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If Indonesia is indeed becoming more conservative, as we saw
in last week's update, it should come as no surprise that people are
spending more time at home. While just about everybody is glued to the
TV set, that's not all that's happening.
There's been a fascinating surge in interests and hobbies, as more
people spend less on luxuries or going out, and more time on life's
simpler pleasures. Though trendy districts like Kemang are thriving,
this is true also of Greater Jakarta, not just rural Indonesia.
These observations are based on Roy Morgan Single Source, Indonesia's
largest syndicated survey now expanding to include over 27,000
respondents annually, projected to reflect 90 percent of the population
over the age of 14.
Deeper analysis may reveal differences between, say, genders, and age
groups, or urban and rural areas. Allowing for the marginal shifts that
are characteristic of random sampling of respondents around the
country, the numbers representing each activity are stable across the
board. But there are four noticeable exceptions.
While half the population have had friends and relatives over at home
recently, hobbies have caught the attention of almost one in three
Indonesians. That number is growing more rapidly than any other
activity, without including the computer games so popular especially
among the young. Playing sports is also on the increase, a welcome sign
in a world that is increasingly becoming indolent.
With one in five people playing sports, and that figure is growing, a
healthier Indonesia is in the making. Are marketers paying adequate
attention to this development? Are they stimulating interest in a
growing range of sports, beyond soccer, to mutual gain?
Equally fascinating are the increasing numbers of people who are
actively taking an interest in their gardens. Again, this a business
opportunity that is perhaps going unnoticed. In addition, dress-making
continues to grow as an interest in more and more homes around the
country.
While ready-to-wear clothes are becoming ever cheaper every year, the
visible popularity of Busana Muslim (Muslim clothes) could explain this
phenomenon in Indonesia.
A large proportion of Indonesia has always been interested in pets,
across the country and regardless of socio-economic strata. That
relationship between man and animal continues to thrive. One in five
people have a cat, one in ten have a bird, followed closely by fish.
Considering that pets are shared, that's a high concentration of pets
in homes. Dogs are predictably less popular in Indonesia, but almost
ten million people still have a dog as a pet.
None of this is surprising when you consider the fact that Indonesians
are taking greater interest in their homes -- witness the time, effort
and money they spend on them.
The obvious opportunity for banks to foster this pride in the home
seems to have gone unnoticed. Over 9 million homes were painted in part
or whole last year. Well over 2 million new homes were built from
scratch.
In contrast, all we see by way of promotions are the highly
unimaginative and almost obscene display of cars thrown at prospective
account holders by every other major bank in the country.
How much imagination does it really require to understand that perhaps
the best way to develop consumer banking in the country is to help
build the pride that people have in their homes, while simultaneously
building long-lasting, ongoing relationships with their banks?
The signs of a more active population, with wider interests, living in
prettier homes can only be reassuring to all Indonesians and their
neighbors alike. Those signs will hopefully catch the attention of
business at large, both local and multinational. Because the signs are
good and the opportunities should be obvious.
The contributor is an advertising professional, turned researcher and
consultant, based in Melbourne. He has lived and worked across the Asia
Pacific region, including Indonesia. He remains a regular visitor.
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