Khofifah Indar Parawansa Invites Wonokromo Market Traders To Adapt To Digitalization

Surabaya Prospective Governor of East Java number 2, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, received a vent from traders when conducting blusukan to Wonokromo Market, Surabaya, Saturday 5 October. Traders complained about the quieter market conditions from buyers, especially due to competition with online trade trends.

"Some traders here say the market is quiet, some say it's mediocre. They have to compete with online trade," Khofifah said when interacting with traders.

In response to this, Khofifah acknowledged that digitalization is unavoidable and needs to be faced by all sectors, including traditional markets. According to her, traders must start using digital platforms to sell their products to remain competitive in the modern era.

"Online sales, like it or not, must be adapted in traditional markets. That way, traders can serve buyers who come directly or those who buy online," said Khofifah.

He added that the downward trend for buyers was mostly felt by traders selling food in packaged form. However, wet market traders such as meat and fish sellers still have loyal customers, because many buyers have been subscribing for a long time.

"This means that traditional spending must start to integrate with online sales so that traders can serve all types of buyers," he added.

Khofifah also emphasized the importance of maintaining the quality and hygiene of traditional markets, as well as improving services by adopting a digital ecosystem. This is in line with the business digitization program that has been implemented during his leadership with Emil Dardak in the first period, through the development of the Millennial Job Center.

The program has trained thousands of people to develop their products to be more creative and market online, which aims to support small and medium enterprises to stay competitive amid increasingly digital market changes.

With this transformation, Khofifah hopes that traditional markets in East Java can continue to develop and provide better services to the community.