Mandiri Institute: Middle-Class Spending Slows

The Mandiri Institute has revealed that upper and middle-income groups are the main pillars of spending in the second quarter of 2026. In early May 2026, upper-group spending grew by 5.3% year-on-year. This figure is higher than the same period in the previous year, which grew by 3.1% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, middle-group spending slowed to 6.3% year-on-year compared to 6.7% in the previous year. The lower group experienced a significant decline to 7.2% compared to 9.6% in the previous year.

“Here, it is very clear that spending growth is indeed stronger in the upper group,” said Head of Mandiri Institute Andre Simangunsong during the Mandiri Macro & Market Brief Q2-2026 Indonesia Economic Outlook, held online on Monday, 11 May 2026.

In addition, the financial capacity of the upper and middle groups is also stronger. The Mandiri Saving Index for the upper group in early May was recorded at 92.6, an increase of 1.0% from the previous month. The middle group increased by 0.3% to 101.9. Conversely, the lower group’s savings rate fell by 1.2% to 71.7.

Overall, the Mandiri Spending Index (MSI) in the first week of May 2026 stood at 122.3. According to Andre, this figure indicates an improvement after the MSI corrected for five consecutive weeks. On a weekly basis, the MSI rose by 0.16% from a minus 0.10% position the previous week.

Andre assesses that the increase in public spending was influenced by the long holiday for Labour Day in the first week of May. However, its effect was quite limited compared to the previous year. “Last year, after the peak Lebaran effect, public spending dropped significantly, but the rebound was also significant,” Andre stated.