Alibaba’s Lazada briefly stops new grocery orders in Singapore
- RedMart, the online grocer unit of Lazada, plans to change its product range and prioritise daily essentials such as rice, flour and eggs
- Grocery delivery services in Singapore have been trying to cope with surging demand, as more consumers in the city state shop online
Singapore’s government urged residents to consider ordering their groceries online rather than going to the shops. That just became tougher.
Alibaba Group Holding’s Lazada Group, Southeast Asia’s leading e-commerce services provider, is temporarily suspending new grocery orders in Singapore after strict physical distancing measures and rising coronavirus cases triggered a surge in orders. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
RedMart, Lazada’s online grocer unit, will not take new orders until it resumes on April 4, the company said in a notice to customers on Thursday. RedMart will use this time to make changes to the range of products available and prioritise daily essentials such as rice, flour and eggs, the firm said, adding that it will fulfil existing orders.
Lazada’s RedMart and other grocery delivery services, such as Amazon.com’s Prime Now, have been kept busy amid harrowing economic times in Singapore. These companies have been trying to cope with surging demand, as about 5.7 million people in the densely populated island increasingly turn to online grocery shopping, part of Singapore’s S$7.5 billion (US$5.2 billion) grocery market estimated by Euromonitor.
“These companies now have to deal with a new situation where demand for essential items outpaces operational capacities,” said Yinglan Tan, founding managing partner of Insignia Ventures. “Players that manage shorter supply chain may be more equipped to handle the stress.”
