The Business Times
business-time-50

In S-E Asia, can quick commerce become a key growth driver for food delivery platforms?

This approach improves rider utilisation rates and could catalyse subscription services

Summarise
google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
Benjamin Cher

Benjamin Cher

Published Mon, Feb 2, 2026 · 05:00 PM
阅读简体中文版 (beta)
    • Quick commerce allows food delivery platforms to give riders more jobs outside the lunch and dinner rushes.
    • Quick commerce allows food delivery platforms to give riders more jobs outside the lunch and dinner rushes. PHOTO: BT FILE

    [SINGAPORE] Quick commerce is evolving in Singapore as food delivery platforms seek to improve unit economics, with customers moving beyond last-minute order top-ups towards larger, planned grocery purchases.

    Quick commerce refers to the delivery of goods and services in an hour or less.

    On foodpanda, Singapore shoppers have increased their monthly order frequency by 7 per cent since 2023. Customers also bought 8 per cent more products in each order between 2024 and 2025.

    Food deliveryGrabfoodpandaGig economyE-commerceGroceriesLogisticsAseanAsia-PacificSingaporeIndonesiaMalaysia

    TRENDING NOW

    Traffic through the strait has been resuming but with interruptions, and there is still little clarity over a permanent solution for passages through the chokepoint.

    Qatari LNG ship struck in Strait of Hormuz, testing US talks

    This comes after a Citi note on Tuesday that lifted target prices for all Singapore banks, with a leading preference and “buy” call for DBS.

    DBS shares rise 1.9% to hit all-time intraday high as sentiment improves

    Aster deputy CEO Andre Khor, citing the age of the “polycrisis”, says: “It’s very important to be agile, to be focused on execution… We don’t know all the answers but we keep going forward.”

    ‘Baptism of fire’: Andre Khor on leading Singapore refiner Aster through an energy crisis

    Singapore ranks as the world’s most expensive city for cars and placed third globally for residential property.

    Singapore retains top spot as most expensive city for HNWIs, with five Apac cities in global top 10

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More