Study: 73% in ID will make mobile purchases this Ramadan

Ramadan is around the corner and consumers in Indonesia are planning to shop for the festive season. In fact, three in five consumers in Indonesia plan to spend RP3 million on Ramadan shopping this year. 

Out of 500 consumers surveyed, 60% revealed that they plan to increase their online shopping budgets, while 41% intend to increase their offline shopping expenditures. 

These are the findings of InMobi and Glance's 'The marketers guide to Ramadan report'. Conducted in 2024, the report also found that mobile is the Indonesian Ramadan shopper's favourite medium to learn, research and buy. 

Don't miss: Study: Shopee is the most popular eCommerce platform in Indonesia 

97% of consumers in the country rely on their smartphones for research and are swayed by app-driven promotions when making purchasing choices. 

In addition, 73% of shoppers will make purchases on mobile. Their top reasons for shopping on mobile are easy-payments (51%), app-only discounts and offers (49%) and free shipping (49%). 

Indonesian Ramadan shoppers also start their research and shopping as early as a month before Ramadan. Therefore, the month leading up to the festivities is a crucial time for brands to make a lasting impact. 

While 57% of Indonesians are shopping for themselves, the spirit of giving is alive and well as family, neighbours, and people in need are also a priority for Ramadan spending. Household staff, business partners and clients are next in line for festive generosity as well.

Shoppers are making purchases on mobile for these particular categories: clothing and accessories (89%), grocery (71%) and gift packs (70%). 

Mobile shoppers are also making purchases for health and beauty products and gadgets.

"There's no denying the central role of smartphones in influencing purchasing decisions among consumers in Indonesia," said Vasuta Agarwal, chief business officer, InMobi Group.

"To win in this market, brands must engage with their audience through seamless, single-tap mobile experiences, and state-of-the-art technologies that are built to foster meaningful brand-consumer connections." 

In addition, the report identified three types of shoppers in Indonesia: unplanned shoppers (17%), category explorers (68%) and brand lovers (15%).

Unplanned shoppers are undecided on products and brands and are keen to explore the biggest deals. They’re more likely to be older consumers too. 61% have budgets under RP3 million. 

Category explorers are decided on products but are still actively exploring which brands. These are more likely to be younger consumers with 59% having budgets over RP3 million.

Brand lovers are already decided on brands and are loyal to their favourites. These are typically older consumers. 45% of brand lovers have budgets over RP5 million.

Interestingly, out of all the popular eCommerce platforms in Indonesia, Shopee is the most popular.

Close to three in four (73%) consumers make purchases on the platform. Tokopedia, on the other hand, comes in second with two in five (39%) consumers on it. Lazada comes third with 22%, and is followed by Bukalapak (6%), Blibli (5%) and Zalora (2%).

In tandem, among frequent online shoppers who make multiple eCommerce purchases every month, Shopee (77%) remains the most popular eCommerce platform.

Tokopedia comes after with 43% and Lazada with 24%. Bukalapak (7%), Blibli (6%) and Zalora (3%) were among the least popular.

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