App offers professional��pasabuy��service for malls

An app,��mymall,��that offers a��pasabuy service for 39 malls in Metro Manilawas launched on March 2. The Philippine quick commerce company has professional shoppers trained to shop in its customers’ stead, according tomymall co-founder Shahab Shabibi.

Mr. Shabibi, who also started the errands app MyKuya, said that there is no limit to the number of stores within a mall one can request a shopper to make a purchase from. Glorietta, Uptown Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Araneta Mall, SM San Lazaro, Alabang Town Center, and Festival Mall are some of the malls included in the app.��

“Whenever I go to the mall, I drop by the grocery, the pharmacy… People typically shop in two to four stores [when they go to malls]. We’re here to make the same thing happen,” he said.��

The app’s professional shoppers, who are a mix of gig workers and full-time employees, come from the service providers and manpower agencies the company partners with.��

Among this group are former merchandisers and promodizers – people who worked in malls before, were laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have now been trained to know which exact items to pick for the app’s customers.��

Other features of the service include a single fee of P79 (sans markups or hidden charges), in-app voice and video calls with one’s personal shopper to check for updates, and the option to have the purchased items delivered later in the day.��

“It doesn’t take an hour to place an order. Just give your list the way you would, then you will get it exactly that way,” Mr. Shabibi said as he received several items that he bought through the app during the hour-long press conference.��

Payments are coursed through the app’s MyKoins, which unifies payment methods like credit cards and e-wallets into a single system.

The maximum weight per transaction is pegged at 15 kilos for now.

“We look forward to adding delivery methods like cars or vans,” Mr. Shabibi said, noting that the app was already preparing to expand to the greater Manila area, Cebu, and Davao.

Critical to mymall’s growth is its goal to “delight” customers.��

“If people love the service, if they see how much money and time they save, they’ll be telling other people,” said Mr. Shabibi. “We will grow if our customers want us to.” — Patricia B. Mirasol