Why Going Local is Important to Tokopedia
Did you know that there are many ways we can support our country? It doesn’t have to be a grand initiative. What if we tell you that you can support our country by shopping? Specifically, buying products from our local sellers or creators.
However, we realized that we need to create a path where both our sellers and buyers can find one another. Our sellers, especially the ones located in remote areas in Indonesia, are only able to reach local communities or buyers, and are unable to expand their market or customer base. As for our buyers, they can only reach local sellers who might not be able to fulfill all of their daily needs.
At Tokopedia, we see that this simple issue should not have been a problem for both our buyers and sellers in the first place. Therefore, Tokopedia created an initiative called Hyperlocal, a program that supports local merchants and curates their products so they can be easily found. In other words, Hyperlocal is our bridge that connects our buyers and sellers.
In this article, we can list down many reasons why you should start addressing your needs and purchasing your wants from local merchants. However, we would like to share why going local is so important for us.
1. Local Products are as Cool
As stated in the title of this section, local products are as cool as the ones you find abroad! We have so many creative talents, innovations, and creations that have yet to be discovered. Starting from cool pieces of clothing, unique cuisines, aesthetically pleasing furniture to organic produce to stock your fridge. It only requires you to browse the items you want on our application.
There’s a stigma surrounding local products, such as people stating that they are not as good, not made in good quality, or even perceived as ‘tacky’ or outdated. Maybe these perceptions came from one unlucky incident, where one person received a product that was defective or damaged during shipping. From that specific experience, should we really generalize that all local products are not good?
On the Tokopedia app, we have many shortcuts, categories, and campaigns that curate and centralize our local sellers’ products for you to find them easily. This includes Bangga Lokal, Tokopedia Nyam, Market Museum, Jakcloth, and more.
In your free time, try to visit one of these shortcuts, categories, or campaigns and purchase one locally-made item which doesn’t have to be expensive. You might be surprised by how well it was made. Supporting local sellers does not only mean buying products from local stores or creators, but also giving them a second chance to improve, innovate, and reinvent their products.
2. Helping Indonesians to be Successful
The best way to help someone is by helping them to be successful. Our CEO, William Tanuwijaya always says: “For me, this is the most beautiful business model in the world, because Tokopedia can only be successful if we successfully help our users to become more successful,” and we couldn’t agree more!
With our Hyperlocal initiative, we hope our sellers can maximize their potential by utilizing our platform as a vehicle to help them reach success even faster. For example, Devi Indriyani started her business in 2014 to sell pempek variants, a savory Palembang fish cake delicacy made of fish and tapioca, with a set of makeshift kitchen utensils. She realized that technology is the answer to her businesses’ survival amid this pandemic. Through selling on Tokopedia, Devi is able to gain around Rp 40 million every month and access wider markets such as the Jabodetabek, Pontianak, and Bali areas.
Another success story also comes from Ayub Antonius, owner of Pabrik Kerupuk Palembang. The pandemic, as well as the power of technology, inspired Ayub to create opportunities for others who have not discovered the power of technology for one’s business growth. With just a capital of Rp 200,000, Ayud opened a shop named Pabrik Kerupuk Palembang where he helped many local homemade Palembang cracker producers in remote areas to sell their products on Tokopedia.
Not just providing a centralized platform for Palembang local sellers to market their products, Ayud also researched strategies on how he can help them further. He found that Pabrik Kerupuk Palembang has to consistently and frequently participate in Tokopedia’s shopping campaigns, such as Waktu Indonesia Belanja (WIB) as well as Tokopedia Nyam. Now, he is able to earn a monthly turnover of up to Rp 100 million.
3. Contribute to National Economic Recovery
The pandemic has caused so much damage to businesses, putting many out of business and loss of profit. With the public activity restriction (PPKM) and health protocol to avoid the COVID-19 pandemic, our buyers and sellers are separated more than ever. Through our platform and Hyperlocal initiative, we hope to become an online bridge where both can meet in the middle. In the end, this ecosystem where we support one another can help restore and accelerate Indonesia’s national economic recovery.
The Conclusion
In conclusion, the three main reasons why going local is so important for Tokopedia is that Indonesian creators also produce high-quality products, supporting local producers help our people succeed and contributes to Indonesia’s economic recovery from the pandemic. With this article, we hope that we showed you the power of purchasing a single item for our sellers and country. We also extend the invitation to make our reasons as your own on why going local is important.
