Take a bite out of the Indonesian digital pie

Recent research has highlighted the potential increase in digital ad spend in Indonesia over the next five years. Brands yet to venture into Indonesia’s booming digital ecosystem must expedite their entry strategies to ensure getting a share of this lucrative pie.

A report has highlighted the growing potential of digital retail from Indonesia. This is attributed to the increasing use of mobile devices, especially with cheaper smartphones enabling a greater population to access the digital sphere. This rapid growth projects digital ad spending to increase to 20.4% of all media ad spending by 2018, up from 10.7% in 2016. This report illuminates the expanse of Indonesia’s digital ad market that could be further developed, and have an emergent interest in the technology amongst local advertisers.

With the largest population in Southeast Asia, an exponential increase in digital adoption, and a seemingly insatiable appetite for e-commerce and social media, Indonesia is the puzzle every brand wants to solve.

However, does this mean the death of the traditional advertising and offline retail? Are you as a marketer confident in leaving your brand in the hands of the bots?

While digitisation has revolutionised the marketing function in Indonesia, brands cannot assume that a digital presence is the solution to building market share. Because of the increase in digital ad spending cited above, the question of effective brand engagement is more crucial than ever.

So what can brands do to continue engaging their consumers beyond their finger-tips and into their hearts and minds? And more importantly, how can you build loyalty in a competitive market like Indonesia?

Going beyond Digital

The consumer journey is not limited to just the digital sphere. Rather than situating offline and online as extreme entities, they should be treated as a continuum. Take the example of Zalora. Marketed as the leading online apparel retailer in Asia, Zalora launched several pop-up stores in order to let consumers try their items before buying, thereby reducing return rates.

Strategic alliances between logistic services and e-commerce consumer brands like Zalora are revolutionising the customer experience. The traditional is not dead. It is revamped with renewed excitement. Digital is an essential medium for marketers to reach out to their audience. This is more so imperative in the emerging scene of digital marketing in Indonesia to start with the right foot in.

To take a first-hand look at how leading marketers are tackling Indonesia’s digital frontier, be involved in Digital Marketing Indonesia that is happening on 24th and 25th November at Mandarin Oriental, Jakarta.

Research
Navigating the Retail Landscape in Southeast Asia: Key Challenges for 2025

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