KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Malaysia’s retail growth in April 2020 is expected to plunge by 60.7% compared to a year ago, due to the extended Movement Control Order (MCO) until April 28, 2020, early estimates show.
Only essential retailers continue to operate, that too, with strict social distancing measures while a small number of non-essential retailers will be allowed to open in the second week of April.
Retail Group Malaysia’s (RGM) managing director Tan Hai Hsin says the plunge is because “the majority of retail shops are having zero sale. This has never happened before in history”.
RGM, which tabulates retail data on behalf of the Malaysia Retailers Association, says that the data for April was based on retail sales performance of essential retailers in the first two weeks of MCO in April which has now been extended until April 28.
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