Food lovers were left fuming after both Zomato and Swiggy increased platform fee to ₹10 amid the festive rush. The country’s two major food delivery apps are hoping to cash in on upsurge in orders during the festive season, but the decision to increase platform fee did not go over well with customers.
Zomato introduced a platform fee in August 2023, charging ₹2 per order. By January 2024, Zomato had raised the platform fee to ₹4 per order. Right now, it charges a fee of ₹10 per order. The platform fee applies to all customers, even Gold members, and is over and above the delivery fee that Zomato also charges.
On the social media platform X, the revised platform fee became the target of outrage. Several X users pointed out how food delivery charges have been increasing consistently and how ordering in has become too expensive to be sustainable.
Why all the charges?
“Food ordering started with free delivery, now GST, delivery and packing charges, platform fee,” wrote finfluencer Ravisutanjani.
“I strongly feel that it is the right time to say goodbye to Zomato, Swiggy, Flipkart, Blinkit and similar frauds as it has become common for them to loot customers in the name of platform fee, handling charges and what not,” X user Snehil said.
{{/usCountry}}“I strongly feel that it is the right time to say goodbye to Zomato, Swiggy, Flipkart, Blinkit and similar frauds as it has become common for them to loot customers in the name of platform fee, handling charges and what not,” X user Snehil said.
{{/usCountry}}“Pay an inflated cost of food to use the platform. Pay a platform fee to use the platform. Restaurants pay a fee to use the platform. And finally, pay with your health by eating outside food,” said Aditya Shah.
X users noted how Swiggy also increased its platform fee hot on Zomato’s heels.
“Platform fee to be higher than delivery charges soon,” wrote one person. “Getting too expensive,” said another.
The increase also led to some memes:
(Also read: Deepinder Goyal reveals he personally handles entry-level hirings at Zomato: ‘I’m also the HR guy')