TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A study conducted by tech giant Facebook revealed that the number of digital consumers in Indonesia (RI) in 2018 reached 102 million or 53 percent of the country’s population, skyrocketed from 64 million or 34 percent of the total population in 2017.

Indonesia, it noted, contributed to the growth of online shopping in Southeast Asia, which is forecasted to soar further until 2025.

“With the hike number of digital consumers, the growth of online shopping in Indonesia is also predicted to increase 3.7 times from US$13.1 billion in 2017 to US$48.3 billion in 2025,” said Edy Wijaya from the management consulting firm Bain & Company, that is Facebook’s partner in the study, on Wednesday, February 19.

In Southeast Asia alone, the number of digital consumers jumped from 90 million in 2-15 to 250 million in 2018 or by 2.8 times, and the figure was believed to reach 310 million by 2025.

Facebook Indonesia Marketing Head Hilda Kitti explained that the follow-up study of the Emerging Middle Class was carried out in 2018 with a total of 12,965 respondents across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam and more than 30 CEOs and investors were interviewed in those said states.

The study results proved that the digital world played a vital role in business and e-commerce development in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. “Southeast Asia’s emerging middle class will dominate 70-80 percent of the digital consumers' growth by 2025,” Hilda added.

In Indonesia, Hilda went on, as many as 66 percent of the respondents claimed they were open to choose other brands or buy various brands when shopping online. “This means, every scale of business has a great opportunity to compete in greater scope in Southeast Asia,” she said.

MOH KHORY ALFARIZI