Grab drivers in Southeast Asia are now convenience stores, too | Hacker News Reader

Grab drivers in Southeast Asia are now convenience stores, too

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78 pointskylesellas39 comments

This may work in Singapore, but I would say it has limited appeal as-is, elsewhere in SEA.

There is some friction to finding and stopping for a snack in the west, whereas there are little street-side stalls selling drinks and snacks every 50 yards in most SEA cities, and the transport is often tuk-tuks and rickshaws rather than taxis.

Additionally, I doubt people will be willing to pay for premium western brands (which they're possibly unfamiliar with), with a further captive-audience premium, unless there's a "conspicuous consumption" aspect to it - rather difficult in a vehicle, as opposed to a glass-fronted coffee house for example.

Good luck nonetheless - they may have some success with the right products, though I can't think immediately what those would be.

> there are little street-side stalls selling drinks and snacks every 50 yards in most SEA cities

This makes the absolutely spread coverage of 7-11 sound more romantic than it is. There’s a place I can stand on my street where I can see 3 7-11s, one Lawson, and one FamilyMart.

>in most SEA cities

Lawson fits with SEA.

Any given 711 is dramatically more likely to be in Asia than North America.

I predict it will be a hit in the Philippines, too. Every hundred yards or so there's a 'sari-sari' Mom & Pop convenience store but here's the thing: people are accustomed to being able to pick up snacks or drinks for some pocket change. And all the Grab drivers need to do is look at what those stores usually don't have in stock and offer that instead.

Yes, with the right products it could possibly work, but not for simple snacks, which as you say are widely and easily available for very cheap. Especially if they are charging hotel mini-bar type premiums.

* People who take a taxi are already ready to pay a premium for transport, they are the most likely to be willing to pay for a premium on a snack.

* These include tourists, who may not be used to local prices.

* I am not even sure there needs to be a premium, as a taxi driver does not have to pay any extra rent for a shop.

I use Grab all the time but only motorbikes and can't imagine these drivers carrying snacks around. I don't have stats but I'm pretty sure that at least here (Vietnam), the overwhelming majority of Grab users go for bikes.

>the transport is often tuk-tuks and rickshaws rather than taxis

I've lived and worked all over SEA, and tuk-tuks are almost universally for tourists. Locals tend to get around via motorcycle/scooter taxis.

Nothing new with this marketing approach! Many taxi drivers in Delhi charmingly (though a bit too stubbornly) offer to visit a shop of their brother, uncle, or good friend, always "nearby", and surely "very cheap!" Also, in many post-Soviet countries they sell illegal vodka, and cigarettes. Not to deny, it's very convenient if you urgently need to get drunk in the middle of night! Maybe it would work with cosmetics too.

Reminds me of this article [1] from a few years back. You've got a captive audience in the car - perfect time to make a sale.

My question is - why wouldn't drivers simply cut out the middleman and offer their own boxes? I don't think that Cargo provides much added value here.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyoushaei/2015/02/04/the-uber...

Smart. Ease of payment through the app you're already using is a big value added here though.

I definitely wouldn't mind buying small items (gum, a can of diet coke) and magazines from my Uber drivers.

I wouldn't buy anything from Uber but person to person transactions would be great.

People could just piggy-back their apps on the Uber/Lyft/Grab networks, but outside of them.

I am not looking forward to getting sold stuff in an uber ride

Maybe if you could only buy/sell at a stoplight, to reduce distracted driving?

It brings to mind a video named "Prius Stealth Camper Build"[0], where the owner has a microwave and fridge powered by the car. Were an Uber driver able to fit all these amenities in their car and still have ample passenger space, it would almost be like a mobile 7-11 - get your breakfast during your ride to work.

[0]https://youtu.be/tjjDDz8mr5E?t=5m

What about music a la a mini jukebox?

Count me out. A few drivers offer some candy or water, and if I take them up on it I tip for that too. I asked once, he figured he was making 3x on tips over the cost of the refreshments.

I'd rather keep doing it that way.

Reminds me of the guy who taught me to drive stick. On the last lesson, he had me drive a few miles from the parking lot we'd been practicing in, and then right as we turn around to head back he goes into, "So, Tom, I was wondering: have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior? ..."

Uber rides do seem underutilized. Someone posted a picture of them hooking up their switch so passengers would be able to play mario kart and the response was so positive it seems perplexing that nintendo or hbo doesn't put in samples for passengers to try.

It seems to be a great recipe to get vomit on your car floor, though.

Uber/Lyft drivers fall into multiple groups, the largest of which is bottom-budget drivers just trying to get by. They usually drive beaters (that barely get any non-routine maintenance) and they're driven until they fall apart.

Cost is a barrier to entry for these drivers to participate in these programs and there is likely an upfront cost to purchase initial inventory. It might catch on if inventory is (initially) provided at no cost to drivers.

Presumably extras would be advertising/"attention-economy"-driven and thus subsidized by another company rather than the drivers themselves. Or if Uber let drivers have mini vending machines there's a clear ROI on a relatively small investment (or the vending machines are rented etc). Perhaps the more expensive "black cars" would have freebies.

There is some irony in paying someone to drive you around and then sitting there in the back seat playing a racing game.

What I don't understand is, why do they need to partner with overseas startup instead of, say, doing it themselves (and call it, "GrabMinibar") or partner with 7/11 or something. It's not like Cargo own the patent, or do they?

it's mostly easier to partner with a company who is specialized on a specific thing.

You pay a premium, but you - don't need to do a initial investment - don't have to care about the logistics - don't have to care about support - don't have to care about the products - and if it doesn't work, you can just cancel the partnership

But it's absolutely not difficult or time-consuming to do this yourself. Just buy a plastic container and a bunch of candy bars.

Uber could make it easy to keep track of items sold through their app (which the user has open anyway).

I think this is amazing - would definitely buy stuff during my uber trips.

Unfortunately it's not allowed to drink or eat in the car :<

Interesting! Indian ride-hailing giant "Ola" bought "Foodpanda" (food delivery startup) a few months back. A variant of food/snack service in the cab might be a hit in Indian metros like Bangalore and Mumbai where people are always late to the office because of traffic.

IMO Ola strategy seems to be to throw everything on the wall and see what sticks. 70-80% of the time I have traveled in their "infotainment" equipped cabs the tablets don't work or there is a wifi problem.

In which case, I don't have high hopes for their snack service too.

ugh so take up a seat+ with crap I don't need? yeah great.

Please stay out of Hong Kong.

Depends on how the drivers are trained, because this could have yikes potential in worsening the user experience.

Exactly my first thought too. It's RyanAir in a cab...

Yeah, I'm already seriously creeped out whenever a driver grabs a water bottle and shoves it in my face, and that's free. I always 3-star drivers for that behavior.

If they tried to _sell_ me something, I'd 1-star them and open up a ticket to complain.

Straight out copying China...

And all ride sharing companies are copying Uber, which are copying taxis, who are copying a long chain of copied ideas with differences in execution

All ideas are copied, humans are incredibly bad at creating wholly new things, what we are good at is taking things we already know and combining them, often times new things come out.

Yes, but the amount of "China copies everyone else" that usually goes around deserves a rebalance. As someone actually active in the food space in Asia, my opinion is pretty informed on such matters. Anyway, business as usual SV pro-American echo chamber here. Sigh.

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