Grab users can now send gifts on-demand to six Southeast Asian countries - the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand with the platform’s new cross-border gifting capabilities.

The new tech innovation extends Grab’s on-demand gifting capabilities beyond local borders so consumers can connect with loved ones overseas despite travel restrictions, said Grab.

A survey among Southeast Asian Grab users revealed that more than 60 percent of respondents intend to send gifts on-demand in other cities.

The revamped GrabGifts interface now allows users to send GrabGifts vouchers in other Southeast Asian cities.

In addition, a new 100+ Cities Delivery (BETA) feature enables them to order and send food and physical gifts from GrabFood and GrabMart merchant-partners in the recipient’s city within an hour.

More consumers rely on on-demand services amid imposed movement restrictions due to the pandemic.

In the last two years, Grab has observed more instances of its users purchasing GrabGifts vouchers for each other, sending care packages via GrabExpress and ordering meals and gifts for their loved ones via the Grab app.

“It has been heartwarming to see how consumers tapped our platform to overcome movement restrictions imposed by the pandemic," according to Cheryl Goh, Grab Chief Marketing Officer.

"While it began with mostly purchasing food and essential items for themselves, it later grew into a powerful vehicle for building and maintaining connections between loved ones," she explained.

"With many countries yet to fully open their borders, we wanted to do more, to bridge even longer distances between loved ones," Goh noted.

The new cross-border gifting experience meets a range of preferences amongst consumers, from giving recipients the flexibility to choose their own gift with GrabGifts vouchers or surprising them with their favourite brand, meal or gift item.

Grab users can send virtual GrabGifts vouchers to family and friends within or outside their place of residence across five markets in Southeast Asia.

The voucher categories span Grab’s Food, Mart, Express, and Transport services. Users have three voucher options to choose from, select from a range of designs and add in a personalised message.

Grab operates across the deliveries, mobility and digital financial services sectors in over 400 cities in eight countries in Southeast Asia.

Grab enables millions of people each day to access its driver- and merchant-partners to order food or groceries, send packages, hail a ride or taxi, pay for online purchases or access services such as lending, insurance, wealth management and telemedicine, all through a single “everyday everything” superapp.