Grab will now take you grocery shopping in bid for Asia dominance
The ride-hailing company hypes an all-in-one app.
Group CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan speaking at Grab's sixth anniversary event Monday.
After conquering Uber, ride-hailer Grab is upping the ante with its expansion throughout Southeast Asia.
The company launched a new on-demand grocery delivery service on Monday, along with a redesigned home screen for its existing app.
Called GrabFresh, Grab's latest venture lets users shop for groceries "from the comfort of home," according to Grab's statement. It's a partnership with HappyFresh, an online grocery shopping platform.
Trained personal shoppers "who know how to pick the right items" will make purchases in store, and users can reject unsatisfactory items upon delivery, the company added. In practical terms, that means customers won't be delivered imperfect produce or expired milk.
The service was made available in beta in Jakarta at the beginning of July. It will be rolled out in Thailand and Malaysia by the end of the year, followed by other countries in the region.
Grab also showed off a new home screen for its existing Grab app that puts all of its services in one page. Previously, opening up the Grab app would bring you straight to the ride-booking page.
Grab's newest home screen puts all of its services on the same page (far left). By comparison, the older design lets you book a ride the moment you open the app, but you have to open the menu to access other services.
The announcements come just days after Singapore's competition watchdog questioned Grab's March acquisition of Uber . The buyout includes Uber's ride-hailing, food delivery, payments and financial services in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The refresh is also an attempt at what Grab Group CEO Anthony Tan called "hyperpersonalisation," adding a personalised greeting and contextualised content to the page when you open up the app. The new design is now on iOS in Singapore and Indonesia (Android expected from July 18), with other markets due to receive it within this quarter.
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