Singapore – Two beloved brands across the Southeast Asia region will soon be seen working hand in hand with the recent announcement of the partnership between health and beauty retailer Watsons and super app and delivery service Grab. The tie-up was birthed to significantly expand the retailer’s online reach in the region.
Both brands will be collaborating across multiple services starting with Grab’s GrabExpress, GrabMart, and GrabPay services, and the partnership will run across six markets in the region, namely, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore, as well as Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
First off, GrabExpress will be integrated into Watsons as its last-mile express delivery partner, where customers purchasing through Watsons’ website and mobile app will now be able to receive orders within hours instead of days.
The partnership will also bring up to 2,200 Watsons stores in the six Southeast Asian markets onto GrabMart, making Watsons the largest health and beauty retailer to be on the platform.
Meanwhile, Grab’s digital wallet GrabPay will also soon be accepted as a payment option in Watsons’ Southeast Asia stores, where GrabPay will also be integrated into Watsons’ mobile app.
Freda Ng, chief digital officer of Watsons International, said that with COVID-19 accelerating the growth of eCommerce, more customers expect purchases to be delivered fast.
“With our unparalleled network of 2,200 stores in Southeast Asia which is a core touchpoint for customers and key to enabling fast deliveries, Grab is the ideal partner to complete the purchase journey,” said Ng.
Grab’s managing director of its regional business development, Shawn Heng, added, “Grab’s open platform enables companies to scale by easily plugging into our ecosystem and leveraging our unique online and offline capabilities to grow together with us in this region. Our partnership with A.S. Watsons Group brings one of the world’s most trusted and well-loved health and beauty retailers onto our platform, giving customers a more convenient way to shop and pay for their favorite daily health and beauty products at home and in-store.”
The Watsons and Grab collaboration will be rolling out in phases across the region.
