5.1 Market Trends
Fast food culture has become a way of life or trend in the world. Malaysian adults eat at take-away restaurants around 98 percent. Philippine, Taiwan and Malaysia have the highest percentage of fast food restaurant consumers in the world compare to America which count 97 percent (ACNielsen, 2005). This is due to the busy life styles and ease of access of variety of fast food restaurant. Consumers have been spending less of their budgets on the grocery store while more and more of their food money is ending up in cash registers at the restaurants and fast food outlets (Kara, et. Al., 1999). Around 59% of Malaysian eating takes away every week. Even the state of one's health has become primary concerns for consumers, but it does not affect the way consumers choose to eat. It has become a part of their life to eat fast food, particularly in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and United State.
McDonalds will be able to increase their target markets in Malaysia as this trend has become part of their consumers' life. This is also inducing the competition of fast food industry as Malaysia is a prospect market for fast food industry. McDonalds can perform better than its competitors if they can fulfill Malaysian customers who prefer convenience location as it account for 54 percent of Malaysian prefer convenience location to eat (ACNielsen, 2005).
5.2 Market Size and Growth
As fast food becomes a trend in Malaysia, the number of expenditure used by the consumers has increased by nine percent and ranked third in terms of expenditure. The fast food market size is increasing from year to year and it reaches 2,058.8 in 2007. McDonalds Malaysia company share also increase in the year 2007 by 400 plus. The number of households purchase on fast food reach 356,482,100 by year 2007. The fast food sector is expected to experience the fastest growth between 20 to 30 percent per annum (Malaysia Market Opportunities Report, 2000). McDonalds already has 184