ShopBack sees earlier spike in travel expenses due to GE14
KOTA KINABALU: ShopBack, the leading online Cashback platform that partners majority of transportation and accommodation booking sites in Malaysia, observes a 26 per cent increase in travel purchases among its local users since the unveiling of the 14th General Election’s voting day (May 9th).
“The next peak period for travel booking after March’s MATTA fair is supposed to be two weeks to a month prior to Hari Raya, but the purchasing trend came sooner this year as GE14 falls before Ramadhan,” says Alvin Gill, country general manager of ShopBack Malaysia.
According to ShopBack Malaysia’s data, partners that offered a discount in flight and bus tickets, as well as reloadable petrol card, are the most sought-after stores under travel category on ShopBack’s web and app.
“The daily average sales of our travel merchants has got a 26 per cent increment since the voting day announcement. The demand remained strong in the past weeks, and we reckon part of the contributing factors was that AirAsia introduced fixed fares for all voters.
“ShopBack Malaysia’s users could purchase AirAsia’s tickets via Traveloka and Expedia; at the same time obtain cashback savings from every transaction made.
“In addition, bus tickets, Petronas gift cards from Lazada and 11street were also among the bestselling products in April,” Alvin explained.
To cater for those who haven’t got transportation bookings sorted out yet, ShopBack Malaysia will organise a Mid-Year Travel Fair from April 30 to May 6 and offer up to 7.5 per cent cashback together with its travel partners including Malaysia Airlines, Traveloka, Expedia, BusOnlineTicket, Booking. com, Hotels.com and so on.
Malaysians could seize the chance and optimise their spending by visiting ShopBack’s website or download its mobile app. On the other hand, ShopBack Malaysia’s data also shows Malaysians frequently visits domestic destinations, especially Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, and Johor Bahru. Japan is the second most popular country, followed by Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand.
“Malaysians love to travel, and they didn’t stop travelling due to the economy challenges. Instead of flying out, many of them chose to travel within Malaysia and spent on better accommodation.