Airlangga Says Harbolnas 2024 Will Boost The Indonesian Digital Economy

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto (Photo: dock. VOI)

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that National Online Shopping Day (Harbolnas) initiated by the Indonesian E-Commerce Association (idEA) and commemorated every December 12 was able to boost Indonesia's digital economy.

Airlangga appreciated ministries/agencies, associations, MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), the community and all parties who have been enthusiastic about supporting the Harbolnas program that focuses on MSMEs and industries in the country.

From NielsenIQ data, Indonesians are increasingly fond of shopping. This means that if we look at people's purchasing power, it is still quite good, from consumer goods, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) until the third quarter (Q3) it is still growing 1.1 percent year on year. So, domestic consumption is still increasing," said Airlangga quoting Antara.

The contribution from Indonesia's digital economy sector in 2024 is predicted to reach 90 billion US dollars and the online store sector (e-commerce) contributed a large amount, reaching 65 billion US dollars.

This means that 72 percent of Indonesia's digital economy comes from the e-commerce sector, and the rest comes from transportation, food, online travel, and online media.

"If we look at the digital sector, this is an increase of 13 percent. Because indeed we will encourage e-commerce as our economic support. The value of this digital economy sector is 80 billion US dollars in 2023 and in the next two years it is estimated that the value is 125 billion US dollars," explained Airlangga.

He said the presence of Harbolnas 2024 was not just a celebration of online shopping, but a real step to support the improvement of the national economy and local products.

The Harbolnas 2024 program will be held for 7 days from December 10, 2024.

In addition, not only the Harbolnas program, Airlangga also encouraged the Proud Made in Indonesia program which was also initiated to support Indonesian MSMEs.

Then on that occasion, he also explained that e-commerce does not only grow in Indonesia, but also grows in the ASEAN Region. It is estimated that the ASEAN region's digital economy is estimated to be worth US$1 trillion in 2030.

"And we are preparing a Digital Economic Framework Agreement (DEFA). Later this DEFA is expected to be next year, in 2025, in signature. If this is ASEAN integration, we are not just talking about the 180 million people market, but the 600 million people market," said Airlangga.

Furthermore, Airlangga said that no one took a vacation without shopping and no one spent without a vacation, and was supported by plane tickets that had been lowered 10 percent and also promotions from hotels.

The Harbolnas program will also be continued with a Shopping Pogram in Indonesia Aja from HIPPINDO on December 20-29, 2024. In addition, there is also an EPIC Sale (Every Purchase is Cheat) from APRINDO in supermarkets and minimarkets throughout Indonesia starting December 22-31, 2024.

The launch of Harbolnas, BINA, and Epic Sale coincides with the momentum of the 2024 Christmas and New Year's Holidays (Nataru), which in this moment is predicted to be as many as 110 million people or 41 percent of Indonesia's population has the potential to increase consumption activities.

And given a special program called EPiC Sale, Every Purchase is Cheat. So everything is cheap. Banking and others will give discounts. And this is all retailers, including supermarkets. That means there are 80 thousand outlets that do shopping programs in Indonesia only. And everything is cheap. So, therefore, we hope that with this activity, consumer purchasing power will be boosted and become a program that can boost the Indonesian economy in the fourth quarter," explained Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

In a doorstop session with the media crew, Airlangga said that Harbolnas 2024 is expected to boost sales to higher than 2023, from IDR 25.7 trillion to IDR 40 trillion.

"Therefore, we hope that people can take advantage of it because almost all discount products and some shipping products are free," he added.