Shopping centers attack crowds, record low sales

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The extreme heat and humidity over the last several days has not deterred thousands of people from venturing out of their homes to crowd the city's many shopping centers.

"Big Sale" signs are plastered everywhere, attracting shoppers preparing to celebrate the long-awaited Idul Fitri holiday.

At Pasar Baru in Central Jakarta, one of the city's oldest shopping centers and popular with middle to lower-class shoppers, huge crowds pack the stores lining both sides of the street, where numerous street vendors have also opened up for business.

Is this an indication of economic recovery?

At a glance, one might think so. But talking with several shoppers and traders shows that they are still suffering from the financial crisis that hit the country in 1997.

Roliyah, a mie baso (meatballs and noodle soup) vendor, was shopping for discount children's clothes while carrying her youngest child. Her two older boys were running around her, sharing an ice cream cone.

Life is hard for her family. Roliyah and her husband have to struggle to make both ends meet, but managed to save a little money to treat their children during Idul Fitri.

"Hopefully I can find something to fit the boys," she told The Jakarta Post.

What she meant by "fit" was cheap. The price of the children's clothes in the market ranged from Rp 10,000 (about US$1.12) to Rp 40,000. For Roliyah, it was still too expensive and she was likely to go home empty-handed.

Many other visitors were there just to window-shop since they could not afford to buy anything, even with discounts of up to 70 percent.

Agus, an employee at clothes store Toko 7, said the year-end business in the market was just as slow as the rest of the year. Many other vendors, both in Pasar Baru and elsewhere, agreed.

Hendra, who opened a clothing store in the 1980s in Plaza Aldiron, Blok M, South Jakarta, said turnover for this holiday season was 50 percent lower than last year, although the number of visitors to his store during the Ramadhan fasting month was much higher compared to the rest of the year.

"The increase in the number of visitors is understandable because it is an annual routine to shop more than usual. But it doesn't necessarily mean they are buying anything. Moreover, people tend to buy food for Idul Fitri rather than clothing," he told the Post.

Experts consider consumer spending to be an indicator of economic recovery. Unfortunately, many are predicting weak consumer spending and a continued business slump this year due to political instability and security worries.

A few people, particularly those in the upper-income levels, might not feel the pinch, but the data confirms that many people have lost their jobs, accounting for the rise in the number of urban poor.

In Greater Jakarta alone, thousands of people have recently become unemployed due to the closure of dozens of factories.

Back in Pasar Baru, Pandi of Batik Indah expressed his surprise about how slow business was despite the large number of people in the market.

"I wonder are we still in a crisis or not? Or could it be, you know, corruption is still rampant," he wondered.