Shopping Trend for Health Products Shifts to Digital, Regional Business Actors Begin to Take Role
Changes in consumer behaviour in meeting health and beauty product needs are driving a shift in shopping patterns to digital platforms. This trend opens opportunities for business actors, including those from regions, to build more adaptive and integrated retail models.
Society’s needs for products such as supplements, herbal remedies, to body care are no longer limited to certain segments, but have become part of daily consumption sought in a practical manner. This condition has spurred the emergence of various sales platforms that prioritise ease of access and product completeness in one channel.
One business actor taking advantage of this opportunity comes from Tulungagung, East Java. Abdu Sholeh has developed Duzi Mart as a digital-based retail platform targeting health, beauty, and healthy lifestyle product needs.
Abdu explained that the business development stems from his observations of market behaviour changes, particularly the increasing consumer preference for online shopping.
“The digital approach has become one of the important foundations, because consumers are now increasingly accustomed to fulfilling their needs through online platforms,” he said.
In practice, the developed model combines various products from diverse brands in one platform or multi-brand retail. This approach is considered capable of meeting consumer needs who desire a more efficient purchasing process without having to switch between platforms.
In addition to direct sales, this model is also beginning to develop as a distribution channel for other business actors who want to expand their market reach through digital channels. Thus, the retail platform not only functions as a sales point but also as part of the distribution ecosystem.
Nevertheless, the development of digital retail still faces challenges, particularly in maintaining product curation quality, system management, and service consistency to consumers. The product selection process and strengthening of operational systems become important factors in sustaining the business amid increasingly tight competition.
The phenomenon of emerging business actors from regions also indicates that digital transformation in the retail sector is no longer centred in big cities. Access to technology and increasingly open markets enable local business actors to compete and develop their business reach.
Looking ahead, the retail digitalisation trend is expected to continue to grow in line with increasing societal needs for health products and lifestyles, while also driving the birth of new, more flexible and integrated business models.