Background
Alfamart is one of Indonesia’s leading convenience and retail businesses. The company offers a wide range of products to 2.5 million customers daily in more than 100.000 convenient stores across the region. Alfamart has started embracing intelligent virtual assistants to provide rich and personalized experience through conversational platforms in order to increase customer engagement and building customer loyalty.
Since 2018, Alfamart has collaborated with Kata.ai to build an interactive assistant that can offer seamless support and customer loyalty programs. We decided to name the virtual assistant Shalma, which actually stands for ‘Sahabat Alfamart.’ We proposed a female virtual assistant persona that represents Alfamart’s cashier operator, who is friendly and helpful.
Shalma virtual assistant is integrated with LINE messaging apps. It makes it easy for Alfamart’s customers to find the latest promotion and Alfagift, compare prices, and make the best purchasing decision. In addition, Alfamart management can utilize Shalma to deliver highly targeted seasonal offers and inform customers on upcoming holiday promotions.
Solution
Shalma virtual assistant is transforming the way Alfamart handles customer queries by providing comprehensive and consistent services through Alfamart's LINE account, which can be accessed anytime, anywhere. At the same time, Shalma also delights customers with daily promotions and loyalty programs.
With Shalma, customers can register and access Ponta — Alfamart's membership and loyalty program — and redeem their PONTA points with special gifts. Also, customers can find nearest Alfamart stores, get information about the latest Alfamart promo, and share feedback regarding Alfamart's service easily with Shalma.
Shalma was designed to redefine and replace traditional marketing methods. Instead of sending promotional emails, Alfamart uses Shalma to promote products in real-time in a more trendy, casual, and conversational way. Because Alfamart knows that returning customers are happy customers, and that is what makes a good brand great.
The Impact
Alfamart has managed to acquire 3x ROI from each promo and campaign through Shalma virtual assistant.
During Alfamart's promo campaign. Shalma has managed to generate up to > 90% conversion rate.
Shalma has become an effective solution to boost customer experience and drive sales in offline stores.