OgahRugi.com With a New Look and Strategy

About a week ago OgahRugi.com changed their layout, which was quite a crucial change because their layout and feature is now totally different. I myself at first didn't recognize the change until after I looked for writing material concerning daily deals and opened the OgahRugi.com site, their layout has already changed thoroughly.

Checking at their Facebook Page, the change was announced at May 23rd 2011, and if before the change there was some facilities provided by OgahRugi such as discount voucher, online store and discount info. Now with their new look, OgahRugi only provides discount vouchers which are offered once in two days.

Their typical red color and their logo were all changed, and now their look is much more minimalist, without the dominant color and the two column layout which was quite distinguishable from other similar services, eventhough the upper design element of the site reminds me of Gowalla service's and the background image reminds me of AkuPlusKamu.

From the site's explanation, the service that ran under PT Dyviacom Intrabumi explained that their service, from what previously provided discount information and online store, was changed to answer the opportunities emerged from various merchants, like restaurant, cafe, spa, salon, entertainment places, and many other merchants. The opportunity to become a service that introduces various merchants that many people still unaware of is one of the strategy OgahRugi wants to take. They change their sevice development strategy into (only) discount voucher sales.

Right now OgahRugi's offers are only available for Jakarta. Beside the merchants' offer under lifestyle, there are two offers I found interesting, Transformers T-shirt and DanBoard Action Figure. Indeed choosing to offer discount for unique products is still debatable, between finding what the consumer's most look for (more voucher sold the better) or featuring unique offer that might not being offered by other services.

OgahRugi's change by providing one service only, is a bit different from my opinion that the trend followed by discount providers or daily deals services, that developing various features and services outside discount voucher, like building a community group or mobile application combined with feature like LBS, discount based on location or else. Daily deals or discount voucher, may in future, only will become one of the features from the more complete service.

To me, daily deals services, group buying or voucher discount provider in Indonesia are now entering the real test, although the market is still broad, Indonesian consumption level is undoubtly good, and merchants are keep on growing, but the 'honeymoon' phase is over, the similiar services' growth and spread challenges the merchant's business strategy and offer.

Just about a week ago OgahRugi changed their feature and service's focus; let's see their development, from OgahRugi as well as other discount voucher providers.