On-demand Delivery Startup Glovo Reports Rise in Deliveries and Cashless Payments in Kenya

Glovo, the on-demand delivery startup, has reported an increase in deliveries and cashless payments on its platform in Kenya since the onset of Covid-19.

The Barcelona-based startup applied a raft of protective and precautionary measures to its delivery operations at the beginning of the pandemic, including no contact delivery drop-offs and providing partners with hygiene recommendations, as the company prioritised the safety of its customer, couriers and partners. During this period, Glovo saw cashless payments made by bank card increase by 50% and mobile payments by 14% in Kenya.

Regarding deliveries, grocery orders in Kenya rose by 30%, while the company also saw a 25% increase in the sale of cleaning agents and hygiene products such as disinfectants, sanitizers and antiseptic cream. Downloads of the Glovo app itself increased between 20 – 25% in the country, also.

A report by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company dubbed “Meet the next-normal consumer” has revealed significant changes in shopping consumer preferences with an increase in e-commerce deliveries and general digital services.

In a bid to cushion consumers from the ravages of Covid-19, Glovo partnered with Naivas Supermarkets to offer free deliveries. It also partnered with Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard to encourage the use of electronic payments as safe platforms for transactions and to facilitate contactless deliveries between the customers and Glovo riders thus mitigate the spread of the virus. 

Priscilla Muhiu, General Manager for Kenya, said: “With the increased consumption of digital services worldwide, we will continue to see a sustained momentum of Kenyans still embracing online delivery services and other e-commerce platforms going forward even as the economy now reopens. During this period, we have witnessed changes in shopping patterns due to the shift in preferences by consumers in the country hence this has helped us to focus more on addressing what the consumer needs.”