April 18, 2023
JAKARTA – In the first quarter of 2023, Mitra Tokopedia has noted that Indonesians have purchased more digital products than wholesale products through their platform, signaling a shift in consumer behavior that aligns with post-pandemic era trends. Most notably, education fees, internet and cable TV, as well as E-Samsat product transactions increased sharply, by four times on average. This change in consumption is evidently having a positive impact on various business owners across the country, boosting their recovery after the pandemic era.
One such business owner is Aditya Hermawan, a Sidoarjo-based stall owner who has experienced massive growth since he transitioned into using e-commerce platforms to sell his products. Aditya started his business during his university days, initially selling only phone vouchers, but as technology developed, so did he, adopting new digital platforms like Mitra Tokopedia for his business. Today, Aditya has an offline stall located in Sidoarjo called Barokah Cell, where he sells a variety of digital products that include phone credit vouchers, internet data packages and bills for electricity and national healthcare.
“During the pandemic, my stall’s overall profit and transactions dropped drastically. I had to find a way to keep selling. Finally in 2022, I joined Mitra Tokopedia. The Mitra Tokopedia app helped me recover. Now my shop’s turnover can reach tens of millions of rupiah per day thanks to the initiative,” Aditya said.
Aditya also makes a conscious effort to empower his community so that they, too, can adopt digital platforms. He often educates residents on the added value of digital platforms, which can also service E-Samsat and tax payments for land and buildings, eliminating the need for residents to travel to access these public services.
Aditya is only one of the many success stories of business owners who joined the Mitra Tokopedia program since Indonesian consumers have shifted their behavior to using digital platforms for digital product transactions. Taking note of this change, Tokopedia is altering its approach and modifying its business in accordance with the data it has.
“Based on the data, we decided to modify our business by sunsetting the Wholesale Products feature in the Mitra Tokopedia application and focus on facilitating individuals and traditional business owners to sell 21 types of digital products at competitive prices so that they can earn more,” said Carlo Yudhistira Praditya, Head of Mitra Tokopedia, when asked about consumer behavior in the first quarter of 2023.
Dividing the 21 types of digital products into three categories, the three segments of the products are as follows: digital wallets, payments and purchases, which are used to pay for Gojek Wallet Balance/GoPay Top Up, donations and bills and internet credit and game vouchers, respectively.
Tokopedia held a virtual media briefing on Thursday (13/04/2023) featuring speakers like the head of Mitra Tokopedia, Carlo Yudhistira Praditya, as well as a Sidoarjo-based business owner who uses the platform. (./.)
With over 700 cities and regencies in Indonesia having access to various digital products, individuals and traditional business owners all over the country have tapped into this market and upgraded their businesses by joining programs such as Mitra Tokopedia.
Furthermore according to Tokopedia data, Minahasa, Raja Ampat and South Manokwari have become the regions with the highest increase of digital product transactions, while Sabu Raijua (NTT), Kaimana (West Papua) and Mappi (South Papua) have become regions with the highest increase of digital products sellers, experiencing triple the growth this quarter compared to last year.
This development serves as a catalyst for Tokopedia to accelerate its efforts to democratize commerce in Indonesia. One example of its commitment is its warung digitalization initiative, a collaboration between Tokopedia and the Ministry of Cooperative and SMEs of the Republic of Indonesia meant to encourage the adoption of digital platforms for the business development of local stall owners.
Additionally, the Mitra Tokopedia program makes access to public services such as property tax (PBB) and E-Samsat much easier, helping boost state revenues, with a recorded increase of almost 1.5 times this quarter compared to the same period last year. It’s also worth noting that Mitra Tokopedia is accelerating the realization of financial inclusion in the digital wallet product category so that people can more easily, safely and comfortably top up digital wallets to further facilitate the activity of digital product transactions within the country.
“Tokopedia will continuously review the Mitra Tokopedia business so that it can better meet the needs of users, especially individuals and traditional business owners across Indonesia,” concluded Carlo.