Talabat Misr will focus, during 2022, on expanding grocery delivery services with the support of the expertise that the company possesses in this field, at a time when it achieved a good performance last year in terms of spread and development of its services.
In an interview with Hadeer Shalaby, Executive Director of Talabat Masr; To review the company’s plan in 2022.. and to the text of the dialogue.
How do you see the food delivery market in Egypt with the current strong competition?
Shalaby: The online food delivery market in Egypt is booming; Because of its untapped potential, growing population, and growing need for ultra-fast delivery, convenience and diversity, we always welcome the competition; Because it helps everyone to improve their services and products, and gives customers wider options in line with their needs.
We are a strong competitor, due to the work team we built in Egypt, in addition to owning the latest international technologies that have been developed by our technology and products team in Egypt and Dubai and with the support of our global team in Germany.
One of our strengths is good knowledge of the market; Because our success in Egypt is built on the legacy of Otlob – the first company in the online ordering sector in the MENA region.
She added, “There is still a long journey ahead of us; As phone demand remains our main competitor in Egypt, however, we are certain that the Egyptian market will undergo a massive transformation as the government continues its digitization efforts, and builds the infrastructure that enables companies working in this field to innovate.
How do you evaluate Talabat’s business during 2021?
Shalaby: 2021 has been a great year for us in Talabat Egypt – it has witnessed tremendous growth and success that makes me very proud of the team’s dedication. By increasing the diversity of restaurants, improving the in-app experience, in addition to digitizing most of the steps in the customer service journey.
This growth would not have been possible without pilots, and our fleet now consists of about 12,000 pilots, who spent approximately 1.1 million man-hours per month last year, and most importantly, we noticed a more than 22% increase in customer satisfaction thanks to the customer service team who worked Nearly 4 million hours in 2021 to serve customers, restaurants and pilots.
Talabat Mart had a good year, too. Given that we work through more than 30 dark stores, and deliver the customer’s order in less than 20 minutes in 4 Egyptian cities (Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, and Tanta).
It should be noted that the application witnessed a 63% increase in grocery shopping after the launch of Talabat Mart in March 2020, indicating the urgent need by consumers in Egypt to purchase groceries online through a reliable and secure method.
What are the main challenges you faced during the year 2021?
Shalaby: The most important competitor and challenge for us is to change the mentality of the Egyptians from using the traditional methods of demand. Like communicating by phone to using electronic platforms, we are in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.
What are the most popular products in 2021?
Shalaby: This is something that changes, but from the numbers for the year 2021, Cairo was the city in most demand for “burgers” among the nine cities in which Talabat operates.
What is the extent of benefit accruing to “Talabat” as a result of its contracts with charitable institutions or civil society organizations?
Shalaby: Talabat is more than just a technology application, it is a platform that connects clients with humanitarian issues. We always strive to use our technologies to do good and serve communities, and thanks to the efforts of our customers, and through our partnership with organizations and charities at the local level, such as the Misr El Kheir Foundation and the Egyptian Food Bank, we were able to facilitate more than 65 thousand nutritional meals, and collected 2 million and 431 thousand EGP, starting from April 2021, to support humanitarian relief efforts in affected and needy communities.
In addition to helping the United Nations Children’s Fund in Egypt in its campaign to spread awareness of the “Coronavirus” vaccines to millions through our channels, we also dedicate the month of October of each year to volunteer work. During this month that we call “hero month,” we arrange for our employees to volunteer their time and effort to support various causes. Last October for example, our team packed meals for the needy and planted trees in schools.
What is your plan and vision for requests during 2022?
Shalaby: We will continue to focus on the customer experience in 2022, and ensure that it is improved every time a customer deals with Talabat. We also give priority to the experience of restaurants and partners. We work to ensure that they benefit from our seamless, technology-backed experience, as well as enable them to expand their business through our partnership, and their presence with us on the app.
