Grab’s Shopping And Delivery App Expands In SE Asia

Grab’s online grocery shopping delivery service is on its way to grabbing a sizable share of the Southeast Asian market on the heels of an expansion.

On Thursday (June 4), Grab announced it has added Cambodia to its list of countries serviced by its GrabMart shopping and delivery app, now available in eight Southeast Asian countries.

GrabMart, which also delivers a wide array of consumer goods as well as groceries, is now available to consumers in 50 cities across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and now Cambodia.

“In a post-COVID19 normal, we anticipate demand for delivery services to remain elevated,” said Demi Yu, regional head of GrabFood and GrabMart, in a press release, adding that the company plans to “double down” on its expansion of GrabMart.

The Singapore-based ride-hailing, digital payments and consumer products delivery company expanded into the grocery sector in March in response to demand for food delivery, as governments across the region instituted lockdown measures.

GrabMart has teamed up with more than 3,000 stores across the region, including supermarket and convenience store chains like FamilyMart, Mahnaz Food, FairPrice Xpress, Maxvalu and Tops.

Grab said that its service offers deliveries within an hour of ordering, or at pre-scheduled times. Instant noodles, vegetables, beverages, pantry items and snacks are some of the more popular items ordered through the GrabMart app.

Grab’s investment in grocery delivery has the potential to be a good long-term play as well, with a recent PYMNTS survey showing that consumers in the United States have been buying more online, not less, since states began lifting coronavirus business restrictions. More than 35 percent of U.S. shoppers were buying retail goods online as of May 23, up from 29.2 percent on April 11, the survey of 2,065 consumers found.

“COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of on-demand delivery services across Southeast Asia, and we were able to tap existing technologies, our extensive delivery network and operational footprint to quickly scale GrabMart across the region,” GrabMart’s Yu said.