honestbee launches a world's first 'NewGen Retail' concept: habitat by honestbee, a one of a kind tech-enabled, multi-sensory grocery and dining experience

SINGAPORE, Oct. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- honestbee, Asia's leading on-demand marketplace that delivers quality fresh groceries and meals over 8 markets, unveils its latest offering today: habitat by honestbee, the world's first tech-integrated multi-sensory grocery and dining destination of its kind. CEO & Founder of honestbee, Joel Sng, terms it as 'NewGen Retail' -- innovation in retail technology which inspires more human engagement for a multi-sensory shopping experience.

The global grocery retail market will add US$2.7 trillion in sales to 2022, with growth in the next five years dominated by Asia.¹ While Asian grocery sales through e-commerce channels led the 30 percent global growth in the past year,² 90 percent of worldwide retail sales are still done in physical stores.³

At the forefront of innovation in online and offline retail, honestbee is investing on technological know-how to drive convenience, personalisation and multi-sensory experiences by launching the 'NewGen Retail' concept in this new physical space, habitat.

A fully integrated online and offline experience

Spanning 60,000 square feet, habitat by honestbee is a full supermarket, speciality fresh grocer, online fulfillment center, retail innovation hub and experiential dining destination all in one thoughtfully designed environment. Over 20,000 Asian and global ingredients and daily essentials can be purchased seamlessly online and offline in one honestbee app.

Powered by honestbee, habitat offers two world firsts: a cashless checkout experience (AutoCheckout) and robotic collection point (RoboCollect). Orders can be processed end to end in under 5 minutes. Smart infrastructure ensures hassle-free, multi-sensory shopping experience with operational productivity.

To enter habitat and avail themselves to all the services, customers have to download the honestbee app. This is linked to the credit card or through beePay, honestbee's very own mobile payments wallet to make secure, cashless transactions.

For purchases of 10 items or less, shoppers can use the "Scan & Go" function on the honestbee app, so they can skip the checkout line and get their items on the spot. For more items, shoppers can drop off their personal trolleys at the convenient AutoCheckout point and habitat will take care of the scanning, packing, payments and delivery.

Shoppers can order from habitat's food and beverage concepts for dine-in, take-away as well as home delivery, while online grocery orders are fulfilled by shopper bees using overhead conveyor belts for greater productivity before driver bees pick them up for one hour time belt deliveries within the day.

A growth opportunity for marketplace and F&B partners

habitat by honestbee's ecosystem and partnership makes it convenient and less expensive for global entrepreneurs and FMCG/F&B partners to establish or expand their presence online and offline. Without having to commit to technological and operational costs as well as infrastructure and fixtures, marketplace partners can enjoy the integration of online and offline, logistics, cashless payment, customer service and data, allowing them to focus on delivering quality, one-of-a-kind dining and shopping experiences.

"habitat by honestbee is a beautiful, physical extension of the honestbee brand we all love. With its launch, we now provide tech-enabled convenience, value and quality through food, online and offline. It is a unique combination of a full supermarket, speciality grocer, dining and interactive lifestyle destination. In this thoughtful space, one can expect a multi-sensorial food experience that nourishes, educates and inspires. We designed it so that customers can get their groceries and meals efficiently but also linger and enjoy the experience. " said Pauline Png, VP & Managing Director, habitat by honestbee.

"We are excited to bring this 'NewGen Retail' concept from Singapore to our other eight markets and beyond soon. Guided by our passion for food and technology, we will continue to innovate in O2O solutions to enhance the quality and value of our products and retail experiences. We invite progressive partners and customers to come along with us on this journey!" said Joel Sng, CEO, honestbee.

habitat by honestbee
Address: 34 Boon Leat Terrace, Singapore 119866
Facebook: habitat by honestbee
Instagram: @habitat_sg
Website: habitat.honestbee.sg
For more photos (Kindly credit all photos to honestbee)

About honestbee
honestbee is Asia's leading marketplace that delivers quality fresh food products and food home delivery. It started in Singapore (2015) and is now in 16 cities across eight countries - Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong. With a mission to be Asia's fastest-growing food service powered by community and technology, honestbee provides world-class, on-demand logistics, flexible jobs opportunities and a strong network of 12,000 partners to deliver innovative services.

SOURCE honestbee Pte Ltd.