Gojek Reportedly Entered into E-Commerce Business through GoStore

On-demand service provider, Gojek, is reportedly preparing a new service in the e-commerce field under the name GoStore. This new product was launched through a digital cashier startup (point of sale / POS) Moka, which was acquired last April.

However, Gojek was reluctant to respond to the news. “We cannot comment on this,” said Gojek VP Corporate Communication Audrey Petriny, Monday (19/10). He said that the company admits that it will continue to innovate to present the latest services to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

“This is so that MSMEs continue to advance and make it easier to implement digitalization at every step of their daily business operations,” he said. Quoted from Moka’s official website, GoStore is a digital storefront that allows merchants to create their own online shop. This platform will connect with social media to reach more users.

Users only need to organize a catalog through Moka Back-office and sync it on their own website or social media accounts. GoStore is also equipped with a daily sales summary and inventory reports.

Gojek will also integrate GoStore with other services such as GoPay and GoSend. As of last April, Moka has recruited 40 thousand businessmen in 200 Indonesian cities. This startup provides solutions ranging from POS devices, payment systems, bookkeeping to the procurement of raw materials, and business capital loans.

Attracted more MSMEs during the Pandemic

Meanwhile, Gojek attracted 265 thousand MSMEs during the corona pandemic. In total, this decacorn attracts more than 600 thousand GoBiz partners and 500 thousand GoFood partners.

“The digitization of MSMEs has proven to be the answer to the acceleration of the wheels of the economy, especially during a pandemic situation like now,” said Gojek Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, Shinto Nugroho, quoted in a press release today (19/10).

If the GoStore service is truly released, Gojek will further expand access for MSMEs to digitize their business. On the one hand, the e-commerce business has become increasingly in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Based on data from Facebook and Bain and Company, the value of online shopping transactions in Indonesia is estimated to be nearly US$ 72 billion or around IDR 1,047.6 trillion in 2025. This figure is also higher than the initial projection of US$ 48 billion.

In addition, AppsFlyer’s report entitled ‘The State of Shopping App Marketing 2020 Edition’ shows that the time spent by Indonesian consumers on e-commerce platforms increased by 70% during February-June.

This coincided with the implementation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB). Managing Director and President of AppsFlyer APAC, Ronen Mense, said that users in Indonesia on average shopped six times on shopping apps last April.

“We estimate that the figure will continue to increase with the 11.11 campaign in November and the year-end holiday season,” he said, quoted from a press release, September (17/9).

Meanwhile, Tiktok, Google, Facebook Have Entered Online Shopping

Tech giants from the United States (US), Google and China, TikTok began developing online shopping features, such as those provided by e-commerce. Facebook even plans to provide payment services, so transactions are carried out without leaving the platform.

Google has a special platform for shopping called the Merchant Center. The company is also testing the integration of this service with a link on a video on YouTube, starting last weekend (10/10).

TikTok also embedded a link in the profile section to connect potential customers with users’ online stores in November last year. Meanwhile, Facebook has built online shopping services on its platform, including Instagram and WhatsApp since 2016.

Chairman of the Indonesian E-Commerce Association (idEA) Bima Laga assessed that the three global technology giants are hooking up a different market with trading service providers through electronic systems (PMSE). The inclusion of Google, TikTok and Facebook will actually encourage Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to penetrate the digital ecosystem.