Daniel Tumiwa, chief of the Indonesian E-commerce Association (idEA), noted that the country’s ever-expanding pool of middle-class consumers has provided a significant boost to its e-commerce sector, estimating that the number of online shoppers could reach 10 million next year. The continued rise of smartphone usages across the country will also bolster growth, he added.
“The e-commerce industry is already becoming one of the pillars of Indonesia’s economy,” said Daniel, who’s also chief executive of marketplace platform OLX.com.
Indonesia is forecast to see some 34 million smartphones shipped into the country by the end of this year, up 21 percent from an initial 2015 forecast of 28 million units, according to information technology research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
MatahariMall.com CEO Hadi Wenas separately added that online retail has great potential in Indonesia, forecasting the industry to contribute up to 5 percent of the economy by 2020 from the current 0.7 percent.
“Since it was first introduced in Indonesia, the industry has continued to grow and it will grow bigger going ahead,” he added.