SINGAPORE—In order to entice millennial customers to use its e-payment service GrabPay, ride-hailing firm Grab is incorporating experience-based offerings to their service, such as gourmet dining experiences from participating food and beverage outlets and a bubble tea subscription plan slated to start on October 18. Nonya Bong, Baristart Coffee and a host of other partners have joined hands with Grab.
A study commissioned by Grab and international survey agency YouGov found that 89 per cent of Singaporean millennials place a higher value on experiences than material possessions.
In a press release published on Thursday (Oct. 3), Grab announced that its local mobile app has been updated to offer special experiences to customers.
Grab’s head of marketing Gillian Ang noted that Grab is answering an “increasing demand for experience-led offerings on the platform”, as more and more users access the app frequently throughout the day for transportation, food and payment needs.
“It is also evident from the study that millennials in Singapore are only likely to continue a relationship with a brand that provides good service, as well as personalisation and innovation — all of which adds up to their experience,” said Ang.
Gourmet Tribe
Last week, Grab launched the first of its “experience-led offerings”, Gourmet Tribe, which is a series of curated gastronomic experiences, such as private dining experiences with places like Nonya Bong, a Yoga Sundowner superfood spread at Andaz Singapore and interactive food workshops with Baristart Coffee, among others.
Participating restaurants include Kava, L’Entrecôte, Sarnies, Sabio By The Sea, Sapore Italian Restaurant, Matsuya Dining and Cafe Oriental, but Grab says to stay tuned for announcements on new merchants that will be added to the list.
Bubble tea subscription
Watch out for October 18, the launch of Grab’s new subscription service for Singapore’s trendiest drink. The ride-hailing giant is getting on the bubble tea bandwagon, working with favourite bubble tea chains Gong Cha, LiHo, Woobbee and iTea for the subscription plans.
For new GrabPay customers, five S$3 discount vouchers are priced at S$5. For existing GrabPay users, five S$3 discount vouchers go for S$9.
Discount vouchers can be redeemed at the participating bubble tea chains.
Grab found out from another study that bubble tea orders in the city-nation have increased by more than 700 per cent from May to December last year and that customers who use food delivery service GrabFood order an average of three cups of bubble tea per month, third only to Thailand and the Philippines.
Platform for good
Ang said that beyond offering “lifestyle experiences”, Grab is also giving its customers “a platform to do good”.
One of the ways users can help is to donate their GrabRewards points to Alson Wang, a GrabFood delivery partner and para-athlete with cerebral palsy, from now until October 14.
For every 800 points donated by Grab users, S$2 will be donated to Wang, and Grab will match the contribution to the dollar.
Wang will be participating in the Relay Majulah Challenge, an initiative to form a 200-man running team to cover 2,000km in the span of 200 hours. The challenge is a fund-raiser for the President’s Challenge and the 67 charities it supports.
Grab hopes to gain the attention of younger users and encourage them to do good for others through its mobile platform. -/TISG