Jakarta. Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto recently said that Harbolnas or the National Online Shopping Day would likely book about Rp 40 trillion ($2.5 billion) worth of transactions. 

This target marks quite a huge increase compared to the Rp 25.7 trillion recorded in the previous year. 

The government has long backed the Indonesian E-Commerce Association (idEA) to celebrate the National Online Shopping Day on Dec. 12. This year, Harbolnas will go on for 7 days, starting on Dec. 10. The campaign not only provides Indonesia an opportunity to boost its digital economy, but to also further promote locally made goods, especially ones produced by the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). 

“NielsenIQ data shows that Indonesians are increasingly fond of shopping. So our purchasing power is still pretty good, fast-moving consumer goods even grew 1.1 percent year-on-year as of Q3,” Airlangga was quoted as saying in a recent press statement. 

Indonesia’s digital economy is also thriving, and is forecast to reach $90 billion this year. E-commerce will contribute $65 billion, meaning that the sector accounts for 72 percent of the country’s digital economy, according to Airlangga. He also highlighted that the massive digital economy growth took place across the ASEAN members. ASEAN’s digital economy is forecast to hit $1 trillion by 2030. The Southeast Asian bloc is currently negotiating a digital economy framework agreement (DEFA), which they wish to finish by next year, according to Airlangga. 

 The government is even planning to lower airfare by 10 percent during the upcoming peak season of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The Indonesian Retailers and Shopping Mall Lessees Association (Hippindo) will also hold the Belanja di Indonesia Aja (‘Shop Locally’) campaign on Dec. 20-29. Indonesian Retailer Association (Aprindo) will also hold an epic sale (‘every purchase is cheap’) campaign in Indonesian supermarkets and minimarkets across the archipelago on Dec. 22-31. 

“As many as 110 million people or 41 percent of our population are expected to increase their consumption this holiday season. …  We hope these initiatives will boost Indonesia’s economy in Q4,” Airlangga said.