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Journalism of Courage
Ahead of Diwali, India’s major food delivery platforms, Zomato and Swiggy, have hiked their platform fee to Rs 10 considering the anticipated festive rush. Earlier, Zomato charged Rs 6 and Swiggy charged Rs 7 as the platform fee.
“This fee helps us pay our bills to keep Zomato running. To maintain services during festive rush, it has increased slightly,” a notification on Zomato said.
However, this did not go well with customers, who expressed their disappointment on social media, slamming both Zomato and Swiggy. Influencer Ravi Sutanjani raised the discussion on X, which immediately gained traction.
“Food Ordering Started With Free Delivery, Now GST, Delivery & Packing Charges, Platform Fee. Zomato & Swiggy Does 3.5 Million Orders Daily,” Sutanjani wrote.
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Several users thronged to the comment section with one saying, “People should go back good olden days of eating in home … see how these platforms play … they are just catching us on right time with festive season.” Another user wrote, “I have seen many times even the total charges are more than the actual food prices.”
“Thats the strategy. Initially give everything for free, once people use to it, charges frees,” a third user reacted. “Food delivery was once about convenience, now it’s layered with fees such as GST, delivery, packing, platform charges. As competition shrinks, consumers pay the price,” another user commented.
Zomato introduced the platform fee in 2023 at Rs 2 per order while Swiggy implemented it at Rs 7. The platform fee introduced by both apps in 2023 has seen a surge from Rs 2 in 2023 to Rs 10 in 2024.
