Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia reports Ramadan consumer behaviour, says almost $1 mln in zakat, sadaqah transacted
JAKARTA – Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia recently reported new shopping behaviours by consumers on its platform during the month of Ramadan.
On its dedicated Islamic marketplace section, Tokopedia Salam, 13 billlion rupiah ($918,000) in zakat, charity and other donations were transacted, Garri Juanda, head of Tokopedia Salam, told Salaam Gateway.
Tokopedia Salam was launched in November by the Indonesian tech unicorn.
“The amount of zakat al fitr, for instance, is equivalent to almost 100 tons of rice. Meanwhile the amount of zakat al mal collected experienced a threefold increase compared to the previous year,” said Garri.
The number of users of other features such as digital Al Quran increased threefold during Ramadan compared to the month prior to it. Tokopedia Salam worked with the Ministry of Religious Affairs to launch the digital Quran feature that went through a review process to guarantee accuracy.
Going forward, Garri said that Tokopedia will continue to focus on helping the government with economic recovery. One way is by accelerating digital adoption for as many local businesses as possible, especially MSMEs, in order for them to adapt and innovate amid the pandemic.
“We also look forward to collaborating with more partners to provide more Muslim-friendly products and services, as part of our ongoing commitment to accelerate the growth of the Shariah economy in Indonesia,” he said.
RAMADAN SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR
Tokopedia VP of Corporate Communications, Nuraini Razak, told Salaam Gateway off-line festivals and bazaars moved online during Ramadan as most Indonesians were forced to stay home during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The world’s biggest book fair, the Big Bad Wolf Book Bazaar, was launched exclusively online for the first time on Tokopedia from April 27 to May 3. The online launch resulted in tens of thousands of book sales and all sold out on the third day.
Tokopedia also collaborated with pop-up market specialist Semasa to initiate an online event to curate beauty products as well as food and beverages from May 15 to 17. 31 local brands participated in the event.
In the fashion category, this year’s Jakarta Sneakers Day (JSD) was also held on Tokopedia from March 28 to 29. More than 98 curated brands participated and recorded an increase in transactions of more than five times compared to normal days. JSD also introduced special segments that highlighted rising local brands, with an average of each product sold every 5 seconds within a period of 4 hours, according to Tokopedia.
“From the culinary category, Tokopedia routinely holds Festival Santapan Lezat every weekend starting from May until June 2020. This online campaign is a result of a joint collaboration between Tokopedia and more than 500 sellers from many provinces in Indonesia. A number of positive impacts were experienced by participating sellers, ranging from increased sales to wider exposure to buyers,” said Nuraini.
MOST POPULAR CATEGORIES
Nuraini said Tokopedia’s internal data showed that the Food and Beverage, Household, Health, and Electronics categories are among the four most popular categories during Ramadan.
In the Food and Beverage category, dates, processed meats, fruits such as oranges and avocados, and packaged coffee are the most purchased products.
Tokopedia previously collaborated with more than 1,000 local coffee businesses. Kopi Klinik and Dua Coffee are two of the businesses that have accelerated digital adoption and now more than 80% of their sales come from online orders through Tokopedia.
“In addition to purchasing local coffee, gardening has been a highly popular activity among Indonesians during the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) on Ramadan. This can be seen from the increased sales of plants, pots, and storage areas in the Household category,” said Nuraini.
In the Electronics category, earphones, light bulbs, and speakers are the most bought products.
In other segments, the Health category saw a significant increase. The most popular products include vitamins, first aid kits, and face masks. Tokopedia collaborated with local designers to promote the use of cloth face masks to reduce the spread of the COVID-19.
Social distancing and the lockdown also forced more Indonesians to paying their bills online. The number of recorded electricity bills paid through Tokopedia is enough to meet the electricity needs of more than 3.5 million homes for a month, according to the e-commerce company.
“On the telecommunication side, the number of phone credits sold through Tokopedia is equivalent to the amount of phone credits that can be used by everyone in Indonesia to stay in touch through 30-minute video calls,” said Nuraini.
Indonesians have also chosen to use the online platform to send pastries and parcels, including gift hampers, during Ramadan.
Tokopedia’s data reveals that the number of eggs needed to make cookies, when stacked up, is equivalent to 8 times the height of the Jayawijaya Mountains, which peak between 4,000 to 5,000 metres.
Hampers, including as gifts, were the most sought-after product during the Bagi-Bagi Semangat Ramadan Flash Sale which was held on Tokopedia from May 4 to 11.
Tokopedia launched in 2009 and has raised around $2.4 billion in funding over nine rounds, according to start-up database Crunchbase. Some of its backers include the Alibaba Group and the Softbank Vision Fund.
(Reporting by Yosi Winosa; Editing by Emmy Abdul Alim emmy.abdulalim@salaamgateway.com)
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