As Covid-19 no longer becomes a powerful threat to our daily lives and economy in general, businesses have been recovering and gradually returning to their pre-pandemic state.
At the start of the second half of 2021, the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine was given out to citizens. As more people received their vaccinations, the virus was no longer perceived as a mortal threat.
People have started to learn about living with Covid-19, going out more to work or hang out; gradually helping businesses get better and the economy grow by 5.02% in the fourth quarter of 2021 (YoY).
47% of businesses still use hybrid sales channels (both online and offline sales) as a means to get more customers, though offline channel got their popularity back as the number of Covid-19 cases sloped down significantly in the second half of 2021.
Business is slowly recovering. Visitors that come directly to the store and order online are now starting to balance in numbers. During the first year of the pandemic, sales were dominated by online. Now people are more aware of health protocols, so they are not afraid to go out and socialize.
Sarah Diana, Entrepreneur – Owner of ‘Roti Eneng’ and ‘Sepiring Cerita’
Report Summary:
- The survey was conducted on 1.967 business owners consisting of various industrial sectors across 34 provinces in Indonesia, with the biggest distribution within Java.
- We conducted an online survey using online questionnaires to ask SME owners how their business was done from June to December 2021.
- Compared to the first half of the 2021 Digital SME Confidence Index, the second half of 2021 shows a better increase by 6%. This finding indicates that there is an increase in the optimism of digital SMEs as the index converges to normal conditions (index of 3.0).
- Offline businesses have been back on their feet since the second semester of 2021.
- Different personalities would handle crises in their own way. 4 different types of SME personas to get a better understanding of how each type runs their business: the tradition keepers, the experiences seekers, the optimists, and the business explores.
- Using digital services has become a requirement to operate a business since the early pandemic. The Digital SME Ecosystem will stay onward for businesses to use.
- Digital Financial Services have become essential. 81% of our respondents claimed that they already had financing products with 39% of them having digital financing products (pay later & online lending) used for their business
- Encouraging post-pandemic needs can be implemented by building comprehensive systems that enable businesses to maintain stability during recovery
Let’s help the digital SME flourish, and be part of the ecosystem.
Download our Digital SME Confidence Report Second Half of 2021
Download our Digital SME Confidence Report 1st Half of 2021 here
