Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha has admitted that dark patterns on the quick commerce app were a “mistake”. In a wide-ranging conversation with Forbes India, Palicha touched upon the topic of dark patterns that had made Zepto the target of public backlash.
Palicha, 23, acknowledged that they were a mistake and have now been rolled back.
Complaints against Zepto
Complaints against Zepto had ranged from hidden fees, selective pricing, MRP manipulation, misleading discounts and more. So widespread was the criticism that it gave rise to a Reddit community dedicated to highlighting unethical app practices by Zepto.
(Also read: Nearly 10,000 Redditors accuse Zepto of shady app practices: ‘Hold Zepto accountable’)
Users on the forum had slammed Zepto for charging too many hidden fees — noting that the quick commerce company charged a ‘Rain Fee’ and a GST on top of the fee; a ‘Cash Handling Fee’ of ₹10, ‘Item Handling Cost’; ‘Convenience Fee’; ‘Small Cart Fee’; ‘Processing Fee’ and more. These were over and above the delivery charge.
Palicha, in his conversation with Forbes India, addressed the issue of delivery fees and pricing.
Zepto CEO on dark patterns
{{/usCountry}}Palicha, in his conversation with Forbes India, addressed the issue of delivery fees and pricing.
Zepto CEO on dark patterns
{{/usCountry}}“I think we ran experiments on delivery fees and pricing—we tried different approaches and figured things out,” Zepto CEO and co-founder Aadit Palicha said, adding that much of the negative feedback was valid and taken into account when Zepto revamped its pricing strategy.
“A lot of it wasn’t received well on social media or by consumers, and honestly, much of the feedback was valid,” said Palicha.
“There wasn’t any regulatory angle to it—it had nothing to do with government intervention. We just felt it wasn’t the right thing for consumers. The feedback was negative so we voluntarily decided to roll it back. Within 45–60 days, we had addressed it and moved on.
“Things like the expired product issue were a bit blown out of proportion. But the dark patterns concern was something we genuinely could have solved—and we did. I’ll be candid: It was a mistake. We killed it. It won’t happen again,” he concluded.
In early November, Zepto eliminated all handling fees, surge charges, and convenience fees as part of a new strategic initiative.