Online grocery and food delivery demand ticks higher: report

Online orders skyrocketed 300% after Singapore raised its disease response level.

After a brief period of panic-buying in Singapore earlier this month amidst the coronavirus outbreak, more people are said to be going online to purchase groceries and other items.

RedMart, the e-commerce arm of Alibaba-owned e-commerce firm Lazada, said it is “currently seeing unprecedented demand” in the city.

Shoppers “have been buying 4 to 10 times more food staples, 3.5 to 5 times more paper products, and 2 to 6 times more personal care and household cleaning supplies,” James Chang, CEO of Lazada Singapore, told CNBC by email.

Chang said that RedMart’s orders jumped when Singapore raised its disease response level to orange on Feb. 7, following a rise in locally transmitted cases. Orders on the online supermarket exceeded the company’s weekly average by 300% as people rushed to buy in bulk, he said.

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