Regarding the phenomenon of shops closing due to the sluggish industry, the boss of the retail said it was a common thing.

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Association of Retailers and Mall Tenants (Hippindo) admitted that the phenomenon of closing retail outlets still occurs in 2026.

However, this condition does not reflect a weakening of the industry, but rather part of a business strategy to adjust to changes in consumer behavior and expansion into new regions.

Hippindo Chairman Budihardjo Iduansjah said that store closures are common in the retail industry.

According to him, the company will close stores that are no longer productive and expand outlets in locations that are considered more potential.

"Closing a store is a normal thing. That is, if the store is quiet, we will close it, if the store is crowded, we will even enlarge it," said Budihardjo when met by reporters at the Ministry of Finance's office, Jakarta, Thursday, August 6.

According to Budihardjo, changes in consumer behavior are one of the main factors that drive this adjustment.

The presence of an online shopping platform alias online makes it easier for people to buy various needs without having to come to the store directly.

"Indeed, at this time the consumer situation has changed somewhat, many of them are F&B (food and beverage). Because of online, so if you buy goods, even now people just click," he said.

He assessed that this condition requires business actors and shopping center managers to be more creative to attract visitors to physical stores.

One of the efforts undertaken is to hold various shopping festivals and strengthen the concept of shopping tourism in cooperation with the government, including the Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar).

Although he admitted that there were still outlets that were closed, Budihardjo said, store expansion continued, especially outside Java Island. According to him, a number of regions still offer attractive growth opportunities for retail business actors.

"Maybe in Java it's full, there's a lot of competition for investors to come and open stores and malls, maybe there are many open outside, yes, we will open there too. Like Bali, right, just open a lot of retail now," he explained.

On the other hand, Hippindo also sees the interest of foreign investors in the Indonesian retail sector is still high. This is reflected in the entry of various new brands as well as the development of commercial areas in a number of areas.

"That shows their confidence is very high. In our association, we see that the investment that wants to enter Indonesia is still good, still high," he added.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Indonesia Retail Summit & Expo (IRSE) 2026 Committee, Haryanto Pratantara, said that the large number of new brands entering Indonesia is an indicator that the prospects for the national retail industry are still attractive to investors.

"Maybe you can also see many new brands coming in. That shows that they also want and believe in investing in Indonesia," he concluded.