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Randy Mulyanto · · 6 min readHow Alfamart, Indomaret beat e-grocers at their own game
Amid the diversity of Indonesian cities, a common phenomenon stands out on their streets: branches of Indomaret and Alfamart – the country’s two largest minimarket brands – located just meters away from each other. Some even stand side by side.
As e-groceries gain ground in Indonesia, the two rivals are taking the competition online through their apps and websites: Klik Indomaret and Alfagift.
Photo credit: mourizativa / Shutterstock
According to a July 2024 survey by Populix, 61% of respondents said they were open to using Klik Indomaret, while 62% opted for Alfagift.
Both services outperformed other e-grocers, including GrabMart and Astro.
No delivery fees
How have Klik Indomaret and Alfagift managed to establish themselves as favorites? A big draw is a combination of convenience and low costs.
Jakarta-based freelance journalist Syahdinar (Dinar) has been a regular Alfagift user for the last two to three years. The 35-year-old purchases daily necessities like bread, sugar, milk, and eggs through the app.
Dinar, who works full-time from home, says she finds it convenient to add products to an online cart before picking up her order from her apartment lobby. This means that she does not need to waste time traveling to the store and scouring the shelves to get whatever she needs.
Photo credit: Ryan Suryanata / Shutterstock
She adds that shopping online “reduces the possibility of spending more money,” which is more likely to happen if she is browsing at a physical store. Dinar pays the same price by ordering from Alfagift as she would at Alfamart’s physical minimarkets, and she is not charged extra for delivery fees, unlike in other platforms like GrabMart.
Between the two favorites, Dinar says she prefers Alfagift over Klik Indomaret because of its ease of use.
At Indomaret, “I have to give [the cashier] my phone and then scan it to get points,” she explains. For Alfagift, Dinar says that she can receive the points for her purchase by simply giving her cellphone number to the Alfamart cashier.
Shop from anywhere
Another factor behind the success of both Alfagift and Klik Indomaret is their massive reach.
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Indonesia’s two largest minimarket brands are playing to their strengths to take the lead in the country’s e-groceries space.
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