Indonesian e-commerce Blibli to launch halal section, adding to rising number of platforms serving Islamic market
JAKARTA – Indonesian e-commerce platform Blibli will launch a dedicated filter for halal products in the first quarter of 2020, its Head of Public Relations Yolanda Nainggolan told Salaam Gateway.
"We started curating [halal products] in this quarter but we haven't announced it publicly yet,” said Yolanda.
Blibli’s decision follows the launch in early November of tech unicorn Tokopedia’s dedicated Islamic marketplace and the announcement in the middle of last month by Indonesia Halal Lifestyle Center that it will start Etokohalal in March.
“We plan to launch it in the next quarter. We are aware that the consumer trend is moving toward this direction,” said Yolanda, adding that the dedicated halal filter will address the needs of Muslim customers.
Blibli is Indonesia’s fifth most visited e-commerce platform, according to a comparison by iPrice Group based on SimilarWeb average monthly visits. The list puts Blibli’s monthly web visits at around 21.4 million, with clear leader Tokopedia attracting some 42.9 million.
Blibli’s curation process for halal is implemented across all categories.
"The biggest challenge for us in this curated process is constantly maintaining the quality of halal products and services provided by merchants. This is a challenge we overcome by implementing strict rules to merchants,” said Blibli’s head of PR.
Blibli will require products that want to be pushed to the halal section to have halal certification, according to Yolanda.
One of the product categories for halal is the grocery section BlibliMart that is a top three category for the platform. BlibliMart saw a 175% growth year-on-year in number of SKUs sold between the third quarter of 2019 and the same period in 2018, with orders increasing 315% and gross merchant value (GMV) rising 200% during that period, according to Yolanda.
BlibliMart has a sub-category for all halal items, that currently has more than 3,000 curated products ranging from snacks to skin care.
Halal and Islamic products can also be found outside of groceries and in other sectors such as travel where umrah packages from at least 18 tour operators are currently listed.
Blibli’s Islamic marketplace will also sell fashion and clothing products, which currently has around 377 brands selling modest wear, including popular local labels such as Vivi Zubedi, Dian Pelangi, Khanaan, and Jenahara.
The platform will also offer Shariah-compliant modes of payment and financing.
“We expanded our partnerships with Islamic banks for financing. In July, we partnered with BCA Syariah, enabling the bank to offer its Umrah Multi-Service Financing to our customers purchasing umrah packages under our Tour & Travel category,” said Yolanda.
Shariah-compliant vehicle financing from BCA Syariah is also available for Blibli customers purchasing automobiles.
Blibli also works with other platforms to channel halal products to the market. In September, it partnered with Waqara, a platform providing umrah travel packages and Islamic financing. Under this partnership, the company supplies halal products already on its platform to Waqaramall.
Blibli stated operations in 2011 and is owned by PT Global Digital Niaga, a subsidiary of the diversified holdings company Djarum, which started in the tobacco industry.
(Reporting by Yosi Winosa; Editing bby Emmy Abdul Alim emmy.abdulalim@salaamgateway.com)
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