What to expect from Indonesian ecommerce in 2017

Indonesia, among other emerging Asian economies, presents many opportunities for ecommerce. Current projections put the archipelago’s online market at US$130 billion by 2020. With Indonesia’s uniqueness, the ecommerce industry should innovate to dominate the market by improving logistics, technology, and other important facets.

As someone who works in the ecommerce industry, I am exposed every day to discussions on Southeast Asia and Indonesia, specifically. Here are my predictions on the country’s ecommerce trends in 2017.

One-day delivery service

Delivery time is one of the most common issues Indonesians face when shopping online. People would say, “I don’t want to buy online because it takes a really long time to get an item. I’d rather buy stuff from a physical store so I can take it right away.”

In 2016, we saw a lot of effort from ecommerce companies to overcome such issues. We saw Bukalapak collaborate with GoJek for one-day delivery services. Tokopedia also used the same strategy with Go Send and Grabexpress, and Lazada made their own delivery service called LEX (Lazada Express).

In 2017, we will see more aggressive movements from ecommerce companies to crack this issue and grab more customers. On January 18, J&T, a logistics service, announced that they were collaborating with Tokopedia to offer free package pickups from users’ homes. We have also seen a lot of rising app-based logistics services, such as Deliveree and Etobee, that offer more delivery options for Indonesian customers. PopBox, a startup that produces automated parcel lockers, can also be used by other ecommerce players.

The rise of chat bots

A company’s customer service division takes up a lot of resources; they need to be on standby 24/7 to make sure each customer complaint or question is handled correctly.

Tech Monster, Google, Facebook, and Twitter are all introducing their own chat bots to help with their customer service activities—Google Allo, Facebook Messenger, and Twitter Bots. In 2017, people will spend more time on social media, so using chatbots based on social media platforms is a good move for companies dealing with ecommerce.

Optimization of mobile apps

According to Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Informatics, 2018 will see 100 million active mobile phone users. With these numbers, Indonesia will have the fourth biggest population of mobile phone users after China, India, and the US.

Photo credit: iPrice Insights.

In 2016, online transactions on PC were still higher compared to those on mobile phones (21.4 million vs. 12.82 million). However, that looks to have changed this year—online transactions on mobile phones were predicted to be higher than those on PC. We have also seen how ecommerce companies, such as Bukalapak and Tokopedia, have actively promoted their own mobile apps (they have made a lot of special promotions for those who purchase from these apps).

To increase mobile phone transactions in 2017 and to get a better insight of their customers, ecommerce companies will try their best to optimize their mobile apps. They will do this by improving their UX and UI, offering more exclusive promotions, and considering affiliate marketing and influencer campaigns.

Customer loyalty programs

More payment options