The Minister Of Trade Calls Omnichannel A Solution To The Rojali And Rohana Phenomenon

JAKARTA - Minister of Trade (Mendag) Budi Santoso revealed that the phenomenon of Rojali and Rohana is the impact of the transformation of people's spending patterns from direct shopping in stores or offline to online or online sales platforms.

Budi assessed that the change in behavior had an impact on the decline in interest in direct shopping in physical stores. Even so, according to him, this condition could also be an opportunity for offline business actors to enter into e-commerce.

We finally caught this phenomenon with a hybrid, with an omnichannel. So if the store goes offline, he can also sell it online. Because there are consumers looking first (directly), they just bought it online," Budi said at the Kick Off Asean Online Sale Day (AOSD) 2025 event, at the Ministry of Trade Office, Thursday, August 7.

He said looking around without buying is part of consumer rights. Budi said that every consumer also has the right to buy goods through any platform, either online or directly to an offline store.

For your information, Rojali is a term for the group to rarely buy. Meanwhile, Rohana is an acronym for the group, only asking. Both refer to the phenomenon of visitors coming to shopping centers without making purchases.

"Sometimes he sees goods, it's okay, then whether he buys online or offline, yes please, that's consumer behavior and that's consumer freedom to buy goods," he said.

According to Budi, buyers who choose to buy through marketplaces such as Shopee and Tokopedia Cs can also see products when the seller promotes goods through live shopping.

"In the marketplace, there is also a live shopping. Actually, it's also to bring consumers closer to their goods. If you only look at the image, you may not be sure, but if there is a live like that, consumers will finally know that the product is like that," he said.

Furthermore, Budi assessed that offline and online transformations could also run simultaneously. He said direct and online sales must be equal.

"I think those are things we can do so that the transformation between offline and online can go well. We have to be equal, we have to be the same," he said.

Budi assessed that this condition was the same as at the beginning of the emergence of modern retail. At that time, grocery stores felt pressured by the emergence of modern retailers. Then, the government formed a partnership pattern between retail and grocery stores.

Furthermore, Budi said, grocery stores can now live better lives with the partnership pattern.

The partnership pattern is not just a modern retail product supply but also teaches what kind of management it is. I think this also happens in e-commerce. E-commerce is not just taking goods from MSMEs for sale but also teaching how good packaging is, good products," he said.