categories such as food, wine and spirits, beauty and wellness, home, and more. Shoppers can now enjoy the luxury of having their selected items delivered from iShopChangi’s diverse range within a four-hour timeframe, thanks to the seamless integration of Pandago’s robust technology and logistics infrastructure.  To use the service, customers can opt for ‘on-demand delivery’ at checkout for a flat fee of S$20. The collaboration not only highlights iShopChangi’s commitment to enhancing the convenience of online shopping but also showcases the evolution of Foodpanda’s capabilities beyond food delivery and the growing importance of quick-commerce (q-commerce) in today’s market. Quick commerce is on the rise According to Sabrina Gill, head of enterprise at Foodpanda Singapore, the reliance on quick-commerce, or having orders delivered within the hour, has never been stronger. “We observe consumers demand increasingly faster and more convenient deliveries. Therefore, to stay competitive and retain customer loyalty, retailers must continue to upgrade their delivery models with services that offer customers close to instant gratification,” she told Inside Retail. Gill said that Foodpanda launched Pandago in 2020 as a logistics-as-a-service solution for businesses looking for a fuss-free on-demand delivery service, and later rolled it out for consumers in 2022.  “With Pandago, businesses and consumers can tap on Foodpanda’s reliable and thousands-strong network of delivery partners to deliver their parcels at any time of the day, at wallet-friendly prices,” she added. With Pandago as a logistics partner of iShopChangi, shoppers island-wide can now browse a wide assortment of products and opt for on-demand deliveries within four hours. They can also access real-time order tracking for greater peace of mind. Currently, shoppers can choose on-demand delivery for products from key categories including beauty, liquor, food and beverage, wellness, home and more. This includes beauty products for urgent skincare top-ups and high-quality alcohol for gatherings. Foodpanda provides merchants with recommended packing guidelines to ensure quality and safety during transport, and all Pandago deliveries are insured in the event of damage or lost items, to give customers peace of mind. “Our Pandago services were designed with the user’s convenience in mind — for businesses, our onboarding process is simple, with tailored solutions based on the anticipated frequency and volume of deliveries required,” Gill said. For iShopChangi, which requires a higher volume of deliveries, the Pandago application programming interface (API) provides system-to-system integration to facilitate on-demand courier delivery service requests.  Latest developments Foodpanda’s latest partnership comes as its parent company Delivery Hero is in the midst of sale talks. Frankfurt-listed Delivery Hero recently released a statement confirming that the potential sale of Foodpanda in selected markets in Southeast Asia was still ongoing. The New Straits Times of Malaysia had initially reported that Grab’s bid for Foodpanda’s Southeast Asia business had collapsed. It claimed that the Delivery Hero’s asking price was considered ‘too high,’ given Grab’s current aim to turn a profit. Delivery Hero’s shares fell more than 20 per cent after the report indicated that the sale talks had collapsed. In preliminary full-year results, Delivery Hero reported a gross merchandise value (GMV) of 47.6 billion euros (US$51.3 billion) last year, which was an increase of 6.7 per cent year-on-year and in line with the company’s 5-7 per cent guidance range.  While the company expects to generate positive free cash flow (FCF) in 2024, Clement Genelot from Bryan, Garnier & Co, told Reuters that a ‘reassuring’ outlook for the measure may not be enough to quell investors’ concerns about the company’s liquidity in 2026 to 2027. Genelot said that investors do not believe in Delivery Hero’s ability to boost its FCF fast enough in order to repay and refinance its 2026-2027 debt maturity wall without a capital increase. Delivery Hero also said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) had exceeded 250 million euros, against a 623.6 million euro loss a year before. It has been reported that Delivery Hero has been trying to divest its loss-making Southeast Asian business in a wider effort to reach profitability, while maintaining growth, as investor concerns regarding the company’s cash position grow. The selected Southeast Asian markets include Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.