A great majority of shoppers in Malaysia will make purchases online this holiday season, rather than hitting brick & mortar stores, a fresh survey carried out by credit card firm VISA revealed.

As per the Holiday Season Online Shopping Study, around 87 per cent of Malaysian shoppers will purchase products/services online, spending an average of RM 2,651 during the Christmas and the New Year shopping season.

Convenience, bargain and product factors are among the top reasons given for shoppers' inclination towards online shopping.

The surveyors questioned a total of 4,032 people from Malaysia, Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore to determine on their shopping attitudes during the year-end holiday season.

The survey also hinted online shoppers in Singapore will likely emerge among the biggest spenders on gifts in the Asia Pacific region.

On average, Singaporeans are intended to spend around US$840 on Christmas shopping season this year. The figure will likely surpass spending by shoppers in all countries in the region, except Australian shoppers' average budget of nearly US$900.

Speaking on the findings, Cheryl Long from VISA Southeast Asia said, "The global economic slowdown doesn't really seem to be impacting Asia Pacific as much."

However, Mr. Long added that shoppers are more cautious in their approach this year. They are a bit more careful and discreet in making their purchases.