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The risky decision of Indonesia’s central government and regional governments to (gradually) ease the various self-imposed social and business restrictions (that had been imposed in April 2020) has caused changes in economic activity in Indonesia, particularly in consumer behavior, starting from June 2020.
A survey of Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia) shows that retail sales have grown strongly in December 2018. The growth pace was recorded at 7.7 percent year-on-year (y/y) in the last month of 2018, strengthening from an annual growth rate of 3.4 percent (y/y) in the preceding month.
The extended Eid al-Fitr holiday is now over and everyone should be back at work per Monday (25/06). Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta is also, again, plagued by heavy traffic congestion. In fact, traffic congestion should be slightly worse than before the holiday because it is estimated that more than 72,000 newcomers settled in Jakarta after this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Approaching the end of the year, retail companies in Indonesia are now starting to prepare for the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations in late-December. Indonesia has two traditional peaks of rising consumer demand (hence rising inflationary pressures): (1) Ramadan/Idul Fitri festivities and (2) Christmas/New Year celebrations.
Indonesia's retail sales declined in July 2017 in line with the return to normal consumption patterns after the Ramadan and Idul Fitri celebrations ended. This is reflected in Bank Indonesia's retail sales index that showed a 3.3 percent decline year-on-year (y/y), after a 6.3 percent (y/y) increase in the preceding month. The decline in Indonesia's retail sales occurred in both food and non-food groups.
Bleak retail sales in Indonesia are expected to continue in the second half of 2017 amid weak consumer purchasing power. Yongky Susilo, Executive Director at Retailer Services Nielsen Indonesia, expects the nation's retail sales growth to be be 6 percent year-on-year (y/y), tops. Normally, the growth pace of retail sales in Southeast Asia's largest economy averages 10 - 11 percent (y/y).
Sales of electronics in Indonesia in the second quarter of 2017 are expected to have remained stuck at the same level as in the first quarter amid bleak demand. Ali Soebroto, Chairman of the Indonesian Electronics Industries Association (Gabel), said domestic sales growth of electronics has not risen significantly in Q2-2017 and, in fact, is far from the target. Soebroto attributed these weak electronic sales to people's preference to purchase goods that are related to the fasting month (Ramadan) such as food products or clothes.
Despite the improving export performance (supported by improving commodity prices), it may be difficult for Indonesia to deliver +5 percent year-on-year (y/y) gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of 2017. Main reason is subdued consumer purchasing power due to higher electricity tariffs in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Therefore, economic growth of Indonesia is expected to be rather similar to the 4.92 percent (y/y) growth pace recorded in Q1-2016.
In 2016 Indonesia was the third-largest Asian country in terms of modern retail sales growth after India and China. Last year Indonesia's modern retail sales expanded 10 percent to IDR 200 trillion (approx. USD $15 billion). Roy Nicholas Mandey, Chairman of the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo), said Indonesia remains an attractive country for retailers due to the enormous size of the population. Moreover, due to economic growth this population constitutes a strengthening consumer force. Lastly, Indonesians are known as people who are eager to try and buy new products.
Both Indonesia's processed food and beverage industry and modern retail sectors are considered to have great potential for the next three years due to Indonesia's huge domestic market, expanding middle class as well as sharply rising Internet and smartphone penetration (giving rise to a rapidly developing e-commerce industry). Meanwhile, accelerated economic growth and low inflation are the right recipe to boost people's purchasing power, hence boosting sales.
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Before we zoom in on Indonesia, it is worth taking a closer look at the latest reports released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its World Economic Outlook (released in October 2024), the IMF stated that global economic growth is expected to remain stable, yet underwhelming, at 3.2 percent year-on-year (y/y) in 2024.
Before we take a look at the latest macroeconomic data from Indonesia, first there is some good news to share as both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) decided to revise up their projections for the Indonesian economy in 2023.
As usual, we take a look at a number of macroeconomic indicators to assess the state of the Indonesian economy ahead of the release of Q2-2023 gross domestic product (GDP) data (we expect Indonesia’s Statistical Agency, or BPS, to release the data in the second week of August 2023).
The holy Islamic fasting month (Ramadan) and the weeklong celebrations that mark the end of the Ramadan (known as Idul Fitri or Lebaran in Indonesia) is important for the Indonesian economy as it is a period when people consume more than usual.
Despite the ongoing challenges (that mainly originate from abroad), there is reason to be optimistic about Indonesia’s economic growth in 2022 as the COVID-19 threat has eased.
There are reasons to be optimistic about Indonesia’s economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2021. Obviously, the underlying reason being that new confirmed COVID-19 infections have not been far from zero in Indonesia throughout the final quarter of the year. As a consequence, the government of Indonesia did not need to impose tough restrictions, hence economic activity is allowed to blossom.
There are signs that household consumption in Indonesia is rebounding ahead of this year's Idul Fitri holiday. This would be a great boost for Indonesia's overall economic growth as private consumption accounts for around 57 percent of the nation's total economic growth. One of the reasons why Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been stuck around the 5 percent (y/y) mark in recent years is subdued household consumption (which has fallen slightly below the 5 percent y/y mark).
Over the past couple of months there have been many reports about Indonesia's weak consumer purchasing power. For example, the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) said it detected rather weak retail sales during this year's Idul Fitri period (the week-long holiday that marks the end of the Islamic fasting month). Whereas these sales rose 16.3 percent during last year's edition of Idul Fitri, they rose only by an estimated 5-6 percent this year.
Indonesian retail businesses are optimistic that their performance will improve in 2016 on the back of rising purchasing power amid the government's decision to cut energy tariffs (fuel and electricity) and its plan to raise non-taxable income by 50 percent. These moves mean that Indonesian consumers (particularly in the lower middle class segment) should have more money to spend. Tutum Rahanta, Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo), says retail business can grow by 12 - 15 percent (y/y) in 2016, considerably higher than the 7 - 8 percent (y/y) growth pace realized last year.
Matahari Department Store is a leading modern retail business in Indonesia offering a wide variety of products such as accessories, home-ware and fashion. In 2016 the company, which has been listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange since 1989, plans to open between six and eight new stores as part of its expansion plans. This is a more conservative plan compared to 2015 when Matahari Department Store opened 11 new stores. However, the lower amount of new stores may in fact manage to enhance productivity at the existing stores and curtail operational costs.
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