Research: Uncover Multichannel eCommerce Platform Opportunity

Research: Uncover Multichannel eCommerce Platform Opportunity

Tags
Market Research
Business Planning
Product Research
by
Published
Author
Rizky Wijayanti

Summary

Research related to the behavior of online business owner in Indonesia is conducted with the aim of obtaining a more detailed picture of the behavior of business owners, especially in their use of various sales channels for day-to-day business operations. On the other hand, there are now many Multichannel eCommerce Platforms emerging in Indonesia. Niagahoster, which is always present to provide products and services to help many parties, including business players in #buildsuccessonline, sees this as a great potential that can be further explored and developed as another business prospect in the future.
This research was conducted using quantitative methods by distributing an online survey to business players in Indonesia with the help of Ads on the Instagram and Facebook platforms for 14 days in February 2021. The survey successfully gathered valid data from 500 respondents with diverse businesses from all over Indonesia. However, in terms of business level, the majority of respondents were small business players who only managed their businesses independently. The channels used are mostly still limited to social media use. In addition, of all the respondents who are business players, very few are aware of and have used multichannel integration platforms.
In developing other business potentials, if Niagahoster wants to try to explore the potential of the Multichannel Integration Platform, further research is needed to obtain more descriptive data on operational needs at a larger business level. The potential for other business solutions, especially online presence solutions, that can be developed is still very wide, one of which is the Multichannel Integration Platform. Moreover, considering the current condition that has become the driver of business players shifting to all-online businesses, this is very aligned with the products offered by Niagahoster in maximizing #buildsuccessonline.

Background

The Era of Multichannel Platform Integration

In the current digital economy era, it ultimately drives sellers/business owners to sell their various products and services using various channels. When business owners finally sell products through multiple channels, certain tasks such as order management, stock checking, or simply responding to customer chats will become a challenge. Manually checking every channel will reduce work efficiency and actually increase the workload of business owners. This is then seen as an opportunity and potential in the emergence of a multichannel integration platform.
Many business owners are finally interested in using multichannel integration platforms because they can save time, energy, and money. Simply put, a multichannel integration platform can be described as a tool that centralizes store management related to multiple online channels. Management, such as integrated product uploads, inventory/stock updates, order checking, and chat or communication management with customers, can be done in one platform.
Currently, there are several groups of multichannel integration platforms in Indonesia:
  1. Multichannel chat integration: It makes it easy for business actors to centralize chat management or communication with customers from various apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Line into one platform. Examples of such platforms are Qontak and Qiscus.
  1. Multichannel eCommerce integration: Platforms that are able to facilitate business actors in managing their stores and products from various marketplace channels in a centralized platform, such as Jubelio, Genie, Clodeo, Crinoid, Connexi by Sirclo, AturToko, TokoTalks, Tokoko, Sakoo, Big Seller, and others.
notion image
  1. Logistic Integration Apps A platform that facilitates business owners in managing their logistics options for shipping goods/products to customers, centralized within one app. Within the app, business owners can request pick-up from various courier/logistics providers in Indonesia and track the delivery to ensure that the products are sent and received well by their customers. One example of these logistic apps is Biteship.

Research Methodology

Research Objectives

  • The main goal of this research is to understand the behavior of business players in their business operations.
  • To explore the potential of multi-channel integration platforms among business players.

Research Subject

The subjects used in this research are all business owners in Indonesia, especially those who manage their business online.

Methodology

The data collection method used in this research is a quantitative method, which focuses on measurement and testing using numerical data with the aim of confirmation. The researcher also used non-probability sampling and simple random sampling techniques where all subjects in the study have an equal chance of being selected as the data sample to be studied.

Data Collection

The data collection in this research was conducted through Ads that were distributed on behalf of Niagahoster through social media, Instagram and Facebook, with a duration of 14 days (weeks).
Then, for the final total number of respondents analyzed was 500. There were adjustments made in determining the number of respondents from the initial target.

Finding and Insight

  1. Overall, the business owners included in this research are still mainly small or startup businesses. For small businesses, they heavily rely on optimizing social media as a platform for business promotion. Most also depend on large marketplaces such as Tokopedia or Shopee that have high visitor traffic. Recently, some business owners have realized that customer big data is the new gold, which has led them to develop their own official website to better track and collect customer data. Also, in this survey conducted, the majority of existing business players are still in the small to medium-sized business level, so 74.20% of all respondents still operate without having an admin for their online stores.
  1. Small to medium-sized business owners have a lot of potential to optimize their use of the digital ecosystem as a means of developing their businesses. They have the potential to contribute to the growth of Indonesia's digital economy, but they still need technical knowledge and product introduction guidance that is easy and comprehensive to understand. The development of various digital technologies is no longer seen as a mere value-added but has become an important need for business owners to expand their businesses.
  1. From the information found in the survey, the mindset to expand to a wider market and try omni-channel (entering the offline and online sales realm) is already beginning to develop even among small business owners. The survey showed that 63.80% of business owners already manage their businesses both offline and online. This is a response to the needs and trends in the market, particularly in the digital economy. The omni-channel business model is also a big opportunity for companies that want to create services that support end-to-end, comprehensive business management, such as the potential of multi-channel integration platforms as a solution for various business management challenges.

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The detailed report was not made available to the public.