Strengthening Omnichannel is the Key for Blibli and Supra Boga Lestari to Survive Amid the “Tech Winter”

The sign of the end of the pandemic - although the government has not declared an endemic - is seen from the increased activity level of people outside the home, going to work, school, and on vacation. This condition has an impact on players offline and online targeting the retail segment. Developing a new strategy is required to stay afloat.

This topic was raised in one of the panel discussions held by ICON2022, the annual event of GDP Venture, last week. Also present were Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki, EVP Consumer Goods and Lifestyle Blibli Fransisca Krisantia Nugraha, and President Director of PT Supra Boga Lestari Meshvara Kanjaya on the occasion.

For the record, Supra Boga Lestari officially joined into the Blibli group since it was acquired on September 30, 2021. Blibli now holds 51% of Ranch Market shares at a price of IDR 2.500 per share. The funds disbursed from the transaction amounted to Rp2,03 trillion.

Blibli log in category Grocery This has been since mid-2019, but was only widely published in 2020 right when the pandemic occurred. Supra Boga himself is known as a player supermarket which has the widest variety of fresh products than its competitors. It is no secret that handling fresh produce requires a team of experts because it is difficult to handle and is prone to rot and damage.

Combining the strengths of each company ultimately provides better service for consumers because they gain new experiences. On the other hand, operations can be more efficient because there is integration of technology, marketing strategy, human resources, and so on. Both companies are still able to survive amidst the current macroeconomic uncertainty.

This hypothesis has at least been proven in the internal data presented by the two companies, especially the significant contribution from the products Grocery and handphone, amounting to 75% of the overall business at Blibli in implementation omnichannel.

"Shopping itu experience, people shopping online and offline not just for buying and selling but for the overall experience. But find the best deal "It's still the main motivation for our consumers," said Fransisca.

He said, business Grocery, especially fresh products are known to have thin margins but the costs are high if you don't know how to operate them. However, this sector is considered to have great potential if developed well. Supra Boga has a good ecosystem in managing fresh products, which is its main strength, and can be a good collaboration for supply combinations for the fresh product category. Because Blibli is strong in terms of consumer base, logistics and other non-fresh products.

"So we really see that this is an ecosystem, we don't just sell groceries but also sell other products. So there are already subsidies from other categories to continue to help, so that it is total company "We are still okay in terms of performance both below and above."

Meshvara said, business Grocery that the company is involved in has also been affected by this pandemic. If detailed, there are two types of curves, namely when the pandemic just occurred and now which seems to be endemic. At the beginning of 2020, many retailers were forced to close and migrate to online platforms to have an impact.

At that time, many people ended up having to stay at home and this had a positive impact on Supra Boga's business because demand increased. However, the curve seems to be endemic, which has a negative impact on the company because people have started eating outside the home.

"So, when everyone was busy at the beginning, everyone had to cook at home, but now that's not the case. That's why this year we are consolidating how to improve omnichannel presence We."

The reason is, for companies, shopping offline it's easier to induce impulse than when shopping online. In one second, the eye can see dozens of products in front of its eyes at once. The conditions are different when shopping online, the view is limited to what is seen on the screen.

Likewise, the habits of different shopping hours. From Meshvara's findings, shopping hours offline This is only done after work hours, around 6-8 pm. While shopping online that's during lunch time and after work hours, around 6-9 pm. The differences between the two habits above can be handled by omnichannel.

"It can be seen that at night many working couples only realize they haven't bought this or that after they have finished shopping. That can be us complementary with the presence of a shop offline because we prepare when low traffic [to use online groceries]. "

This form of consolidation between Blibli and the company is not just API integration but also equalizes the perception of teams in the field who are used to working to serve consumers. offline to start serving consumers from online platforms. Then, carry out promotions together to wake up awareness, market education, also in procurement of goods.

"We see that this business synergy is not only to increase sales and profitability from both shopping formats, but also increasing efficiency because Indonesia is the most unique country, with the most complete resources, but the challenge is how to bring results from the East to Java and vice versa."

Have the highest loyal consumers

Meshvara adds prospects online groceries by using strategy omnichannel This opens up many new opportunities because it cancater broader consumer needs. On average, consumers at Blibli are the younger generation who understand online shopping and are in the early stages of starting a career, while consumers at Supra Boga are the older generation who are already economically established.

“This older generation will need it over time online because they will find it increasingly difficult to move as they get older. How can we still serve them in a way that is comfortable for them? We need to automate that consumer segment with technology, usually they are happy chat via WhatsApp," said Meshvara.

As a premium class supermarket, Supra Boga has strengths in terms of variety of fresh products compared to other supermarket players. This has an impact on the level of consumer loyalty which is claimed to be the highest. The latest data shows that its loyalty members are at 600 thousand people.

The quality of these members contributes significantly by 60% to the company's overall business. Their average spending is IDR 500 thousand for one purchase, three times more than consumers who shop at supermarkets in general.

He continued, "Ultimately doing business is serving consumers, now consumers' time is increasingly limited and increasingly advanced thanks to technology, which can be addressed with omnichannel. So yes, omnichannel is the key to success in the future. "

Currently Supra Boga operates 70 outlets offline, the majority of which are located on the island of Java, consisting of 18 Ranch Market outlets, 2 The Gourmet by Ranch Market outlets, 1 Pasarina by Ranch Market outlet, 35 Farmers Market outlets, 3 Day2Day by Farmers Market outlets, and 11 Farmers Family by Farmers Market outlets. The locations are spread across Jabodetabek, Surabaya, Malang, Gresik, Semarang, Dumai, Pekanbaru, Palembang, Balikpapan, Samarinda and Ambon.