20/07/2025

ON SUNDAY JULY 20, 2025 II theSunday Special

Swipe, buy and repeat

I MAGINE two friends at a mamak stall in Kuala Lumpur, each excitedly swiping through their phones. One is VKRZLQJ R̆ D QHZ SRUWDEOH EOHQGHU VKH ERXJKW DIWHU ZDWFKLQJ D VHF ond TikTok recipe. The other admits he RUGHUHG D OLPLWHG HGLWLRQ IRRWEDOO MHUVH\ IURP DQ ,QVWDJUDP 5HHO EHIRUH WKH YLGHR HYHQ ¿QLVKHG S FHQHV OLNH WKLV KDYH EHFRPH FRP monplace. From teens in Petaling Jaya to aunties in Penang, Malaysians are EHLQJ VXEWO\ QXGJHG E\ GLJLWDO SHUVXD VLRQ ± ELWH VL]HG YLGHRV LQÀXHQFHU SOXJV DQG DOJRULWKP GULYHQ VXJJHVWLRQV ± LQWR reshaping how they shop, decide and WKLQN ,W¶V QRW MXVW DERXW VHHLQJ DQ DG ,W¶V DERXW KRZ DQG E\ ZKRP LW¶V VKRZQ “ 6KRUW IRUP YLGHR FRQWHQW LV GHVLJQHG WR EH KLJKO\ HQJDJLQJ FDSWXULQJ DWWHQWLRQ ZLWKLQ VHFRQGV WKURXJK UDSLG YLVXDO VWR U\WHOOLQJ PXVLF DQG UHODWDEOH VFHQDULRV ´ said Professor Dr Joanne B.Y. Lim of the 8QLYHUVLW\ RI 1RWWLQJKDP 0DOD\VLD BY SIMON VELLA How short videos, KPƔWGPEGTU CPF UGCONGUU UJQRRKPI JCXG VWTPGF UQEKCN OGFKC KPVQ /CNC[UKCũU PGY OCTMGVRNCEG

Lim … “The future of retail in Malaysia will most likely see deeper integration of AI-driven personalisation, seamless in-app purchasing and more collaborations.”

³7KLV LPPHGLDF\ FUHDWHV D ORZ IULFWLRQ SXUFKDVLQJ MRXUQH\ ZKHUH YLHZHUV WUDQVL tion seamlessly from content consumption WR LPSXOVH EX\LQJ ´ Social media users might encounter D VHFRQG FOLS DERXW D QLIW\ YHJHWDEOH FKRSSHU EH FKDUPHG E\ WKH KRVW¶V FDVXDO GHPR DQG FOLFN WR EX\ ZLWKLQ PLQXWHV 7KHVH XOWUD VKRUW YLGHRV GRQ¶W IHHO OLNH traditional ads. That’s precisely why they work. “ 6HYHUDO SV\FKRORJLFDO PHFKDQLVPV GULYH WKLV EHKDYLRXU 6RFLDO SURRI SDUD social relationships, fear of missing out )202 DQG FRJQLWLYH HDVH DOO SOD\ D UROH ´ said Lim. She explained that social proof rein IRUFHV GHVLUDELOLW\ ± ZKHQ PDQ\ SHRSOH OLNH RU VKDUH D SURGXFW YLGHR RWKHUV SHU FHLYH LW DV PRUH FUHGLEOH /LNHZLVH YLHZHUV often form parasocial relationships with LQÀXHQFHUV SHUFHLYLQJ WKHP DV SHHUV “ &RQVXPHUV GHYHORS D VHQVH RI WUXVW Their recommendations feel more like SHHU WR SHHU DGYLFH UDWKHU WKDQ FRUSRUDWH GULYHQ PDUNHWLQJ ´ VKH DGGHG

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