TANGERANG, 17 September 2020 – E-commerce enabler SIRCLO announced the launch of its latest product, SIRCLO Chat, as part of its recent seventh anniversary celebration. Embracing the spirit of #InspireTheFuture, SIRCLO pioneered a new way for thousands of brands and small and medium-sized business owners to conduct transactions directly through WhatsApp conversations.

“We have seen a rapidly growing trend among Indonesian consumers towards chat commerce, where they want to purchase products as easily as chatting with an online store representative. In response, we developed SIRCLO Chat, which enables sellers to integrate and display their product catalogues directly within WhatsApp conversations, allowing consumers to complete purchases without switching applications,” said Brian Marshal, Chief Executive Officer of SIRCLO.

According to the Digital 2019 Report by Hootsuite and We Are Social, WhatsApp was the second most widely used application in Indonesia, with around 150 million active accounts. Since one person may have more than one active account, the number of individual WhatsApp users was estimated at approximately 120 million, meaning that around 80% of social media users in Indonesia were already using the messaging platform.

The widespread use of WhatsApp also contributed to a shift in consumer behaviour, with customers increasingly expecting online store representatives to be responsive and accommodating through the messaging platform. This trend gave rise to chat commerce, where transactions are conducted directly through conversations. The faster and more helpful the response, and the more convenient the purchasing process, the greater the potential to strengthen customer trust and satisfaction.

“Indonesian consumers generally value a more personal touch when making purchases. They often want to ask directly about product specifications, delivery arrangements, and other details that may be more difficult to address through conventional e-commerce channels,” said Leontius Pradhana, Chief Product Officer of SIRCLO. “That is why we introduced SIRCLO Chat, to help brands and local businesses in Indonesia serve their customers more effectively. Through this service, SIRCLO clients can reach a broader consumer base, shorten transaction times, and build more engaging two-way relationships with their customers.”

SIRCLO Chat is integrated with the WhatsApp Business API, allowing customer orders to be processed automatically. Its three main features are:

• Integrated dashboard: Clients can update product catalogues and inventory, send automated replies, and assign multiple administrators to respond to customer messages.

• In-app transactions: Clients can receive and process purchases directly through WhatsApp, either manually through an administrator or automatically.

• Notifications: Customers receive automated updates on order status, invoice issuance, payment instructions, and confirmation of delivery.

Through these three core features, SIRCLO clients can provide better customer service while reducing operational costs, effort, and processing time. Automation and integration with the WhatsApp Business API also help minimise the risk of human error, including when recording order quantities and product specifications.

Rock Nation, a local brand specialising in music merchandise, was among the clients that had adopted SIRCLO Chat. “Before using SIRCLO Chat, we were often overwhelmed by the volume of customer enquiries and requests. With SIRCLO Chat, we have been able to reduce operational costs, make it easier to build stronger relationships with customers, and monitor order status more efficiently,” said Ary Budiman, Founder and CEO of Rock Nation.

The launch of SIRCLO Chat further strengthened SIRCLO’s vision of helping brands sell online. At the time, SIRCLO offered solutions connected across multiple digital sales channels: SIRCLO Store supported brands in managing their own websites, SIRCLO Connexi helped manage marketplace channels such as Tokopedia and Shopee, while the newly launched SIRCLO Chat enabled transactions directly through messaging applications.

“As a leading e-commerce enabler in Indonesia, SIRCLO’s core principle is to continue growing and innovating in response to changing market needs. We continuously monitor emerging trends and develop new services that can help our clients sell online more effectively,” Brian added.

Looking ahead, Brian planned to integrate SIRCLO’s three core e-commerce solutions, SIRCLO Store, SIRCLO Connexi, and SIRCLO Chat, into a single platform. This would allow SIRCLO clients to manage all incoming orders from their websites, marketplaces, and WhatsApp through one convenient, centralised platform.

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About SIRCLO

Founded in 2013, SIRCLO is a leading e-commerce solutions company in Indonesia that helps brands sell online. SIRCLO offers four business solutions: SIRCLO Store, SIRCLO Connexi, SIRCLO Chat, and SIRCLO Commerce. SIRCLO Store is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that enables small and medium-sized local businesses to build template-based online stores. SIRCLO Connexi provides an interactive dashboard for managing sales across multiple e-commerce platforms in Indonesia. Meanwhile, SIRCLO Chat offers a conversational commerce platform through an interactive dashboard integrated with the WhatsApp Business API. Through its end-to-end channel management solution, SIRCLO Commerce supports enterprise brands in expanding into online distribution channels.

In May 2020, SIRCLO officially merged with ICUBE, a Magento Premier Solutions Partner in Indonesia, bringing together e-commerce technology development capabilities and SWIFT, an omnichannel e-commerce builder. SIRCLO Store had powered more than 100,000 websites and supported 3,000 brands in growing their businesses online, including ATS The Label, Benscrub, Evete Naturals, Namaste Organic, This Is April, and Heytimmy Kidswear. SIRCLO was also trusted by dozens of clients representing more than 200 leading brands, including Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, KAO, L’Oréal, Eiger, and Levi’s. Headquartered at Green Office Park 1, The Breeze, BSD, Tangerang, SIRCLO had 500 employees, with representatives based in Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya. For more information about SIRCLO, visit www.sirclo.com.