Grab's super app goal calls for good grasp of holding on to users

Singapore

ONCE a simple ride-hailing startup, Grab today is a dominant unicorn that wants to be no less than the operator of a "super app". But to succeed in its goal, the company may need to figure out how to increase the stickiness of its budding marketplace, industry watchers say.

Almost a year has passed since Grab declared its goal to be South-east Asia's "everyday super app". Since then, the company has introduced more offerings such as food delivery and finance to its product, hoping to give users more reasons to open up its app. The latest expansion came in April, when Grab said it would introduce four new services in Singapore by June - hotel bookings, video streaming, ticket purchasing, and integrated transport planning.