Hari Raya Season the Catalyst for Malaysians to Declutter and Reduce Waste

Hari Raya Season the Catalyst for Malaysians to Declutter and Reduce Waste | Carousell, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing classifieds marketplace, conducted an in-app survey that drew 1,724 respondents gather some insights into the traditional house cleaning or decluttering during Ramadan in preparation for the Hari Raya celebrations. 94% of the respondents said that house cleaning is an annual affair that forges a better relationship between family members.

Carousell’s in-app survey indicated 54% respondents declutter ahead of celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Survey also shows that annual Hari Raya house cleaning is the perfect time for family bonding.

More than 245,000 items were transacted this Hari Raya, with 67% of all items being preloved.

9% increase in transactions compared to last year.

Parents remained the key drivers to kickstart the cleaning with 35% of the respondents saying that decluttering is mainly initiated by their parents. Meanwhile, the remaining self-initiated cleaning (26%), led by a spouse (19%) or a sibling (19%).

Old clothing (96%), furniture (58%) and kitchen appliances (56%) were the top three categories of items that are usually replaced for the festive season.

“Disposal of unwanted and unused items is gradually reducing as Malaysians are more equipped with the knowledge of recycling and reselling these items on Carousell. While the number of disposed items remain relatively significant, we are encouraged to learn that more Malaysians are utilising our platform to give these items a new life, as well as to earn more during the festive season,” said Tang Siew Wai, Country Head of Carousell Malaysia.

Interestingly, while 28% of survey respondents said they would throw old unused items into the garbage or recycle bin, the majority of respondents (over 54%) said they sold unused items on Carousell while the balance said they would keep it in storage.

Among the top categories listed and transacted during this year’s Hari Raya celebration are women’s clothes, men’s clothes, bags and wallets, which took up a total of 107,077 listings and 40,563 transactions.

39% of those who sold on Carousell kept the money they earned into their savings, while almost 35% said they bought new Baju Raya. A little over 11% of respondents said they gave the money away as Duit Raya.

In early April, the platform launched its Mari Ber-Carousell digital campaign featuring local celebrities Aeril Zafrel and Wawa Zainal, to encourage Malaysians to declutter on Carousell in preparation for Hari Raya Aidilfitri where in less than three weeks, the campaign video garnered over 3.6 million views on YouTube.

“It is heartening to see that the festive season has been a strong driver to reducing waste, while earning some additional income. We encourage more Malaysians to get creative and make decluttering a tradition for every festive season,” Tang added.

For more information on Carousell, head over to https://my.carousell.com or download the Carousell app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.