Despite the much-touted e-commerce trend, publicly listed cell-phone retailer Erajaya Swasembada still focuses on sales through physical stores, as the online channel accounts for just 7 percent of the industry's sales.

Erajaya president director Budiarto Halim said despite the booming e-commerce segment, people still preferred to buy smartphones and gadgets at physical stores, as they needed the physical experience with the gadgets before buying.

“Why do we still believe in the physical experience? Simply because it is still essential for buyers. They want to touch the product, see the real size of it and know how it is used and set up,” he said during a public event in Jakarta on Thursday.

Erajaya’s online sales through Erafone.com and Ibox.co.id contributed only a minor chunk to its total sales of Rp 4.85 trillion (US$364.6 million) in the first quarter of the year. Nevertheless, Budiarto said, the firm was continuing to develop its online channels.

“In the future, we want to have multiple channels. Customers can go to our physical stores, but if the products are out of stock, they can still order them online on the spot,” he said.

Erajaya has a major presence in the phone distribution business, with 576 outlets under the store names “Erafone”, “Switch”, “iBox” and “Urban Republic”. (ags)

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