Will Indonesia’s Shopify-like startups go up against ecommerce titans?

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Hi readers,

When I was helping my brother set up his small online business in 2012, it was a real struggle to find a webstore builder that fit our tight budget.

At the time, it seemed that web-based online stores were something that only more established businesses did.

Now, though, the market is spoiled for choice. Over the past year in particular, startups have been aggressively tapping into this space and offering free webstores to users.

Interestingly, they are predominantly targeting microbusinesses as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), a segment that has powered the huge success of Indonesia’s biggest ecommerce marketplaces such as Tokopedia, Shopee, and Bukalapak.

If these Shopify-like webstore builders become a popular alternative sales channel for merchants, then the next few years could be an extremely exciting time for them. More interestingly, a clash with those marketplaces giants could be on the cards.

— Ardi Wirdana, journalist at Tech in Asia

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