Indonesia's Ramadan spending spree spoiled by coronavirus

Airlines and retail hit hard, but e-commerce comes out a winner

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People wearing protective masks shop at a supermarket on the outskirts of Jakarta amid the coronavirus pandemic on May 26. © Reuters

ERWIDA MAULIA, Nikkei staff writer

JAKARTA -- Ramadan is usually a bumper time of year for shopping malls in the Indonesian capital as friends meet for dinner after the daytime fast. Not this year.

The month-long religious festival, which ended on Saturday and was followed by the festival of idul fitri, or Eid, was a holiday period to forget for hard-pressed businesses. Malls in locked down cities have been shuttered while operating hours for supermarkets and drugstores have been severely curtailed.

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