Jakarta. Indonesian technology company with the largest marketplace platform Tokopedia revealed that food and beverage, commonly shortened as F&B, and household items were some of its best-selling categories in the first half of 2022.

Tokopedia also reported that many of its users bought products under the health and electronics categories.

“Throughout the first semester of 2022, the household, food and beverage, fashion, health, and electronics categories were among the best-selling categories on Tokopedia. Meanwhile, cooking oil and fruits are some of the products people buy the most,” said Ekhel Chandra Wijaya, the Head of External Communications at Tokopedia.

Asmat (Papua), Tual (Maluku), as well as three other districts in South Sulawesi namely Jeneponto, Talakar, and Bantaeng were areas with the highest increase in the number of buyers on Tokopedia in the first half of 2022, compared to last year’s second semester. 

Tokopedia attributed the growth to its hyperlocal geo-tagging technology which would bring users closer to their nearest sellers. Not only would this cut shipment costs for customers, but the technology can also pave the way for more equitable growth for small business owners around Indonesia. 

Initiatives such as Home Living SALEbrations, Tokopedia Nyam!, Cantik Fest, Tokopedia Peduli Sehat, and Tokopedia Tekno, have also unearthed more details on the shopping trends. According to Wijaya, Tokopedia’s farthest transaction during the first semester of 2022 was from Bandung in West Java to Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia’s easternmost province Papua.

Also in the same period, Sulawesi-Papua, Papua-Java, Papua-Bali, and East Nusa Tenggara saw the largest increases in inter-island transactions. 

Bintang Mountains, Humbang Hasundutan, Jayawijaya, Takalar, and Keerom were among the regions with the biggest transaction spike in this year’s first half.

Live Shopping: A Major Boost for Transactions
In 2020, Tokopedia launched a live shopping platform Tokopedia Play. This interactive model of online shopping is reportedly popular among users. 

“In the second quarter of 2022, Tokopedia Play saw a transaction increase by almost 1.5 times larger than the previous quarter,” Nirmala Rahmawati Hapsari, Tokopedia’s Head of Content Marketing Platform Affiliate and Play, said.

The live shopping platform enables sellers to build brand awareness, increase store engagement and sales, and participate in various Tokopedia Play campaigns that attract potential buyers.

"Beauty, Health, Body Care, Food and Beverages, and Household are some of the best-selling categories on Tokopedia Play during the first semester of 2022," Hapsari said.

The most watched live shopping shows via Tokopedia Play include Ramadan Ekstra, Cantik Fest TV Show, and Discountvaganza. 

"An interesting finding is that one of the fastest purchases on Tokopedia Play occurred in 1.37 seconds," Hapsari said.