The Pandemic has been one of the most adverse challenges that our nation is facing and the ‘new normal’ is now becoming second nature to us. Whilst thousands of traditional and local businesses continue to be disproportionately impacted by the implications of various forms of movement restrictions, their steadfast dedication in serving their consumers is a testament to their role in our nation’s economy.

As a homegrown company, Grab was moved by their tenacity and have been helping these business digitalise themselves so they can maintain their operations while helping the economy to recover. Efforts included the Grab (loves) Local Heroes campaign and government efforts that Grab supported such as Shop Malaysia Online (SMO) and ePENJANA.

“At Grab, our aim is to help Malaysians when they’re most in need – whether it’s providing accessibility to daily essentials to consumers, or opportunities to sustain for our merchant partners. Despite the challenges businesses are facing, it is clear that Malaysia has turned her focus towards helping them stay afloat. This is also evident in the government’s emphasis to establish better internet connectivity and encourage more businesses to digitalise themselves. We are glad to be able to play a part in helping them sustain in the new normal and it is encouraging to see Malaysians come together to ensure that everyone makes it through these challenging times. As we enter this new frontier, we are committed to continuing our efforts to support these local businesses who are the backbone to the nation’s economy,” shared Sean Goh, Managing Director of Grab Malaysia.

Local businesses leveraging digital economy in the new normal

Grab’s support in the SMO and ePENJANA initiative, was able to garner more than RM130 million in sales to help local businesses stay afloat. Specifically for Grab’s SMO initiative, more than 2 million deliveries were made during the duration of the initiative. This is also significant as it helps the economy to recover from the after effects of the pandemic. It also highlights the importance that digital platforms and the digital economy plays in the sustainability and recovery of businesses. In fact, more than 2,500 new merchant partners were on boarded onto Grab through the Micro and SMEs E-Commerce campaign which helped to support local businesses adapt to a new normal.

In addition, Grab’s (loves) Local Heroes initiative, where 500 merchant partners benefitted from RM2.5 million worth of free advertising space on the Grab platform, also saw positive support. Participating merchants saw up to 43% increase in sales in less than two weeks since the launch of the initiative and Grab saw an average increase in orders of 24% during the campaign.

Malaysians: The driving force behind economic recovery

It is evident that throughout the pandemic, Malaysians adapted to embody the spirit of #KitaJagaKita by helping local businesses not only sustain their operations but thrive in the new normal through the digital economy.

With Grab’s ePENJANA efforts, more than 93% of the money disbursed to Grab users was used by the end of the campaign, with Johor Baru, Penang and Kota Kinabalu being the top three cities outside the Klang Valley in terms of credit redemptions. Moreover, more than 80% of them spent the money at GrabPay merchants and over 40% of users who were not familiar with GrabPay prior to the launch of ePENJANA have remained active on the platform since claiming the RM50 through Grab. This shows the growing trend of people embracing the digital economy and the importance it carries in the sustainability of local businesses today.

As the nation focused on economic recovery, everyday Malaysians also benefited from helping businesses thrive in the new normal. Through Grab’s efforts in the SMO and ePENJANA initiatives, and the various promotions as part of this support, Malaysians gained savings of over RM90 million during this period.

“Grab has the people’s welfare at heart, and we are committed to continue using our technology and platform to address the challenges that Malaysians are facing today. Moving forward, we want to bring more features and efforts to life to protect the livelihoods of local and traditional businesses across Malaysia,” Goh concluded.

###