JAKARTA, Indonesia, Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Plugo is available to anyone who wishes to launch an online business. Both for entrepreneurs who have recently begun online businesses and for well-established companies. Plugo gives its users greater control, a stronger brand identity, the flexibility to set more competitive selling prices for their products, and more quantifiable company growth.

With Plugo, merchants can sell on multiple marketplaces and social commerce platforms from a centralized dashboard and run social media ad campaigns.

Kyungmin Bang, CEO and Founder of Plugo, believes the momentum of his product launch to be exceptionally fitting, considering the trend of businesses migrating from the marketplace to direct-to-consumer (D2C) platforms such as Plugo.

IKEA and Nike, for instance, have shifted to direct-to-consumer sales in the United States beginning in 2020. Bang forecasts that something similar will occur in Indonesia. Numerous Plugo beta users who decided to leave the marketplace and start their online store website prove this point. However, Bang emphasized that Plugo has no intention of competing with the marketplace.

"Marketplace is the best starting point for businesses entering the e-commerce industry. Platforms such as Tokopedia and Shopee have a vast user base, and their presence has been embraced by a large audience, allowing customers to feel familiar with and trust them. However, merchants who wish to grow sustainably should not rely solely on the marketplace as a sales channel," added Bang.

The challenge business owners experience in establishing their brands

Khairul Gani, owner of the fashion label Gonegani, is one of the merchants whose business has expanded outside the marketplace. Gani, who joined the Plugo platform in November 2022 when it was still in closed beta, said that one of his objectives for using a D2C platform like Plugo was to strengthen branding and customer relationships.

"As a fashion brand, online store aesthetic and brand experience are essential. These two things are tough to get on the marketplace because there is little room for personalization; thus, the visuals offered are very generic," explained Gani.

When marketplace competition is intense, many entrepreneurs, like Gani, realize the significance of branding. E-commerce platforms such as Plugo are deemed suitable because not only do they enable customer transactions, but they also can help establish brand identity.

According to Gani, most marketplace shoppers are unaware that they purchase from Gonegani, not the marketplace itself. The inability of customers to distinguish between the two makes it difficult for brands to create a sales channel that is entirely their own. The brand will always be an extension of the marketplace.

With Plugo, brands like Gonegani may have complete control over their online store. From the choice of layouts, logos, and colors to the selection of fonts. In addition, their homepage will not be cluttered with products from competitors but will only include exclusive promotions and featured products they wish to highlight. With the option to modify almost every aspect of their online store, brands can freely express their personality.

Bringing together e-commerce and social commerce

The Bank of Indonesia reported that e-commerce transactions increased by 19% in 2022, reaching 479.3 trillion IDR. Compared to the 33.2% growth in 2021, this figure declined. This slowdown resulted from the economic recovery post-pandemic and the rise of social commerce.

According to a survey, TikTok Shop is Indonesia's leading social commerce platform, followed by WhatsApp Business, Facebook, and Instagram Shop. According to Bang, this phenomenon serves Plugo with an enormous opportunity.

"The all-in-one claim we make is not without justification. Plugo enables businesses to integrate their online store with various social commerce platforms and marketplaces. This feature, which we refer to as PlugoSync, enables merchants to sell anywhere without leaving their Plugo dashboard," Bang clarified.

There is also integration with the TikTok Shop, Facebook Catalog, and Instagram Shop, in addition to the marketplace. Merchants can also run ad campaigns, straight from the Plugo dashboard, on social commerce platforms.

About Plugo

Plugo is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that empowers anyone who wants to start an online business. It lets users personalize their online stores with personalized website templates, payment, courier integrations, omnichannel, SEO, and marketing tools.

Plugo is entirely cloud-based and hosted, allowing users to access and manage their business from anywhere at any time while on the go.

Plugo was founded in 2022 in Singapore, with offices in Jakarta and Seoul. Plugo is a global and diverse team with members from various countries and cultural backgrounds. The developer team, which is located in Seoul, is made up of seasoned developers from various tech industries.

Source: Plugo