It might never cross your mind that mundane activities such as grocery shopping could become a nerve-wracking ordeal, especially when you are in isolation during this coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, there is good news. Thanks to Perumda Pasar Jaya which has now launched an online grocery shopping service, you no longer have to worry about going to the actual market to buy your groceries. The latest innovation, dubbed as “Shopping From Home”, is certainly in line with direction from the Government of Jakarta to stay at home. The service not just helps Jakartans in purchasing their essential needs, but also helps the efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the capital.

"One of the main challenges, when staying at home and then having to meet the needs, is the mechanism to get it, its distribution. Therefore, we create a program that God willing the community can use it for shopping remotely. So, people in Jakarta can buy their needs in the market. Communicating by phone with every merchant in the market, "said Anies Baswedan, Governor of Jakarta.

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Remote Interaction with Sellers

To place an order and purchase online, you can start by visiting belanja.pasarjaya.co.id or their official Instagram account. There, you will find a list of merchants along with a telephone number that you can call. The service offers a variety of goods, including fruits, vegetables, meat, spices, flour, eggs, and rice. Some merchants even offer non-consumption products such as baking equipment and electrical appliances.

Teamed up with Ride-Hailing Companies

Although connected via telephone connection, you can still negotiate prices with merchants, just like when you are in the actual market. After you reach an agreement, then comes the question, "how to deliver it?" Worry not, Arief Nasrudin, Director of Perumda Pasar Jaya, said that his party has collaborated with ride-hailing companies so that groceries can be delivered to the buyer.

"We tell the merchants to always be on standby with their phone. Because of the process of buying and selling continues. There is still a negotiating process. And with the delivery function of the online motorcycle taxi, the goods will be delivered to the customer. Hopefully, this can fulfill the needs of the people of Jakarta. And to maintain the small-economy activities in the market," explained Arief.

Shopping Smart with JAKI

In addition to the telephone numbers owned by merchants, each market also provides a hotline center, and they are ready to answer questions from you. Keep in mind Smartcitizen, although it can be done from home, you still have to pay attention to the market operating hours, which is 8 am to 12 pm.

So, to save time, there is one more tip for you. With the Jakarta Kini app (JAKI), you can use the JakPangan feature to check commodity prices before placing an order. The price listed on the app is the result of integration with Info Pangan Jakarta from Pasar Jaya and updated daily at 10 am.

[How JAKI Helps Jakartans during Coronavirus]

The “Shopping From Home” initiative now has become another example of innovation from the Government of Jakarta amid difficult times. Let’s make use of it, as best we could. Because, not only it can help to reduce the rate of spread of COVID-19, it can also help to maintain local economies, especially for the merchants in the market.