Indonesian love for online shopping. Quoting data from GlobalWebIndex, Indonesia is a country with the highest rate of e-commerce adoption in the world in 2019. As many as 90 percent of internet users aged 16 to 64 years in Indonesia have purchased products and services online. Even, according to Indonesia Bank data, in 2019, the number of online trade transactions every month will reach Rp 13 trillion.

So, what are the advantages they like when online shopping? Or what medium is most often used for online shopping?

Let’s find out about Indonesian preferences in online shopping.

This result is from a survey done by Licorice.

PERIOD: 2017/5/12 – 2017/5/1

RESPONDENTS: 501 Indonesians

Q: How often do you shop online? (SA)

Based on a survey by Licorice, about 92.42 percent do online shopping. From the chart above, 28.14 percent shop online every day. Then, 22.16 percent shop online four to five times a week.

Online surveys conducted by optinmonster.com illustrate those who usually shop online every day are women. Then, the items that women buy every day are food and household goods.

The behavior of Indonesian consumers who mostly shop online every day also has an impact on e-commerce growth. Quoted from iPrice, Indonesia currently has 47 active e-commerce sites. Even some supermarkets have also penetrated the online world because they see the characteristics of Indonesians.

Q: Which medium are you using to shop online? (SA)

Based on a survey by Licorice, about 69.66 percent do an online shop through their smartphone. That’s because they do not have to bother passing through traffic to arrive at a shopping center, which is the desired goods can be more easily obtained just by accessing the internet via a smartphone. Plus, the Statista’s data says, the number of smartphone users in Indonesia was estimated to reach 81.87 million users in 2020. Currently, Indonesia is the fourth-largest smartphone market worldwide after China, India and the United States.

Indonesians admit windowing shopping on their smartphones is enjoyable. Not only that but mostly these digital window shoppers make impulse purchases. They even make a purchase from their device within the first hour of seeing the product. Besides, mobile shopping is quickly catching up to desktop shopping. It’s easier to do as people are often on the go. Because of this, optimizing your site for mobile is crucial.

Q: What are the advantage of online shopping? (SA)

Based on a survey by Licorice, about 23.55 percent, said the advantage of online shopping because they can shop 24 hours. They can shop at any time without fear because the shop closes as if shopping by coming directly to the shopping center. They just need to take a smartphone or laptop, enter the e-commerce page and shop at any time, even at 3 am. 

Another research by the iPrice Group has found that online shopping during office hours is popular among Indonesian consumers, with activities spiking at 11 a.m. Other than that, another advantage perceived by consumers is a wide variety or range of products are available. Sometimes, customers also get good discounts or lower prices.

Q: What are the disadvantage of online shopping? (SA)

On the other hand, the disadvantage perceived by consumers is items can not be physically inspected before purchasing. Especially when if it has a poor quality product photo. It can make people are reluctant to buy a product online. Moreover, 7.39 percent answered takes time for goods to be received by us. The delivery of the products to the customer doorstep takes about 2 days to 1 week.

The Conclusion

From the survey, we can conclude that Indonesians love online shopping. They shop anytime and anywhere. In fact, today, Indonesians can be said to rely heavily on e-commerce to shop for all their needs. If you want to develop e-commerce in Indonesia, make sure you provide all necessities, from food, clothing, to home appliances. But don’t forget, for on shopping apps, choose and upload photos of products that are very good so that consumers do not feel any difference with the original product. Also, upgrading delivering services at a faster time.