Indonesia’s Kawan Lama blurs line between online and offline shopping

The group's e-commerce platform, Ruparupa.com has recorded an eightfold increase in visitors who end up buying stuff.

Indonesian retail giant Kawan Lama Group is trying to engage customers through digital and physical touchpoints to create a consistent experience from start to finish, as part of its push to drive up sales.

 The group’ strategy focuses on integrating online and offline customer data for a unified omnichannel experience, Teresa Wibowo, CEO at Ruparupa.com, told Retail Asia.

In-store customers can scan products to add them to their wishlists on the app or even complete purchases without queuing at the cashier. Store staff are equipped with sales apps to assist customers, process orders, and provide detailed product information, including from the videos.

The group trains staff in both offline and online environments to have deep product knowledge to leverage its omnichannel approach.

“For instance, we typically train in-store staff to answer customer questions about which tools are best for cleaning marble,” Teresa said. “That same knowledge is provided to our online staff to address frequently asked customer questions.”

“We strive to meet customer needs no matter the channel they choose to shop through,” said Teresa.

To further streamline the shopping experience, the group’s Ruparupa.com has adopted cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality (VR) to help e-shoppers visualize the furniture they are buying and artificial intelligence (AI) to predict consumer behavior.

“We want to bridge the gap between offline and online shopping, making the experience increasingly seamless,” she said.

Teresa noted that online customers used to find it difficult to visualise how furniture, like a sofa, would fit in their room. “We address this issue with VR. The same approach applies to our customer service.”

Meanwhile, AI allow Ruparupa.com to create content for the website and generate buzz on social media including through livestreams.

"AI personalises the shopping experience and encourages consumers to shop more based on their habits,” the CEO said. “Data analytics, aided by AI, also provides better insights into customer behaviour.”

The e-commerce platform, which oversees more than 600 retail stores like AZKO, formerly ACE Hardware, Informa, and Toys Kingdom, has posted an eightfold increase in online visitors who end up buying stuff, and a threefold increase in sales since it started using AI in 2023.

Teresa is optimistic about growth prospects. Ruparupa.com had 2.1 million visitors in December 2024, according to market researcher Similarweb from 27,000 customers in Ruparupa.com’s first year in 2016.

“Apart from boosting sales, AI has also improved operational efficiency,” Teresa said.

The technology helps in product selection, ad management, and targeting the right consumers, she said. AI also cuts down manual processes that used to involve many steps, such as consulting the merchandiser team about the type and use of a product.

“With AI adoption, Ruparupa.com’s productivity has increased significantly, as time-consuming processes can now be shortened. For example, in content writing, we can generate product usage descriptions with AI assistance and get them approved right away,” Teresa said.

Kawan Lama Group encourages every department, not just the technical team, to learn about AI. “The more interaction with AI, the more can be learned, and we push this through training and sharing sessions.”