Be helps a user buy goods from a grocery store. VNS Photo Văn Châu

HCM CITY – With people wanting to stay at home amid the COVID-19 outbreak, apps like Be and Grab are piloting new services in HCM City to help them buy more and more things without leaving home.

Grab users can now easily search for and buy a wide assortment of foodstuffs ranging from canned and readily processed foods to fresh foods and bottled drinks from its partner convenience stores, retail chains and supermarkets.

The orders will be forwarded directly to GrabMart's merchant partners, and shippers receiving the orders will go directly to the store, provide the order number, and deliver the goods to customers.

Lê Thị Thanh Hoa, a Grab user, said this service addressed his fears about going to crowded shopping places such as traditional markets and supermarkets.

Be has begun piloting a service called Be đi chợ, meaning the Be divers will buy foods from the market for the users.

Be drivers buy foods and goods at places users want, but the order is limited to VNĐ500,000 (US$22).

The latest survey by Nielsen Việt Nam and Infocus Mekong Mobile Panel found that the COVID-19 epidemic has a strong impact on Vietnamese consumption trends. People have reduced the frequency of their visits to supermarkets and grocery stores by 50 per cent and to traditional and fresh food markets by more than 60 per cent, it found.

This has helped increase online shopping by more than 25 per cent. – VNS