On-demand grocery shopping platform Pushkart.ph has seen its order volumes ballooning by 900 percent for the first five months of 2020, a record high, as demand for digital grocery runs continue to increase, a company official said on Monday.
Pushkart.ph President and CEO Michael Lim said the growth has also driven the Filipino start-up to craft an expansion plan outside its current scope, which is at present, limited to Metro Manila.
“We have served thousands of Filipinos during the onset of the quarantine period, and we continue to see the demand rising further. Pushkart.ph is positioned for growth, and we want to continue on riding that momentum by introducing our services beyond Metro Manila,” he said.
Lim noted that his group is now “in deep talks” with more supermarket chains for strategic partnerships for its expansion. Pushkart.ph allows users to buy groceries through their mobile phones.
The group’s current partners include Fisher Retail Inc., the operator of Fisher Supermarket, and Metro Retail Stores Group Inc., the operator of Metro Supermarket. It serves both the northern and southern corridors of Metro Manila through two hubs in Taguig and Quezon City.
“Pushkart.ph has seen tremendous growth in both demand and fulfilled orders. We see this as an opportunity for us to expand our reach and empower more Filipinos to do their groceries at the comfort and safety of their homes. We are open to partnering with more supermarket chains and potential investors to provide more Filipino homes with the best online grocery shopping services in the market,” Lim said.
He added that through the expansion, the group would be able to help generate more jobs, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have hired people who lost jobs because of the national health situation. They include tricycle drivers, jeepney drivers, and mall staff, who now work for Pushkart.ph as shoppers and riders.”
Pushkart.ph was first introduced its service in 2017 with the goal of providing a digital platform for Filipinos to do their groceries in a “fast, convenient, and safe” manner. It has its own pool of shoppers and delivery personnel that provide same-day and scheduled deliveries of groceries.
“We provide the experience of having a trained and friendly on-demand personal shopper. This saves our users time and money from going to and queuing up at grocery stores. Our service ensures their safety from the virus, as our service features limited human interaction and we want to bring that to more cities and provinces soon,” Lim said.