KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): GrabMart has expanded into "Instant Retail" to tap into retail small and medium enterprises and chains, enabling them to access Grab’s network of users and meet customer expectations for safe, instant delivery.

In a statement today, Grab observed a triple increase in sales for convenience and grocery businesses via the GrabMart service during the movement control order (MCO).

As more businesses are gradually reopening, more consumers are looking for safe, convenient ways to shop for their daily needs, it continued.

The move intends to support the government’s Penjana (National Economic Recovery Plan) and is presenting a 20% introductory offer for the upcoming Shop Malaysia Online government initiative.

“While we saw a clear uplift to safe, instant deliveries for food, drinks, snacks and other essential goods via GrabFood, GrabMart and ‘Pasar’ on GrabMart, we see a new challenge for retailers,” said Grab Malaysia managing director Sean Goh.

“The ‘new normal’ will potentially affect retailers who traditionally rely on high foot traffic and walk-ins from health and beauty retailers, toys, gifts and stationery to florists.”

“This is a gap where we believe GrabMart is able to step in and address, while helping to make the government’s upcoming Shop Malaysia Online initiative a success,” he added.

According to the statement, Grab launched its GrabMart service last year, and is available in the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Ipoh, Melaka and Penang. 

The service reaffirmed its commitment to improving delivery efficiency for its more than 120,000 delivery partners nationwide.

Grab said it had recorded a consistently high level of service, with deliveries typically under 30 minutes for as low as RM5.

“With over 20 million downloads, the Grab platform enables retailers to leverage their existing network to serve a large community of tech-savvy users, and to increase their sales per store.

“Meanwhile, retailers will also be able to reward their customers with GrabRewards points, while gaining access to in-depth insights on customers’ brand engagement and product preferences,” it added.