Grab Drivers Can Turn Cars Into Mini Convenience Stores

Drivers of Grab, based in Southeast Asia, can now turn their cars into mini convenience stores. According to TechCrunch, the ride-hailing company has teamed up with U.S. startup Cargo to sell a selection of items to passengers during their ride. Cargo says drivers can earn up to $300 per month selling items such as snacks, drinks, beauty items, phone chargers and more.

Drivers can add a Cargo box, which includes free samples and paid products to their car, for free. They make 25 percent commission on all sales made, plus $1 each time a passenger places an order or free sample request on Cargo’s website.

Grab CEO and Co-Founder Anthony Tan said during an event to announce the launch of Grab Ventures, “As Grab turns 6, we are experiencing a period of solid growth. Grab is ramping up innovation in-house to scale faster as the leading O2O mobile platform in Southeast Asia. We’re always open to partnerships where it makes sense for our business, and will look to partner or invest in the right company that enables Grab to expand our business quickly, explore new technologies and build new capabilities.”

Cargo works informally with Lyft and Uber in the U.S., and this is its first international collaboration. For now, it is just available in Singapore, but a Grab representative said, if it’s successful, it will expand across Southeast Asia. The company aims to set up shop in 20,000 cars this year. In January, it claimed to have 2,500 cars operating in New York, Chicago, Boston and Minneapolis, with 20,000 drivers in all 50 states.

Sign-up is free, and Cargo sends drivers a custom display that rests on their center console, offering a selection of snacks and essentials. On the top of the display case, there is a URL and an identification number that is unique to each car.

Cargo tracks sales and automatically sends a replenishment of inventory when supply is running low. Drivers get paid $.50 for each item they distribute, and the top 30 percent of drivers sell about 500 items a month. The majority makes at least $100 a month on average by selling items from Cargo.

As of now, the company said it has 10,000 registered drivers. So far, it has raised $5.5 million in funding this year.