Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Trade Ministry said shopping festival programs are among the strategic collaborative efforts to help sustain consumer purchasing power during the low season.Director of Trade Business Development at the ministry, Franciska Simanjuntak, said the low season typically lasts from March through the end of the year, before consumer spending picks up again during the Christmas and New Year holiday season.”We have observed a recurring pattern of declining sales from March to December every year. Consumer spending usually starts to recover during the Christmas and New Year holidays,” Simanjuntak said here on Thursday.However, collaboration between the government and business players, including retail associations, has also led to the organization of mid-year shopping programs, such as back-to-school campaigns ahead of the new academic year, as well as various promotional events in the lead-up to Indonesia's 81st Independence Day this month.”Programs such as back-to-school campaigns are important because children are returning to school, allowing household spending to align with the shopping programs being offered,” she said.According to Simanjuntak, such shopping festivals are expected to support household consumption and business activity amid various economic challenges, including the weakening rupiah, which has pushed up the prices of imported goods sold by retailers in Indonesia.”It is not only consumers who are feeling the impact of rising prices. Business players have also been offering significant discounts and keeping prices low, reducing their profit margins in an effort to boost sales and keep the economy moving,” she said.Meanwhile, Assistant Deputy for Domestic Trade, Consumer Protection, and Trade Order at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ismariny, said promotional programs and shopping festivals play an important role in sustaining household consumption.”We appreciate the retail associations for organizing these events because they encourage people to shop, thereby supporting our trade sector. In turn, the trade sector also supports our industries,” Ismariny said.