September-November Sales Forecast Weak, Retailers Prepare Measures

Jakarta - Retail businesses are beginning to anticipate the potential for weak sales in September-November 2026. This period is considered a challenge for the retail sector as it enters months that are usually quieter compared to the previous period.

Chairman of the Indonesian Shopping Centre Tenants and Retailers Association (Hippindo), Budihardjo Iduansjah, said business players need to prepare measures to maintain sales during this period. “We will try to open export markets for our producer colleagues, which is also our responsibility as offtakers. We hope that going forward, in these quiet months, starting from month 9 (September), 10 (October), 11 (November), there must be efforts from us to increase sales,” Budihardjo said in his remarks at the Indonesia Retail Summit and Expo at Swissotel PIK Avenue, Jakarta, Wednesday (26/8/2026).

Budihardjo said his party had conveyed this situation to Trade Minister Budi Santoso. According to him, joint measures are needed to keep economic activity from weakening in the September to November period. “Earlier I reported to the Trade Minister that after this we must do something, otherwise hotels will also be quiet,” he said.

He explained that the retail sector, especially offline businesses, is highly dependent on traffic or the number of visitors. Therefore, support to maintain economic stability is considered important so that shopping activity continues. “The offline sector is very dependent on its offline presence, there must be traffic. We hope there can be support from the government so that the economy is stable, and politics is certainly stable,” he said.

Budihardjo emphasised that business players will continue to strive to maintain business activity while creating jobs and ensuring the distribution of goods continues. “So we will fight to create jobs, open many stores, distribute goods, ensure prices are stable, and all stock is available. For that, we need cooperation with all stakeholders,” said Budihardjo.

Efforts to maintain sales are being made amid the retail sector’s significant role in the economy. Secretary General of Hippindo, Haryanto Pratantara, said retail is a labour-intensive sector that absorbs millions of workers. “Because Indonesia’s economic growth is largely determined by domestic consumption, which accounts for more than 50%. And when talking about domestic consumption, it is inseparable from its main driving sector, namely retail. In addition, retail is a very labour-intensive sector that absorbs millions of workers,” Haryanto said on the same occasion.

Haryanto gave examples of several large retail companies that have very large numbers of employees. According to him, the retail sector’s contribution to employment does not only come from large companies, but also from medium-sized businesses to the informal sector and MSMEs. “For example, Alfamart and Indomaret, which each have tens of thousands of stores and more than 100,000 employees each. That is just Alfamart and Indomaret. Kawan Lama Group, one of the large retailers, also has tens of thousands of employees, possibly around 60,000. And we have a very large number of medium-sized retail companies, each with thousands of employees. Added to that is the unregistered informal sector, the majority of which is very large and consists of MSMEs,” he concluded.