Can on-demand lifestyle services make a comeback?

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Hello readers,

A few years ago, when I was still writing in the lifestyle space, I wrote a piece about Honestbee’s on-demand laundry service in Singapore. Well, we all know how the Honestbee story ended, but the fate of on-demand lifestyle services – such as laundry, house-cleaning, and massages, just to name a few – is still a bit of a question mark.

In Indonesia, there appears to be plenty of potential for on-demand lifestyle services to take off, with its growing middle class, sizable workforce, and affordable labor costs. But the sector faces some difficulties in getting off the ground.

Today we look at:

• What’s holding back on-demand lifestyle services in Indonesia
• Gojek’s newest offering for small businesses
• Other newsy highlights such as Oyo’s latest round of layoffs and WhatsApp’s new “Cart” function

PREMIUM SUMMARY

It’s a hard-knock life for on-demand lifestyle services in Indonesia

GoLife, the on-demand lifestyle services unit of Gojek, had over 1 million monthly active users at its peak – before it got shut down early this year. And while Indonesia seems like a ripe environment for on-demand lifestyle services to thrive, businesses in the space don’t seem to be faring too well.

• Going lean: Many startups in the sector began by offering a wide range of services that connected gig workers to customers, but wound up whittling them down to only a few. Others have pivoted into the business-to-business space. Aside from making razor-thin profit margins, having too many services made it difficult for companies to scale, and some offerings – like makeup assistance – don’t have mass appeal.
• It ain’t as easy as it seems: Companies in the on-demand lifestyle services space face many challenges. For one, affluent households in Indonesia have maids and drivers, which make services like house-cleaning and laundry redundant. Plus, customers and service providers alike can bypass these platforms by exchanging contact information.
• A question of potential: The fact that GoLife had a sizable user base before Gojek pulled the plug indicates that there is a demand for on-demand lifestyle services. However, the lack of investor interest and funding going into the space makes it difficult for businesses to get off the ground.

Read more: Gojek killed GoLife, but on-demand lifestyle services may live on

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