Indian food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato have implemented a 20% increase in their platform fee and now charge Rs6 ($0.072) per order.
The latest hike, initially rolled out in Bengaluru and Delhi, is separate from other costs related to the order such as delivery charges, restaurant fees and goods and services tax.
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It is applicable to all orders, regardless of customer loyalty programme participation, and represents a strategic move to enhance revenue and control expenses.
The new fee structure will shortly be rolled out across the country.
For Zomato, which processes between 2.2 and 2.5 million orders daily, it means an additional Rs2.5m in daily revenue, the Business Standard has reported.
The companies anticipate a daily revenue increase of between Rs12.5m and Rs15m.
Swiggy first introduced a platform fee of Rs2 in April 2023, with Zomato following in August.
In October 2023, Swiggy hiked its platform fee on all food delivery orders by 50% from Rs2 to Rs3 in the southern Indian cities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Since then, both companies have gradually increased the fee, observing that order volumes remain unaffected.
At times of high demand, Zomato has charged up to Rs9 per order, while Swiggy has tested a Rs10 fee for certain customers.
The platform fees are currently exclusive to their food delivery services, not extending to quick commerce operations such as Instamart and Blinkit.
According to The Economic Times, increasing platform fees is one strategy to boost profitability, alongside generating advertising revenue.
This is notable since food delivery platforms face challenges in raising commission rates on restaurants without provoking backlash.
