• Comprehensive selection of products and features that support online shopping convenience is the main attraction of today’s e-commerce platforms
• Innovative features such as Live Shopping and Live Video are starting to change online shopping behavior in Indonesia.

The final few months of the year are often accompanied with celebrations, vacations and, most awaited of all: year-end discounts and promotions. The growing phenomenon of people hitting the shops at the end of the year is nothing new. A particular aspect that makes the fourth quarter (Q4) an especially important time for e-commerce businesses is National Online Shopping Day, also known as Harbolnas.

Snapcart’s online survey titled “Consumers’ Online Shopping Behavior Amid the Year-End Festivities” was conducted over three months and involved 1,000 respondents aged 20-35 across the country.

“Every year, Harbolnas provides an opportunity for e-commerce players to show their best moves in offering the most irresistible promos and new innovations and programs to raise their competitiveness,” Snapcart Indonesia director Astrid Williandry said in Jakarta on Friday.

“Snapcart’s Indonesia survey revealed that 95 percent of [respondents] said they seized Harbolnas as an occasion for going on a shopping spree. Observing the high enthusiasm throughout the period, Snapcart is conducting research on the effect of various innovations that give way to new online shopping trends,” she added.

The survey found that regarding the various promotions offered during Harbolnas, 71 percent of respondents said they were able to save more money, 56 percent said they benefited from the programs and 50 percent said they found interesting products, while 27 percent used the occasion to fulfill their year-end needs.

Out of the three biggest players in the e-commerce industry (Shopee, Tokopedia and Lazada), Shopee was the most used platform during Harbolnas, followed by Tokopedia and Lazada. The data pointed to three factors that consumers considered when choosing a platform during Harbolnas, as seen from the respondents’ preferences over the past three months:

The data above indicates that each e-commerce platform has a feature they excel in. Shopee leads in all indicators, including affordable prices, additional features and installment payment options. Meanwhile, Tokopedia and Shopee compete across several indicators, such as cheap shipping and diverse product categories.

New online shopping trends

Among the top reasons among consumers for choosing one platform over another during Harbolnas are innovations that increase a platform’s attractiveness. Beyond providing storage space and assisting both shoppers and merchants, these innovations give rise to new consumer behavior in online shopping.

“Looking back a bit, we can see that new features such as live shopping, short videos and games are starting to gain traction. Each feature offers a different experience in line with [ongoing] trends and the needs of both buyers and sellers, from the entertainment games provide to closer interaction and better access through live shopping and short videos,” Astrid pointed out.

From existing interactive features, the Snapcart survey found that most respondents preferred Shopee Live. This was followed by TikTok (30 percent), Shopee Video (23 percent), Tokopedia Play (7 percent) and then BukaLive, LazLive and LazadaFeed (1 percent).

Interestingly, the five notable reasons that respondents use an interactive feature are: to spend free time (16 percent), following up an interest in the prizes and promos offered (16 percent), learning about a product (15 percent), online interaction and socializing (11 percent) and better shopping convenience (11 percent).

Interactive features such as live shopping and short videos have caused a change in online shopping behavior among Indonesian consumers. For example, Live Shopping provides a chance for consumers to interact actively and learn about a product’s uses, quality and convenience, with many consumers initiating the checkout process during a live program.

Shoppers often wait for livestreamed content before deciding to buy a certain product. This has had a particularly strong impact on building trust between sellers and buyers. Meanwhile, short videos are a way for consumers to not only enjoy video content, such as tutorials, product information and more videos, but also create them.

“Interestingly, these features are among the strategies merchants, especially local ones, use to maintain their business. Through closer [audience] interaction and creative video content, local merchants are motivated to increase exposure on their products and expand their reach to every level of society,” explained Astrid.

“These are the factors that encourage the development and growth of businesses, especially local ones.”

Public enthusiasm during the year-end shopping season presents an opportunity for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to optimize their various features. Designing and producing goods that fulfill consumer needs is the first step for businesses to develop their potential, but digitalizing to maintain the business’ creativity and existence is just as crucial.

Aside from interactive features and seasonal campaigns that local merchants can optimize, e-commerce platforms are also demonstrating their commitment to helping local businesses and MSMEs be more creative and communicative through educational and collaborative programs. Platforms also support merchants in other aspects, such as by providing opportunities to extend their reach to the global market.

These programs include Shopee’s UMKM Campus and Export Program, as well as new pages such as Shopee Pick Local and Shopee Barokah for Muslim shoppers. These have all contributed to Shopee becoming the top choice among online shoppers, followed by Tokopedia and Lazada.

“Looking deeper, Shopee’s success is influenced by its efforts in not just one aspect, but also in education, useful features and different monthly campaigns. This not only makes local products more attractive, but also helps business owners to ensure the continuation of their businesses,” Astrid said.

According to the results for each indicator in the Snapcart survey, the majority of respondents feel that Shopee consistently provides shopping convenience through various innovations, promotions and interactive programs for both sellers and buyers that use the platform.

“The tight competition between e-commerce platforms in the past four years shows that the current public interest in online shopping doesn’t just depend on promotions. Other aspects, such as comprehensive product range and supporting features also play a key role in attracting consumers to an e-commerce platform,” said Astrid.

“The different experiences provided by various e-commerce platforms through innovative features gives a fresh new look to year-end shopping festivals. We can even see that innovative features can create new trends and change consumers’ online shopping behavior,” she added.

“Of course, the battle is far from over. It will be interesting to see how [the e-commerce] landscape looks in 2023,” she said.

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