RedMart limits orders, implements new measures amid surging demand
To meet the rising demand for online grocery orders, RedMart will not be accepting new orders today so that it can fine-tune its operations and implement new measures.
These include reducing its range of products temporarily and prioritising the sale of daily essentials such as rice, flour, eggs and milk powder. A limit of up to 35 items an order will also be imposed.
RedMart will resume taking orders tomorrow. Those who have already placed their orders will still be able to receive them.
With more Singaporeans stayong home due to virus fears, Mr James Chang, chief executive officer of Lazada Singapore, told The New Paper: "We are facing extraordinary demand as the nation limits activities, and everyone has been increasingly buying their necessities online.
"We do hope to serve a larger community now and our data shows that consumers are buying essentials, such as rice, eggs and milk powder, so we are making timely changes on our system to cater to this precise demand at this time.
"Our delivery system is based on time slots but given the buying patterns, we are restructuring it to now deliver based on area. This way, our fleet and resources can focus on one area in a day and fulfil demand there, before rotating and moving to supply Singaporeans in another area."
FairPrice's grocery delivery platform is also currently experiencing "very high traffic". It is investing additional funds and resources to boost its operation capacity.
A FairPrice spokesman told The New Paper: "Our staff are working tirelessly to clear backlog of deliveries during this challenging time, and we continue to open up more delivery slots expeditiously as soon as they are available."
Dairy Farm Singapore, the parent company of Giant and Cold Storage, has also seen "a significant increase" in delivery orders. Its spokesman said: "We have added extra picking and delivery capacity (for our online stores), with new delivery slots being added daily.
"We are also looking at hiring additional manpower to help support this surge."
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