As many Filipinos navigate the “new normal”, Grab leverages on technology and partnerships to adapt to the needs of its users, launching new in-app features for enhanced food delivery, grocery shopping, and travel experiences. For a more seamless ordering experience, GrabFood and GrabMart roll out an improved look and offer new features. In partnership with Klook, Grab also offers its users a new way to safely and conveniently rediscover the country to support the tourism industry.

Catering to new normal trends

As most continue to dine at home to avoid crowds, users are ordering more items per meal for family and friends. The average basket size for GrabFood orders increased by over 16% across Southeast Asia during the lockdown. In light of this trend, Grab introduces a group ordering feature to save users the hassle of collating orders on behalf of others. 

Offered by select merchants, a user will just have to initiate a group order by clicking the group order icon on the merchant menu page. This will automatically trigger an invite option for the user to invite contacts to join the group order as members. With a Group Order Overview in-app, all members of the order will have visibility on what’s being added to their basket. Once all members have added their orders, the group order creator can proceed to check out to place the order. With the new group ordering feature, ordering with friends on GrabFood just got easier, and even more rewarding when you earn GrabRewards points every time you pay cashless with GrabPay.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Grab has also seen an outpouring of appreciation for delivery-partners. Across the region, the average tip value doubled and an increase of 62% of orders were tipped.

Specifically in the Philippines, there was a 209% increase in average tip value, showing how Filipinos’ giving nature prevails despite the trying times. To give users more flexibility, they can now add a tip using GrabPay for their delivery-partners before their food arrives. Delivery-partners will receive the tip after completing the delivery.

A brand new experience on GrabMart

When Southeast Asian cities went into lockdown in March, one of Grab’s immediate priorities was to help users access essential goods safely and conveniently from home. Made possible by leveraging the GrabFood technology for grocery delivery, GrabMart was initially launched in the Philippines in March. Since then, GrabMart has delivered over 5 million essential items to the homes of customers across Southeast Asia. 

To provide users with a more intuitive shopping experience, Grab unveils a new GrabMart experience. GrabMart will now have a dedicated homepage with a search bar, category icons, and a personalised feed for users based on their historical purchases and real-time location. The “Order Again” section is where they’ll find their most frequently visited stores, and the “Recommendations” section is where they’ll see recently added stores and attractive promotions available in their area. 

The Categories icons will help users find what they need faster. Tapping on the “Fresh Produce”, “Personal Care”, “Pets”, or even “Home Improvements” icons pulls up a list of relevant stores in the area. Users can now narrow their search further through sub-categories like fresh fruits and vegetables, hair and body care, pet food and treats, and even kitchen and dining essentials, and easily switch between different categories on the same screen.  

“On-demand delivery  for food, grocery, and essential items have truly become a vital part of our daily life. We believe that these app enhancements will further improve our customers’ experience on GrabFood and GrabMart, and better support them during this unprecedented time. By making it easy and convenient for our customers to find what they need on our platform, we can facilitate more orders and bring more business to our merchant-partners,” commented EJ Dela Vega, Head of Deliveries, Grab Philippines.

Rediscover the Philippines through Grab and Klook

With movement restrictions easing, Grab and Klook team up to help travelers rediscover tourism. Through a new “Attractions” icon on the Grab app, users can explore a new normal of travel by booking local exploration and domestic travel experiences. With Klook’s extensive catalogue offering over 100,000 attractions, tours, F&B outlets, local activities, and offers from exclusive partners such as Disneyland and Legoland, the new “Attractions” tile will help explorers discover a safe way to travel abroad or right in their home countries – some of which they may not even be aware of. Explore the Greater Manila Area with a trip with your family or friends to Enchanted Kingdom or The Mind Museum, or take a breather away from the city by going on a Heritage Tour at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar or Whale Shark Watching in Oslob, Cebu.

Grab users can seamlessly and securely book their preferred activities online in real-time at competitive prices. If you’re a Premium GrabPay Wallet user, you can even use your Digital GrabPay Card powered by Mastercard® to earn GrabRewards points. Additionally, in an effort to continue the practice of contactless transactions, users can access their bookings or redeem tickets through the Grab app without the hassle of managing physical receipts or tickets.

“The pandemic has hit the tourism sector hard and made travel difficult, but we know that many Southeast Asians still harbour a deep rooted desire to explore and discover new adventures, no matter near or far from home. Our partnership with Klook gives our users the best way to uncover new experiences locally, which we also hope will drive more support towards businesses that depend on tourism. Full recovery is a long way away, but we look forward to playing our part to hasten the journey by working together with like-minded partners like Klook,” said Jerald Singh, Chief Product Officer and Head of Geo, Grab.

“With months of pent up demand and staying indoors, travellers are eager to turn to their next accessible and available option, domestic experiences. The desire to explore and discover new experiences burns steadily within everyone despite current international travel restrictions. Through this partnership with Grab, we are excited to open new doors for consumers to help keep that fire burning brightly wherever they may be. Additionally, this integration will provide both Grab and Klook users with a more seamless, mobile-first experience to discover and book unique experiences right in their backyards,” said Marcus Yong, Vice President of APAC Marketing, Klook.

With its new food, grocery, and tourism features, Grab yet again proves to be more than just a ride-hailing app with how it utilizes technology and innovation to provide its users with a safe, convenient, and affordable way to get their everyday essentials.