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Bullish outlook for e-commerce in Indonesia

The ASEAN region will see double-digit growth for e-commerce. Indonesia has the highest retail sales in ASEAN at USD469 billion and is expected to see robust e-commerce growth. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Office of Spire Research and Consulting group, highlighted the growth potential and key opportunities present in this sector during his presentation at the third Annual South East Asia Retail Expansion Summit in October 2015.

The number of online shoppers in Indonesia is set to reach 8.7 million in 2016. Indonesia boasts of being among the top six retail e-commerce markets with a total retail value at USD1.3 billion (in 2013).

Bahar mentioned that 51% of Indonesian online shoppers fall in the 21-27 age category where free shipping, exclusive deals, product warranty and safe payment methods are strong motivators. Key growth categories are books (22%) and fashion products (20.5%).

Nonetheless, challenges remain. Barriers that need to be addressed to promote Indonesian e-commerce include slow internet speed, trade border restrictions, online security issues and the need for more efficient logistics.

Bahar’s presentation deck on “ASEAN Retail Strategies: Emerging markets, in search of sustainable growth” can be found here.


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