Is Consumer Purchasing Power Really Decreasing?

Is consumer purchasing power declining? Data shows that sales of nine retail issuers in Q2 2017 still reached Rp 37.8 trillion, a 29.42 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. The growth in sales of these issuers indicates that consumer purchasing power remains, even though several companies experienced a decline in profit growth in the first semester.

PT Sumber Alfaria Trijaya (ALFA) recorded a 21.8 percent increase in sales in the second quarter of 2017, reaching Rp 16.76 trillion from the previous quarter. Mitra Adiperkasa (MAPI) also saw its sales grow by 13.25 percent to Rp 4.1 trillion from the previous quarter. Similarly, Hero Supermarket (HERO) achieved a 22.67 percent increase in sales, reaching Rp 3.8 trillion from the previous quarter. Sales of Matahari Department Store (LPPF) and Ramayana Lestari (RALS) even surged more than twofold compared to the previous quarter.

Retail issuer sales in the second quarter of 2017 also recorded an 11.85 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth. Similarly, throughout the first semester of this year, sales in the retail sector grew by 9.6 percent to Rp 67 trillion compared to the same semester of the previous year.