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Retailers push for cash transfers to boost household spending
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A customer passes by a rack of sweetened drinks in a supermarket in Jakarta on Dec. 14, 2023. (Antara/Cahya Sari)
R
etail industry representatives have urged the government to hand out shopping vouchers to consumers to boost people's spending power and thereby stimulate economic growth.
The demand comes after Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 4.87 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first quarter of 2025, down from 5.11 percent recorded in the same period last year.
The data published by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) on Monday reflected the slowest economic growth since the coronavirus pandemic, which was partly blamed on weak consumer spending.
Read also: GDP growth drops below 5% in Prabowo’s first quarter
Indonesian Retail and Tenants Association (Hippindo) chairman Budihardjo Iduansjah suggested the government disburse shopping vouchers directly to the public, especially to low-income households, to buoy up economic growth in the country.
The stimulus could raise people's spending power, he said, while also demanding the government unblock budget funds for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Ministry.
The Finance Ministry previously announced that the government had unlocked funds amounting to Rp 86.6 trillion (US$5.27 billion) that had been frozen as the government decided on austerity measures earlier this year, so as to allow ministries and government agencies to resume spending.
