The Institute of Grocery Distribution estimates that Indonesia has one of the biggest grocery markets in Asia, with a value expected to reach around USD 170 billion in 2022, up from USD 140 billion in 2019. The country is also projected to become the fourth-biggest grocery market in Asia in 2022, after China, India, and Japan.
Importantly, E-grocery platforms in Indonesia have raised significant investments in recent years. For instance, in 2021 Segari raised USD 18 million, HappyFresh USD 65, and TaniHub USD 65.5 million.
Tech companies are investing in the segment, too, launching their own on-demand grocery features, such as GoMart by Gojek and GrabFresh by Grab. Moreover, major tech firms are now partnering with conventional grocery retailers.
In 2021, E-commerce firm Blibli acquired 51% of retail company Supra Boga Lestari, which operates premium grocery chains Ranch Markets and Farmer’s Market. BliBli currently ranks as the fifth most visited e-commerce site in Indonesia, with around 18 million monthly visits. In 2018, it became one of the first e-commerce platforms in Indonesia to enter the grocery segment when it launched BliBli Mart.
In 2020, transactions on BliBli Mart tripled during the pandemic. Similarly, GoMart’s transactions increased 800% from February to December 2020. In the same year, Tokopedia launched an online grocery service called TokoMart, which uses geotagging technology to allow users to buy groceries from the closest seller.
Currently, the penetration of online groceries in Indonesia is still in the early stages, and mostly focusing on the Greater Jakarta region.
(Sources: KrASIA; TechInAsia)