According to data from e-commerce aggregator iPrice, Tokopedia's monthly web traffic reached 147 million visits in the second quarter, while Shopee ranked second with 126 million. Other e-commerce firms, namely Bukalapak, Lazada and Blibli, each saw fewer than 30 million web visits.

However, Vion Yau, head of insight at venture builder firm Momentum Works, said that Shopee's app was still leading in both Google Play and the App Store, while Tokopedia's mobile app ranked fourth and second, respectively, compared with other e-commerce firm's apps.

“We need to be mindful that page visits are only part of the picture – Shopee has focused on a mobile-first strategy and we believe a majority of the visits and sales probably came from apps,” she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Yau also noted that the first half of the year was usually the “quieter months” for e-commerce around the globe as there would be fewer shopping festivals compared with the second half of the year, which would see the double day shopping festivals and year-end discounts.

Shopee and Tokopedia have been neck-in-neck in the popularity race as both hold the largest e-commerce market shares in Indonesia last year at 37 and 35 percent, respectively, according to Momentum Works data.

Popular

PDI-P will likely be part of opposition: Ganjar

Indonesia one step from Olympics after beating South Korea

Bahlil leads task force to boost sugar, bioethanol production in Papua