The online grocery wars, explained

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Hello readers,

I’m a simple person. I see a supermarket, I go in – even when I don’t have anything I need to buy. My random window-shopping has led me to discover some of my current favorite snacks, including bubble tea ice cream and otak-otak (fish cake) buns.

With how frequently I visit supermarkets, I have never seen much need for online grocery platforms. But as more ecommerce giants and brick-and-mortar supermarkets enter the online space, there are now so many options and items that I might just turn my back on physical supermarkets.

Today we look at,

• Grab goes up against Lazada in an online grocery war
• GoBear ceases operations amid the Covid-19 pandemic
• Other newsy highlights such as Gojek conducting merger talks with Tokopedia and the NYSE reversing plans to delist Chinese telcos

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Grab’s lookin’ radish-ing

Grocery delivery is one of the fastest-rising ecommerce categories in Southeast Asia, growing by 2x to 2.5x this year compared to 2019. In Singapore, Lazada’s RedMart currently dominates the space, but Southeast Asian giant Grab has been ramping up its efforts to challenge the online supermarket platform.

• Let’s taco ‘bout expansions: Grab is moving fast. In the last three months, its grocery arm has expanded from two to eight countries, and its partner base has also increased fourfold from June to over 12,000 stores in September.
• Finding the pear-fect model: Online grocery delivery has thin profit margins, so it’s crucial to find the right business model and manage costs to achieve profitability. In Southeast Asia, there are three common grocery delivery models: warehouse, concierge, and group buying.
• Everyday they’re brusselin’: Each model has its pros and cons. RedMart operates on the warehouse model – which has proven to be sustainable outside of Singapore – while Grab is experimenting with both the concierge and warehouse models.

Read more: Online grocery wars: Grab challenges Lazada for dominance

NEWS SPOTLIGHT

Another one bites the dust

Just a few days into the new year and we’re here reporting a fallen comrade: Singapore financial services startup GoBear has ceased operations as a result of the challenging operating and fundraising environment brought by Covid-19.