GoRobinsons brings together seven brands of Robinsons Retail Holdings – including Robinsons Supermarket, Handyman and Toys R Us – under one online store. We talked to general manager Edna Belleza about the challenges of launching during uncertain times, how preparation happened even before the pandemic materialized, and their future plans as e-commerce takes a stronger hold.
How did the concept of GoRobinsons come about? Was it an idea hatched as a response to the pandemic, or does it go further back?
RRHI started doing e-commerce four years ago through third-party online platforms. Globally, e-commerce was the play and we wanted to be part of it. The pandemic simply hastened the implementation of our own e-commerce platform, GoRobinsons. We pursued an asset-light concierge model to leverage the group’s existing infrastructure and vast network of stores.
Why develop your own online shopping service, rather than rely on online marketplaces or third party delivery services?
The idea is to create a one-stop shop housing all our retail brands for customer convenience. This will also allow us to gather data and develop a single customer view, making the shopping experience more personalized and convenient.
This will also allow our customers to earn loyalty points through GoRewards, which they will eventually be able to use in purchasing from GoRobinsons.
What challenges did you encounter while putting GoRobinsons together, especially as it was the height of COVID-19 restrictions?
Quarantine rules were very strict then as everyone was still trying to understand the science behind the spread of the virus. Most of the work was done virtually, except for the actual set-up in the store and the training of our frontliners – our pickers, packers, cashiers, and riders.
It was a good thing that the conglomerate was already equipped with digital tools that allowed us to efficiently work from home. Our backend systems were also e-commerce ready.
How was the initial response to GoRobinsons, from both participating retailers and customers?
Since we took an agile approach and there were also supply chain issues at the height of the ECQ last year, our fill rates were not very good in the beginning. But because we did a closed beta and initially offered the service to our employees, we were able to improve this before we opened the service to the public.
Overall, customers have generally been appreciative of the fact that they can buy groceries from the safety and comfort of their homes. After launching with Robinsons Supermarket in June 2020, we were able to quickly onboard six other banners – The Marketplace, Shopwise, Toys R Us, No Brand, Handyman, and True Value.
Are there any future plans you can reveal?
We are targeting to onboard Robinsons Department Store, South Star Drug, and Robinsons Appliances by the end of the year. We are also quickly expanding beyond NCR.
As e-commerce picks up speed in the coming months and years, how do you think can traditional retailers adapt and innovate?
Because the pandemic hastened the adoption of online shopping, traditional retailers should work towards a seamless omni-channel experience. As more people get vaccinated and feel more confident about going to the physical store, customers will want to be able to use multiple touch points to purchase what they need. For example, a customer might want to call the store to inquire about a product, visit the store to see and touch the product, and then ultimately pay for it online.