Danny Crayton is the current Chief Marketing Officer of Indonesia’s largest mall operator, Lippo Malls. He has ample management experience online and offline, involving strategic planning, marketing, customer behavior and customer insights with over 20 years’ experience online. Danny studied Business and International Business in Belmont Abbey University and Queens College in North Carolina, USA and has been in the fashion industry for over forty years not just in the west but also China and Indonesia. Today, Danny sat with Rockbird Media and discussed the world of Retail and E-commerce.
There is one thing Danny would want people to know about Retail and E-commerce industry in Indonesia and he related it with his experience living in the country. Some people might think Indonesia is quite unique until they lived and worked there. Living in the country for over 19 years, Danny has indeed gained a lot of knowledge from his experiences. “When I first came here, I thought I could use the Western ways, introduce retail and ecommerce to Indonesia. However, I learned very quickly, there are so many differences. I visited about 106 cities in Indonesia and most of those cities are quite unique, even within Jakarta. There are differences in Jakarta with spending power. So if someone’s interested in coming to Indonesia, the opportunity is still vast, it’s tremendous.” Nevertheless, people still have to understand that it’s not the same for every business sector. According to Danny, Knowing the targeted demographics, understanding the differences between the regions are truly necessary in the retail and ecommerce industry. “Every region has its own uniqueness and variable in not only spending power, but also in the lifestyle.”
When asked about what he wants his brand customer experience to be, Danny shared that his team tries to create memorable experiences. “When you walk out of our malls, we want you to go ‘Wow!’ And we want you to pick up the phone, call your friends, your relatives and say ‘You’ve got to see that!’, ‘You gotta see this!’, ‘You got to experience this!’, ‘I was just inside Lippo Mall!’. The experience is so overwhelming that a customer is excited.” Danny wants their customers to want others to witness what they have experienced as well; it may be shopping or other entertaining mall activities. The Lippo Mall team also showcases other activities around the mall such as live music, they also have cooking classes for children and adults, coloring contests. They also hold music contests to support the local communities. “So we want our malls in that community, basically to be a gathering point where they feel very comfortable and very safe facilities.” When people would think about going out to dinner or lunch, watching movies, hanging out and a Lippo Mall would be the first thing that comes to their mind.
Every aspect of living has changed forever since the restrictions in 2020. Physical gatherings had an enormous impact and it didn’t spare our usual leisure time at malls. But that didn’t stop the consumers to still support their business. It had a different kind of impact on how the customers now have turned to the ecommerce platform. And F&B has dramatically grown online and the team has been able to support that in their malls as much as possible, especially since there are over sixty Lippo mall branches all over the country. Having almost 22 years of experience in the ecommerce industry, Danny has followed quite closely in Indonesia. Danny and his team have established new strategies, adjusting to the new normal. As the restrictions have slowly eased down, the retail industry started to boost gradually. People started to go out to eat, shop and buy at their local stores.
Danny also gave advice for rebuilding ecommerce leaders to ensure a smooth shopping experience for customers. Firstly, they have to keep it simple. According to Danny, Indonesian consumers don’t really want to spend their time having to learn about a new brand or new product. They just want an easy, 1-2-3 lesson and that’s it for them to make a decision. Living in the digital times, everything has become easier, therefore it also affected our patience. Danny’s advice is study the market, see where the strengths are today; and be original. “Don’t just imitate what the competition’s doing. You’ve got to understand what the trends are, and look ahead and be a leader. Don’t copy and paste.”
Ending the conversation, Danny has a message for all the retail and ecommerce leaders across Indonesia. “Be innovative. Think differently from your competitors but don’t get too far in front of your customers. Customers are very demanding today, they always look for something new and exciting. One of the challenges we do have in Indonesia, is we have a very limited number of brands, whether it’s F&B or fashion, etc. So when new brands come in, those are new and the Indonesia consumer wants that experience. They are fresh and the latest which is what the customer wants to experience. And once again, don’t copy and paste. Just because your business model may be working in another location, it does not mean it’s going to work here. You’ve got to ensure that you understand the local flavor. Understand that customers are much more demanding today than they were a few years ago, recognize the regional differences and also understand those regional flavor differences as well.”
Don’t miss out on Danny Crayton’s notable insights regarding the industry at the Retail & Ecommerce Summit Asia 2022 Indonesia on October 20th at Grand Hyatt, Jakarta.
