TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Google and Temasek’s research in its 2018 e-Conomy SEA report stated that the e-commerce industry’s Gross Merchandise Value or GMV in Southeast Asia reached US$23,2 billion or equivalent to Rp336,4 trillion (assuming Rp14,500 per US dollar) in 2018.

The Google Indonesia Managing Director Randy Jusuf said the number increased 114 percent compared to 2017, which was only US$10,9 billion. “GMV e-commerce in Indonesia in 2018 is US$12,2 billion,” he said at the Google office in Indonesia, Tuesday, November 27.

Randy predicted that the number would increase to US$53 billion by 2025. “With Tokopedia, Bukalapak, Shopee and Lazada competing in Indonesia, it becomes the most important market for them,” Randy said.

In fact, Indonesia’s e-commerce GMV in 2018 defeated the neighboring countries such as Malaysia, which is only US$2 billion, Philippines US$1,5 billion, Singapore US$1,8 billion, Thailand US$3 billion and Vietnam US$2,8 billion. This rapid growth in e-commerce, said Randy, is because Asian consumers, especially Indonesia, are highly dependent on purchasing products online.

Randy said Indonesian e-commerce contributed US$1 of every US$2 spent in Southeast Asia. In other words, Indonesia contributed 50 percent of shopping transactions in Southeast Asia.

Randy also explained, the overall growth of the digital economy in Southeast Asia reached US$72 billion. This number is expected to increase in 2025 to US$240 billion.

In addition, the Southeast Asian digital economy is also predicted to contribute 2.8 percent of GDP in 2018 and is predicted to increase to 8 percent by 2025.

KARTIKA ANGGRAENI