Middle East Conflict Yet to Impact Indonesian Retail Expansion
Alfamart’s Corporate Affairs Director, Solihin, stated that the company’s plan to expand with 100 stores in Bangladesh this year will depend on the performance of the retail operations currently in place. “It very much depends on the evaluation results from the two stores that are already open and those set to open soon,” Solihin said via text message on Thursday, 23 April 2026.
Meanwhile, the Director General of Domestic Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Iqbal Shoffan Shofwan, indicated that the overseas expansion of modern retail chains like Alfamart has not faced any obstacles due to the Middle East conflict.
For the development of modern retail domestically, Iqbal said that entrepreneurs are still pursuing expansion, albeit in limited numbers. “Not as expansive as 10 years ago,” he remarked at Graha Mandiri in Jakarta on Wednesday, 22 April 2026.
Iqbal noted that the sales performance of modern retail in the country remains stable, as evidenced by the achievements of shopping programmes throughout the first quarter of this year. He stated that retail entrepreneurs successfully generated revenue exceeding sales targets in every national shopping programme.
The Ministry of Trade recorded combined transactions from two national shopping programmes in the first quarter of 2026 at Rp 184.02 trillion, surpassing the set target of Rp 172.38 trillion. The programmes in question were Friday Mubarak and Belanja di Indonesia Aja (BINA) Lebaran 2026.
Friday Mubarak, initiated by the Indonesian Retail Entrepreneurs Association (Aprindo), recorded transactions of Rp 129.12 trillion, or 8.5 percent above target. This programme, held from 11 February to 31 March 2026, involved around 200 retail brands, 11 million market traders, 414 shopping centres, and 13,450 traditional markets across Indonesia.
Meanwhile, BINA Lebaran 2026, initiated by the Indonesian Retailers and Shopping Centre Tenants Association (Hippindo), recorded transactions worth Rp 54.9 trillion, or 2.8 percent above target. This programme, conducted from 6 to 30 March 2026, involved approximately 800 brands, 80,000 retail outlets, and 400 shopping centres spread across 24 provinces.
Data from the Indonesian Shopping Centre Managers Association (APPBI) shows that public visits to shopping centres during this year’s Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr increased by up to 12 percent compared to the same period last year. Consumption was dominated by food and beverage categories as well as entertainment.
Throughout this year, the Ministry of Trade stated that the government, together with business associations, is preparing strategic shopping programmes. The aim is to maintain the public’s purchasing power.
The national shopping programmes initiated by Hippindo include BINA Holiday in June-July 2026, BINA HBD Indonesia in August 2026, and BINA Indonesia Great Sale in December 2026.
Additionally, Aprindo will organise shopping programmes such as Holiday Sale in June 2026, Merdeka Madness in August 2026, and Every Purchase is Cheap (EPIC) Sale in December 2026. Meanwhile, APPBI will present the national shopping programme Indonesia Shopping Festival in August 2026.