Designing an E-commerce Product Strategy for Rural Indonesia

Entering the Rural E-commerce Market 

A new e-commerce start-up wanted to enter the rural Indonesian market. The primary task was to define the target customers and develop a product strategy that was appropriate for the rural market. The challenge was to understand the whole ecosystem, not just store owners, but suppliers, logistics, and village apparatus.

Understanding the Rural Ecosystem 

The project involved exploratory research through in-depth interviews and intercepts with various stakeholders in 20 locations across Jambi, North Sulawesi, and Central Java, encompassing small, medium, and large resellers. Service evaluations were also conducted in Central Java through interviews, store visits, home visits, field observations and intercepts, to understand the current service journey and to identify areas for improvement.

Key Insights for E-commerce in Rural Areas 

The research highlighted the importance of physical touchpoints and offline relationships for building trust. The product should build on existing user habits and not introduce complexities. Reliable agents, stock availability, and clear legal entities were identified as crucial factors for building trust. The research helped the client to develop a clear strategy for their value proposition, product offering, customer experience and product roadmap.