Grab unveils 2022 delivery trends, new features

• Seven out of 10 consumers say “delivery life” is here to stay
• Monthly food, grocery delivery expenditure 30% higher in May 2022

Grab’s latest Southeast Asia (SEA) Food and Grocery Trends 2022 report reveals that seven in 10 consumers view delivery as a permanent part of their post-pandemic life and eight in ten merchants say delivery is a must-have for their businesses.

In a statement, the firm said it has also unveiled new and enhanced features to capture evolving delivery trends. 

It said these include a revamped rating and reviews experience and a new self pick-up toggle. 

Additionally, a saver delivery option has been introduced to bring more convenience to consumers, and help them save more, Grab said.

The report, which combined survey insights from over 60,000 food and grocery delivery users in SEA, as well as data insights from Grab’s platform, claimed that the “delivery life” is here to stay. 

Results also showed an increasing dependence on delivery apps among consumers who now rely on platforms as their “search engine” to discover and try merchants they have never visited in person.

Sean Goh, regional head of mobility and deliveries, said deliveries continue to be a prominent part of consumers’ lives. 

“In fact, consumers are shifting more and more of their food journey online, which presents additional opportunities for brands to reach and engage consumers online.

“This has inspired us to rethink our app experience to make food discovery more intuitive so that we drive more demand back to our merchant-partners,” said Goh.

Key industry trends from the report are:

• Seven in ten consumers said deliveries have become a permanent part of their life today. Among active users surveyed, the top three reasons for using these services were convenience, ability to access what they want on-demand, and to prepare for social gatherings;
• Monthly food and grocery delivery expenditure was 30% higher in May 2022 compared to November 2021. The report notes that Singapore consumers spent most on deliveries, while Vietnamese consumers ordered most frequently in the region.Overall, the top 25% most heavy users contributed close to three-quarters (71%) of the region’s deliveries spending. As for food delivery, GrabFood was their most often used brand across Southeast Asia; and
• More than 90% of consumers pre-purchased food vouchers and read food reviews online; more than 80% made dining reservations or ordered self pick-up online; and more than 70% ordered and paid for their dine-in meals online. 

Overall, nine in ten consumers said they prefer brands with an integrated online-to-offline experience, the report highlighted.

• Consumers are discovering new merchants through delivery apps. 88% of consumers got to know a new store because of delivery apps whilst 74% browsed delivery apps without having any restaurant or store in mind. The report showed that on average, GrabFood users spent 17 minutes deciding what to order; and
• Eight in ten merchants said that delivery platforms are a must-have for their business. Merchants on average saw a 15% increase in total sales revenue compared to before joining delivery platforms. For McDonald’s, around 30% of their Asia sales now come from deliveries, up from 10% before Covid;

The report also unpacked consumers’ food and grocery ordering habits:

• About one in two surveyed Southeast Asian consumers tried plant-based options in the last six months whilst 86% of consumers ate at least one healthy meal every two to three days. This trend was consistent with Grab users’ ordering behaviours, with demand for healthy meals tripling on GrabFood between 2019 and 2022, and “health and wellness” orders growing 5x on GrabMart between 2020 and 2022; and
• Two in five consumers said they prefer ordering in for social gatherings instead of eating out. This explains why large-sized weekend orders to residential areas doubled on GrabFood over the past two years. 

In light of these new trends, Grab said it is launching new and enhanced features and initiatives to improve merchant discovery and deepen consumer engagement with the app. 

This includes: 

• A revamped ratings and reviews feature: With 94% of consumers turning to online reviews to make dining decisions, Grab has enhanced its in-app ratings and reviews experience to make it more seamless and engaging for consumers.
• A brand new self-pick up toggle: 83% of consumers now use online takeaway services, therefore Grab’s soon-to-come self-pick up toggle feature will give self pick-up merchants greater in-app visibility. 
• More ways to save for a guilt-free delivery lifestyle: Grab’s new “Saver” delivery option lets consumers save on delivery fees in exchange for a slightly longer wait time. This feature was created to provide more affordable delivery options for consumers.