Grab Empowers Small Merchants to Navigate Soft Economy

Chantsuda Thananitayaudom, Country Head of Grab Thailand, stated: "Ongoing volatility in the global economy, coupled with a slowdown in domestic tourism, continues to weigh heavily on Thailand's economic outlook. This is reflected in the downward revision of the country's GDP growth1 forecast to just 1.8% for 2025. The F&B sector has been particularly impacted, with the THB 640 billion restaurant and beverage industry2 now projected to grow by only 2.8%—a significant drop from the 4.6% forecast at the end of last year. These highlight the pressing challenges that many businesses are currently facing."

"As the leading food delivery platform in Thailand, Grab has consistently launched marketing and promotional initiatives to stimulate domestic consumer spending. In parallel, we've adapted our strategies and business offerings to support our merchant-partners, who are a vital part of our ecosystem. Our focus is to empower them to navigate today's tough market landscape."

Three Key Pillars of Support for Small Merchants

• Sales-Boosting Programs: Grab has launched multiple initiatives to help small businesses drive sales and attract new customers, supplementing its regular promotional efforts such as food and delivery discounts and in-app visibility. This includes
  o "Small Merchants, Grab Offers Top-up Discounts" (Raan Lek Grab Chuay Lod): A co-funded discount program where Grab matches merchant discounts. Participating merchants have seen average order values rise by over 70%.
  o "Small Merchants, Grab Promotes New Customers" (Raan Lek Dun Look-kah Mai): A program designed to support small merchants to acquire new customers using in-app promotions and discount codes, resulting in a 50% increase in new customer acquisition.
  o Special Onboarding Campaign: New restaurants joining the platform will receive exclusive benefits, including a 90-day commission fee waiver, free sales-boosting support, and THB 400 in GrabAds credits to enhance visibility. This campaign runs until August 31, 2025.
• Expanding Access to Funding: To ease cash flow constraints, Grab is expanding access to micro-loans for restaurant operators—especially those who have never received funding before.
  o In the first four months of 2025, 40% of Grab's "Quick Cash Loans for Merchant-Partners" went to first-time borrowers, offering up to THB 100,000 with a maximum effective interest rate of 2.75% per month.
  o Grab's non-performing loan (NPL) rate remains less than 2%, compared to the commercial banking sector average of 2.9% in Q1. This reflects both strong credit performance and the effectiveness of Grab's AI-driven credit assessment system.
• Leveraging AI to Boost Operational Efficiency:
  o Grab is currently piloting its AI Merchant Assistant, an LLM-powered chatbot integrated into the GrabMerchant app. This tool functions as a 24/7 virtual business consultant, providing real-time guidance on sales report analysis, new menu suggestions, marketing strategies and promotion planning.
  o Complementing these innovations, Grab will continue to host its annually held "Grab Merchant Conference", featuring the latest business trends, sales techniques, solutions, and promotional campaigns tailored to restaurant entrepreneurs. This year's conference, themed "Your Partner for Success and Conquering Sales", will be streamed online via GrabTH Facebook on June 27, 2025.

"Throughout our 12 years in Thailand, Grab has remained committed to our GrabForGood mission—leveraging technology and our platform to improve lives, particularly for those within our ecosystem. Restaurant operators are a key pillar of the national economy, and we are committed to standing beside them through both good times and challenging periods—empowering them to grow, adapt, and succeed," added Chantsuda.

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