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Coronavirus Singapore: online grocers see ‘explosion in demand’ amid partial lockdown
- Some retailers are seeing up to triple the demand as Singapore residents stay home during the four-week circuit breaker
- This has strained resources, including manpower, delivery vans, and supplies, prompting some frustrated shoppers to visit a physical store instead
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As Singapore enters the second week of a month-long partial lockdown, during which social gatherings are banned and the use of face masks is mandatory for those leaving home, online grocery websites are seeing a deluge of orders from people shopping for daily necessities.
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The city state is seeing a third wave of coronavirus infections, with total reported cases reaching 6,588 on Sunday – the highest official figures in Southeast Asia. Authorities have discouraged people from going out, unless it is for essential activities such as exercising or buying food, to curb community transmissions.
Singapore residents have more than 40 online shopping options, including popular brands such as RedMart, Shopee, and Ea Mart. Most of these online stores sell fresh produce and waive delivery fees if shoppers spend a minimum of about S$50 (US$35.50).
But the surge in demand has left grocers struggling to meet orders, with many facing a shortage on almost all fronts: staffing, delivery vans, and supplies.
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In a message to shoppers, Marketfresh said it had reached its maximum capacity for orders until the end of April, and that it would “use third-party couriers to relieve our current bottlenecks at no extra cost to our customers”.
Khor Chin Puang, founder of Marketfresh, said daily orders had risen threefold since the strict social distancing measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak were implemented last week.
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