TikTok Shop Meets Pasar Tanah Abang

Indonesia is a place where tradition and technology meet. The country's largest offline market is a hub of chaos and creativity, while TikTok Shop's digital ecosystem is expanding rapidly. Pasar Tanah Abang, the renowned Central Jakarta textile and clothing market, is alive with energy and the sounds of people haggling. TikTok Shop, now part of Tokopedia under the GoTo Group, is another digital company transforming the way Indonesians buy and sell online. The stress and overlap between these two worlds reveal a great deal about how business is evolving.

Image of TikTok Shop logo. From Indonesia menjadi negara dengan GMV TikTok Shop terbesar kedua di dunia (GoodStats, 2024).

Pasar Tanah Abang: A Mess with Roots

For decades, Tanah Abang has been the vibrant heart of Indonesia's textile trade. Wholesalers bring fabrics and clothes to this place not only for Jakarta but also for cities all over the archipelago. Stalls sell a wide range of items, from batik and tenun to modern polyester blends. Traders shout out prices, and buyers haggle hard. The market is a source for thousands of small fashion brands and independent sellers, as well as big stores like Ramayana, Matahari, and Zalora. Tanah Abang's offline advantage is that people can touch the fabrics, check the quality, and trust each other because they are face-to-face. The bad news is that the infrastructure is subpar, the roads are congested, the rent for stalls is high, and foot traffic is declining as digital commerce continues to grow. But the atmosphere is still the best. Tanah Abang is a shopping area, but it's also a cultural ritual to walk through it.

TikTok Shop: A Big Digital Hustle

At the same time, TikTok Shop has become a massive player in live commerce. By 2024, it had made more than $6.2 billion in sales in Indonesia, making it the second-largest market for the company after the US. TikTok Shop has become a daily shopping place for millions of Indonesians. It offers features like live shopping, interactive Q&A, discount vouchers, and product discovery based on algorithms, providing a convenient and efficient shopping experience.

Local fashion and beauty brands, such as Alya the Label and Videlin Official, which specialize in modest clothing, have utilized the platform to connect with younger audiences. Micro-creators and influencers act like live hosts, making product demos into fun shows. At the same time, global companies like Shopee, Lazada, and Instagram Shops are attempting to replicate TikTok's unique blend of entertainment and shopping.

A Comparison of Chaos and Creativity in Spirit

Pasar Tanah Abang is a great place to visit when you want to be overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and the process of selecting fabrics. TikTok Shop is all about speed: the tap of a finger, the flash of a promo code, and the thrill of a livestream countdown. One is based on tradition and human touch, while the other is based on algorithms and the ease of digital technology. However, the two are increasingly coming together. Many traders from Tanah Abang now sell wholesale fabric bundles to people on TikTok by streaming live from their stalls. Some people run their own online stores on Tokopedia and Shopee, while others use the market as a place to find goods. The messiness of the real world is making the digital world more creative.

What Brands and Entrepreneurs Can Learn

Both worlds have things to teach businesses. Tanah Abang teaches business owners the importance of trust, relationships, and being present in person. They learn from TikTok Shop that speed, scale, and being aware of trends are essential. Brands need to utilize both offline and online channels to access genuine products and reach people nationwide, leveraging TikTok's digital tools. To stand out, quality control, storytelling, and being real become very important. Rules will continue to change, and businesses must be able to adapt to them to stay successful.

The Future: Mixed Business

Indonesian business is likely to be a mix of different types in the future. Picture a Tanah Abang trader livestreaming batik rolls to buyers in Medan and Surabaya, or a TikTok influencer driving customers to an offline stall for exclusive collections. The adaptability and resilience of Indonesian businesses will ensure that logistics systems improve, policies strike a balance between protecting MSMEs and promoting digital growth, and consumers will enjoy the best of both worlds. Indonesian businesses have always been innovative and creative, and that spirit remains alive today, whether in the alleys of Tanah Abang or on the feeds of TikTok Shop.

Final Thoughts

Pasar Tanah Abang and TikTok Shop may seem like they are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but they show how Indonesia combines old and new. These examples teach Business Administration students and professionals about strategy, operations, supply chain, and marketing in the real world. Future leaders can better navigate a world where tradition and technology must coexist by studying both offline and online ecosystems.

Arman POUREISA

Marketing Manager

Business Administration Lecturer

Raffles Jakarta

References

CoinCentral. (2025, September 3). Indonesia becomes TikTok Shop’s $6.2B powerhouse, second only to US. CoinCentral. https://coincentral.com/indonesia-becomes-tiktok-shops-6-2b-powerhouse-second-only-to-us

GoodStats. (2024, February 19). Indonesia menjadi negara dengan GMV TikTok Shop terbesar kedua di dunia. GoodStats. https://goodstats.id/article/indonesia-menjadi-negara-dengan-gmv-tiktok-shop-terbesar-kedua-di-dunia-ul0hi

Marketing-Interactive. (2025, September 11). Indonesia emerges as TikTok Shop’s US$6.2b engine, second only to US. Marketing-Interactive. https://www.marketing-interactive.com/indonesia-emerges-as-tiktok-shop-s-us-6-2b-engine-second-only-to-us

Pongoshare. (2025, May 12). Master guide to growing Indonesian brands on TikTok Shop. Pongoshare. https://pongoshare.com/growing-indonesian-brands-tiktok-shop

TechHQ. (2024, January 12). Did TikTok just buy its way past e-commerce regulations in Indonesia? TechHQ. https://techhq.com/news/did-tiktok-just-buy-its-way-past-e-commerce-regulations-in-indonesia