PT Matahari Department Store Tbk, known as Matahari, is the largest retail platform in Indonesia with 139 stores located in 77 cities across the country and an online presence on Matahari.com. Matahari was established in the late 1950s with the opening of a children's fashion store in Jakarta. The first Matahari outlet was opened in 1972, and is considered to be the first modern department store in the country.

For over 60 years, Matahari has provided Indonesia’s growing middle class with fashionable, affordable, high-quality apparel, footwear, and beauty products.

Challenge

Engagement rates for campaigns on traditional marketing channels were starting to decline. Matahari’s marketing team wanted to increase sales and find a better way to capture the attention of their 1.75 million customers.

They had been using SMS and email for campaigns and promotions, but both channels proved to have their limitations. These channels had poor delivery rates, which resulted in lower conversion rates and fewer sales. The team wanted to tap into new high potential channels that would allow users to interact with Matahari in two-way conversations.

As WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in Indonesia, with over 140 million users, Matahari saw this channel as an opportunity to boost sales and improve its marketing efforts. They were looking for a solution that could handle millions of marketing messages on WhatsApp, and for a platform that would allow the company to implement new use cases into the future.

Solution

When the retailer embarked on the extensive process of evaluating multiple messaging providers, they found that only Bird had the scale they required to send millions of messages, and the functionality to optimize delivery and engagement rates.

Millions of customers converted with WhatsApp campaigns

By using Bird’s Flow Builder and WhatsApp API, Matahari was able to run promotional campaigns that reached millions of customers and drove net new revenue for their stores. By sending marketing messages on WhatsApp, customers were also given the ability to respond and engage with campaigns. Those who wanted additional product information could instantly chat with a sales agent and have their questions answered before making a purchase.

Identifying and targeting the most loyal customers

The company also found new ways to use WhatsApp to expand its loyalty program. Using Bird, Matahari was able to identify its most profitable customer segment and target them with exclusive offers. Recipients of these messages could respond to initiate a conversational experience.

Spam detection and prevention

By using Bird’s Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence capabilities, their customer support team was able to detect and flag spam messages. Identifying these messages early on allowed Matahari to focus on customers with genuine inquiries.

Results

Matahari reached its 1.75 million customers more effectively through WhatsApp. Marketing campaigns on WhatsApp have been proven to improve engagement and conversion rates at scale.

So far, the retailer has sent over 15 million marketing messages with an impressive delivery rate of 98%. The team achieved a conversion rate of 6.5%, nearly 2.5 times higher than the industry average of 2.6%. Customers on WhatsApp are almost three times more likely to convert than those acquired through traditional online channels.

Matahari’s partnership with Bird has been a great success for the retailer. The team is now looking to expand their use of WhatsApp and Flow Builder to other areas of the business.

"With Bird and WhatsApp, we can reach a large number of customers more effectively and keep them better informed about new offers. This has helped us increase our conversion rates and sales."

Tjhai A Eng, Marketing & Loyalty at Matahari