In early of the year, Covid-19 affected all sector of our life – product sourcing and manufacturing sector have been no exception. Many countries were in lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. But after months of lockdown, we live in a “new normal” era where we can work and going out but should apply a strict health protocol, Indonesia being in the same position than most of the world. As an importer, we might have a question in mind, so where are we now, and how will the situation look as the world emerges from lockdown?

In the process of surviving during the pandemic, a lot of “old” systems are not allowed anymore, the pandemic spread to the rest of the world, leading to lockdowns and border closures that restricted the movement of goods. As a result, logistics were delays. A lot of factories face financial distress because demand has plummeted. As an importer, this is pretty risky, because some suppliers, especially the smaller ones, have no financial stability right now.

What are some of the ways to mitigate these risks?

Communication is the key. As an importer, you have to maintain good communication with your supplier. So that you know what is going on with your supplier. Right now, many workers are also at risk of losing their jobs, losing some benefits, or facing pay cuts. And if the supplier has unhappy workers, they will send you bad quality products. You should plan to have an audit of their factories, not only for quality but also for social compliance: to make sure that your supply chain is treating workers well.

Having a professional sourcing company on your side in this situation is really beneficial for your business. Because while Indonesia still has its border closed for international arrivals, your sourcing agent will take care of your supply chain, make sure your supplier is on a good track, and your product has a high-quality with a minimal defect.

How will the retail and environment change in the coming months?

As a new normal era started to implement, some sectors has soared and others are still devastated. Let’s say for apparel, this sector is still devastated because people do not think buying new clothes is important in this situation. On the other hand, the home décor sector has soared. As people are forced to stay at home, to avoid feeling bored, they starting to re-decorate their homes.

Online shopping has also benefited of this time. Online, large retailers are going to invest more in their online presence so that they can shift more easily to online when something like this happens again.

Overall, e-commerce has permanently increased saturation. People who previously didn’t like to shop online have now had a chance to get used to it.

How will this all affect consumer spending, especially for Q4 2020?

There are three habits of customer spending after a recession period, explained as follows:

Firstly, the customer will be looking for cheaper products. If you can provide a low-priced product that has high quality, you might win in this hard time.

The next thing the customer is looking for is the goods that will bring positive emotions. If you have a product that makes people smile and feel good, coming into Q4 when people want to give gifts that could be very successful.

Finally, there is more awareness that people can work from home – starting from the working space including the furniture and decoration, stationery, etc.

As an importer, this is a good opportunity to sell the products that solves all the problems people have during working from home.