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Singapore: Grab eyeing the grocery delivery market
SINGAPORE – Singapore-based firm Grab is moving into yet another area – grocery deliveries.
The service, called GrabFresh, is a collaboration with regional grocery delivery firm HappyFresh and will allow users to order groceries from within the Grab app.
GrabFresh will be available in Jakarta later this month and is expected to be available in Thailand and Malaysia by the end of the year.
It is not clear, however, when the service might be launched in Singapore.
HappyFresh chief executive Guillem Segarra said: “Grab is the best possible partner we could have. The large number of couriers that they have allows us to add more delivery slots and improve delivery time.”
The new service heats up the competition between ride-hailing company Grab and rival Go-Jek, which currently offers grocery shopping and other concierge services in Indonesia.
In May, Go-Jek announced that it would expand beyond its Indonesian base to four other countries in the region – Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines – by the end of this year.
On Tuesday (July 10), Grab also announced a new service called GrabPlatform, which is a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow other companies to partner with Grab and gain access to the firm’s technology and expertise in areas such as payment, transport and logistics.
This will allow for firms to easily incorporate mobile wallet GrabPay into their apps or websites for electronic payment, for example.
“Combining Grab’s assets with the specialised expertise of our partners will enable both Grab and our partners to grow most efficiently and quickly to serve more South-east Asian customers daily,” said Grab’s group chief executive Anthony Tan.
While access to GrabPlatform is available only to a “curated” list of partners at first, the plan is to eventually open the APIs to anyone who wants them, said Grab product head Jerald Singh.
The Grab app will also feature a news feed, featuring content such as games, restaurant reviews and short films.
The firm has also partnered Yahoo to provide news in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/grab-eyeing-the-grocery-delivery-market