GoToMalls steps in to revive brick & mortar retail sector

• Provides a smart directory referencing malls, stores, events with related services
• Integrates e-wallet, personalised push notification, rating and review feature

THE swift growth of e-commerce in Indonesia is causing brick and mortar retail shopping outlets to lose in terms of visits and transactions.

According to Statista, Indonesian retail sales decreased from 5.4% in 2016 to 5% in 2017. The number is also projected to remain the same in 2018.

One startup is setting up to change this by using technology to give brick & mortar outlets a leg up.

GoToMalls is a web-based platform provider of mall directories, stores, and promotions for shopping in 400 malls across 78 cities in Indonesia and over than 100 malls in Singapore

It’s parent company is Singapore-based DominoPos Pte Ltd.

DominoPos chief executive officer Bruno Zysman says that this platform aims to support brand retailers that require a targeted media channel to effectively reach online users and compete with the growth of e-commerce.

“In the midst of unstoppable e-commerce growth, we understand that nowadays every activity is supported by technology. Nonetheless, we want to show our support for Indonesia’s retail industry by utilising technology and being the best in generating offline transactions,” he says.

Zysman tells Digital News Asia (DNA) that Indonesia was chosen as the first country for GoToMalls to be deployed in.

“Indonesia has the largest number of shopping complexes in the world. It is also the third largest smartphone market in the Asia Pacific (after China and India) with major usage of social media.”

GoToMalls has introduced a range of new features through its latest version, GoToMalls 4.0 which integrates an e-wallet payment system, personalised push notifications, as well as rating and review features.

GoToMalls collaborates with Paypro, an Indonesian e-wallet system provided by Indosat. This feature allows users to obtain additional cashback or discounts when redeeming coupons and paying via Paypro at physical stores.

It will ease the onboarding process for merchants as no additional tools such as EDC machine are required. Merchants will receive a SMS once they have received money from users.

Zysman explains that Paypro could help them to create awareness with their network. He also plans to expand the collaborations to other e-wallet services such as Telkomsel’s TCash.

When it comes being a real-time, geo-located platform, GoToMalls will add personalised push notifications for users with updates on the latest promotions, events, and coupons. GoToMalls will enable its algorithm to send notifications.

Zysman says that for every mall and merchant, customer opinions and reviews are crucial. The rating and review feature allows malls and merchants to understand customer needs. It is also an effective channel to enhance marketing campaigns and maintain customer relationships.

When asked why GoToMalls only provides services through a website, Zysman says that people download so many apps on their smartphone but don’t use them daily.

“So, why not create a website with a mobile view and people can easily access our website to get information for offline shopping experiences.”

In a year, GoToMalls has reached five million visitors aged between 18 to 35 and targets to have 10 million visitors by the end of this year.

Helps offline merchants to grow

Launched in July 2016, with Online to Offline (O2O) as business model, Zysman says that GoToMalls combines digital and offline channels in its marketing strategy.

For offline channels, it develops cross partnerships with malls and merchants to improve offline tractions.

As for digital channels, they are optimised to reach online users, distribute information, and create “football” traffic to shopping malls’ retailers.

Zysman says that GoToMalls now has enough internal investments (number undisclosed) to spend on marketing campaign.

GoToMalls has partnered up with 26,000 offline merchants and approximately 7,000 brands. It generates revenue from partner advertisements and receives a percentage from coupons that are sold on its platform.

“We allow merchants to do marketing campaign such as promotions or selling vouchers through our website. We provide free services for them, and if they want upgraded marketing campaigns from us, they will be required to pay,” he explains.

Zysman also hopes to see improvements in Indonesia’s payment gateways, such as growth in using e-wallet services and encouraging offline merchants to stock products in readiness of sales.

“Sometimes offline stores do not have any stock of products so it will discourage customers. Improving the logistics infrastructure will help to solve this problem,” he says.

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