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Indonesians race to snap up bargains at online sales
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(JP/Donny Fernando)
M
ufthi Akbar, 39, bought a long-coveted action camera at half price on Monday, the first day of Indonesia’s online shopping days, or Harbolnas.
Soon after comparing the prices on mataharimall.com and its competitors, such as Lazada and Bukalapak, the Jakarta-based private-sector employee rushed to purchase the camera for Rp 920,000 (US$69), as the deal would only last for two hours.
Like Mufthi, Qisthina Quddus could not resist her enthusiasm over Indonesia’s biggest online shopping event, which allowed her to buy an array of fashion items from her wish list. Alerted to the three-day event by the many advertisements in cyberspace, she was online to shop as early as 8 a.m.
“Harbolnas comes just days after I got my year-end bonus, and the jeans I want are sold at half price, from Rp 600,000 down to just Rp 300,000, so of course I will grab them,” said the 24-year-old doctor.
Unlike Mufthi and Qisthina, who encountered no technical glitches in their online shopping experience, customers of giant bookstore Gramedia saw the website crash and undergo maintenance from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Gramedia, which offers discounts of up to 70 percent on all books, ended up announcing that it had run out of stock for Harbolnas by the afternoon due to the flood of orders.
Still, e-commerce players are upbeat their sales will increase significantly during the three-day event, which is inspired by China’s Singles Day and Cyber Monday in the United States.
Bukalapak and mataharimall.com both eye a 15-fold surge in revenue during Harbolnas, which was first held in 2012. The Harbolnas committee expects overall sales to triple this year, as the number of participating online stores nearly doubled from last year to around 237.
Indonesian E-commerce Association (IdEA) chairman Aulia E. Marinto said e-commerce platforms were similar to conventional shopping, differing only in terms of the flexibility they offer consumers.
“Offline sellers should look to this event for their future, because online stores have a wider market,” Aulia said.
The government targets e-commerce transactions reaching US$130 billion by 2020. To achieve that goal, the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister released an e-commerce road map last month, which among other measures, includes simplified tax procedures for e-commerce start-ups.
“The government should help with an e-commerce campaign, because it is considered a new thing here,” said Indonesia ICT Institute executive director Heru Sutadi.
E-commerce could contribute around 3 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) this year and 4.5 percent in the future, he added.
Bank Central Asia (BCA) economist David Sumual said e-commerce would keep growing due to the country’s rising number of middle-income consumers demanding convenience in shopping.
“Besides, the exchange rate is more stable, and growth in the consumer sector is 5 percent this year, compared to 4.8 to 4.9 percent last year. Therefore, people will remain confident to shop,” David said.
The increased use of gadgets, David continued, also boosted e-commerce growth. A recent study by Google found that 43 percent of Indonesia’s 250 million people used smartphones, with 57 percent of those using their cell-phone for online shopping. (wnd)
