RedMart draws flak from loyal customer after announcing merger with Lazada

Online grocery shopping portal RedMart’s recent announcement that it is merging with Lazada has not been well-received by all of its customers. One loyal customer has publicly criticised the company for the partnership with Lazada and has asserted that the merger would result in the “loss of a supermarket game changer” that RedMart has been, thus far.

RedMart was founded in August 2011 to help make grocery shopping easier for customers by allowing them to purchase groceries and household essentials online at anytime and delivering the products to customers at their doorsteps.

In 2016, Alibaba-backed shopping platform Lazada acquired RedMart. This year, RedMart announced that it will cease its operations from its own website and that it will move to Lazada’s platform from 15 March 2019.

One loyal customer has hit out at RedMart over this move. Facebook user Sara-Ann Shuen Krishnamoorthy said over the weekend that this move may be a loss to customers who flocked to RedMart due to its streamlined shopping process. She said:

“RedMart this might be your worst move ever. But it’s only my humble opinion. Who am I to comment. I only shop online for EVERYTHING.

“When I want to shop for groceries. I don’t need the biggest selection on earth. If not I’d shop on taobao for groceries. (And Lazada interface looks increasingly like Taobao – which is great for young people. But so elder unfriendly. And these the kind of people who would need help carrying heavy essentials back home!)

“What a loss of the supermarket game changer. Though I get it’s par for the course with acquisitions. Pfft. What I liked about Redmart was that it was streamlined, easy to use and it was easy to find things, fast.”