Tokopedia's Strategy in Becoming the Indonesian Marketplace Leader

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Based on the “e-conomy SEA 2020 Report” issued by Google, Temasek and Bain Company, Indonesia has the highest transaction value in Southeast Asia with an economic value up to $44 billion in 2020 and is also predicted to reach $124 billion by 2025.

The digital economy in Indonesia continues to grow by double digits with the e-commerce and online media sectors as the largest contributors. Currently, the Southeast Asia region is also considered as one of the most promising digital economy markets in the world.

Tokopedia, one of Indonesia's local marketplaces, responded to this situation with a commitment of #SelaluAdaSelaluBisa (Always Present, Always Able) to meet the needs of all its users, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“During Covid-19 pandemic situation, Tokopedia believes that the digital platform like marketplace is a solution for providing consumer needs and running a business in the current situation of tight activity restrictions,” said Inna Chandika, VP of Marketplace of Tokopedia.

Inna said that Tokopedia will continue to focus on helping the entrepreneurs, especially local Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by accelerating the adoption of digital platforms. This was done in order to maintain business activities and to contribute to the recovery of the national economy.

Various actions and strategies were carried out, one of it was the #JagaEkonomiIndonesia campaign along with the national movement #BanggaBuatanIndonesia (Proud of Indonesian-made). According to Inna, this action is intended to attract more Indonesians to fulfill their needs from the comfort of their homes and to inspire more businesses to transform online, hence encouraging the national economic recovery.

“In addition, Tokopedia is also actively collaborating with entrepreneurs through various activities, such as Tokopedia Nyam, Tokopedia Beauty Dealight, TokoMart and many others,” said Inna.

As part of the company’s strategy to attract more people to shop online amidst the pandemic, the company also launched ‘Waktu Indonesia Belanja’ (WIB) (Indonesian Shopping Time) campaign. This is a regular shopping program by Tokopedia held every month from the 25th until the end of the month, offering added value that make people's shopping experiences more attractive and efficient.

“WIB is a form of our commitment to help Indonesians find products and services easily from home. This also adapts to the Indonesian traditions who are accustomed to do shopping on payday,” said Inna.

Inna also added that the company has been very bold in their commitment to serving the regions across the archipelago through their hyperlocal initiative. “As an Indonesian technology company serving only Indonesian market, we put high importance on advancing local businesses in regions across the country to drive regional economic growth,” she said. “We provide various special pages such as Kumpulan Toko Pilihan (KTP) and TokoMart which has geo-tagging technology to make it easier for people to get daily necessities from the nearest sellers,” she added.

Another form of Tokopedia's hyperlocal initiative is the digitalization of traditional markets. One of them is Pasar Cikurubuk Online which has managed to record an increase in orders of up to 4 times since joining Tokopedia. Meanwhile, the Pasar Sehat Sabilulungan Cicalengka also managed to record an increase in orders more than two times during the first quarter of 2021.

Another effective strategy that has been implemented by Tokopedia to become the leading marketplace in Indonesia is to collaborate with music groups from South Korea, BTS and BLACKPINK. It is an effort to keep up with the Indonesian market from the millennial generation and generation Z. “Tokopedia has also become the first company in the world to collaborate with these two South Korean megastars at the same time,” she added.

“Through these various initiatives, we have seen a surge in buyers and sellers on our platform. Based on Tokopedia's internal data, there are more than 11 million sellers serving more than 100 million monthly active users spread across 99 percent of districts in Indonesia,” said Inna.

Esa Soeryaningrum, the Program Director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) and a Lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Business, Diponegoro University said that various efforts and strategies from Tokopedia will bring good to all parties, both in the micro and macro-economic spheres. “This is Tokopedia’s way to increase its size, both in terms of capital and market, so that Tokopedia’s market share in Indonesia will be wider,” told her.

Meanwhile, Inna said, the growth of the Tokopedia business as an Indonesian technology company can be one of the driving forces for Indonesia's national economic growth. “We will continue to focus on building a Super Ecosystem where everyone can start and discover anything to achieve our mission of democratizing commerce through technology in Indonesia,” said Inna.(*)

INFO TEMPO