those who have been avoiding eating out say it is because they are not comfortable being in crowded places (45%), they are still afraid to be outdoors (32%) and, are now more concerned about the hygiene levels at restaurants (29%).

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The views and opinions expressed in the report above are an aggregate analysis taken from 1,100 respondents sampled according to Malaysian Census and Malaysian Internet Census data. This aggregate analysis does not mirror the values and opinions of Vase Technologies Sdn Bhd (1152290-M).

Vase Technologies is the operator of a platform to collect user opinions, and as such will not take any liability for the statements above. In case of any damages or other liabilities arising, no party can be liable as the data above is taken in aggregate.