Left out an item on your weekly supermarket run? You can now have it delivered within a day via pandamart or GrabMart from a nearby store.

These new additions from Foodpanda and Grab mean that there’s no need to book a delivery slot on NTUC Fairprice online or Redmart in advance or buy a ton of things just to hit free delivery.

Of course, pandamart and GrabMart don’t have the same variety of products as a full-fledged supermarket, but the upside to me is convenience as I can easily get items from a supermarket near me. 

Let’s check out how they work, what they have and if they’re worth using (i.e. cheaper). 

Price comparison: Pandamart vs GrabMart

*Note that prices for GrabMart are subject to the type of stores that are around your location 

From the price comparison, we can see that prices differ quite a bit for certain products. Pandamart wins in terms of cheaper products. 

But that’s because on GrabMart, you’re limited to the location that you’re in as the app only shows you the stores in your area. Most of the items I found were available in Cheers. 

If you’re somewhere else, you may be able to find cheaper products from neighbourhood stores. 

What exactly are pandamart and GrabMart?

These services provide same day supermarket delivery by leveraging on their strong business in food delivery and network of riders. 

Think of Pandamart as an alternative to the HDB mama shop — but online. It’s Foodpanda’s on-demand grocery delivery service where users can order groceries, convenience products, flowers and over the counter medicine from more than 1,000 partner stores. 

There’s Fairprice Xpress, Eu Yan Sang, Cheers, Hao Mart, Shell SELECT, Wine Connection, a selection of minimarts and even baby retailer Mothercare and online florist FarEastFlora.com. 

The number and type of stores available depends on your location, but with supermarkets and minimarts on board, it’s not much trouble to get some chips or beer without leaving your house. 

pandanow is essentially the company’s own store on pandamart — kind of like a house brand. There are currently nine pandanow outlets that serve different areas in Singapore, from Tampines to Jurong West to Woodlands, with others in central areas. 

What’s cool is that pandanow operates 24/7 and promises delivery in just 15 to 20 minutes. And the minimum order is just $5. 

Just how can they make such a promise? Apparently, Foodpanda has its own warehouse stocked with products from different suppliers. You can order fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables, frozen food, alcohol, ice cream, hair dye products, baking goods, baby milk formula and diapers.

GrabMart

Also wanting a share of the grocery delivery pie is Grab with GrabMart. As of June 2020, GrabMart is available in eight countries in Southeast Asia.

Now the Grab interface is quite cluttered with so many different services, but to launch just GrabMart, choose “Mart” on the main page of the Grab app and search for the items you want. 

The stores that show up will also be based on your location. 

Grab has partnered with major convenience stores such as Cheers and Fairprice Xpress, as well as a selection of smaller minimarts around the island to offer consumers a wide variety of products such as  fresh produce, premium meat and household essentials. 

Other merchants are also on board and I’ve got Watsons, BreadTalk, ice cream stores, durian stores, cake shops and alcohol places when I browse through the app. 

Both pandamart and GrabMart have a great selection of products available but you may not always be able to find what you want. It really depends on the shops near you and whether they have what you want in stock. 

When I checked both apps to buy a loaf of Gardenia Enriched White Bread (400g), it was in stock on both pandamart and GrabMart. But when I tried to buy Sunshine Enriched Soft White Bread, there wasn’t any on both platforms. 

I also saw that Pokka Jasmine Green Tea was available at one Cheers outlet but not at another outlet. Depending on the location of the outlet, you may end up paying more in delivery fees to get an item from an outlet further away from you. 

Delivery fees: Pandamart vs GrabMart 

GrabMart charges service fees, including a delivery fee of $3 to $5 based on its platform fee and dynamic pricing. 

Certain stores also charge a small order fee if you don’t hit a minimum order. For instance, Cheers requires you to purchase at least $15 worth of products. They occasionally release promo codes as above, so keep your eyes peeled! 

On the other hand, most pandamart stores offer free delivery on orders above $15, while pandanow just requires a minimum order of $5. 

Foodpanda has also been releasing more promo codes for pandamart so you can definitely score some savings on your order as well.

Ease of ordering between Pandamart vs GrabMart

After trying both apps, I found that they’re both generally user-friendly and it was relatively fuss-free to search for products. 

The drawback is that you can only access GrabMart through the Grab mobile app, whereas you can order from pandamart (and get food delivery from Foodpanda) on your laptop browser. 

For Foodpanda, key in your postal code, select “Delivery” and click “Shops”, beside the “Restaurants” button to see a list of pandamart shops in your area.

Going by sheer convenience and ease of shopping, I’d definitely go for pandamart for immediate grocery needs, as it’s easier to browse online. 

The lower delivery cost also gives pandamart a leg up over its rival. Furthermore, round-the-clock service from pandanow and low minimum order are also hard to beat! 

This article was first published in MoneySmart.