Food tech giant, Swiggy, financed by global investment group, Prosus, has instituted a flat Rs 2 “platform fee” per order, regardless of the total amount in the customer’s cart. The new fees, which were first implemented in locations like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, are currently solely applied to food orders and not to quick-commerce or Instamart purchases.
According to the available data, Swiggy has not yet implemented these fees in major metropolitan areas like Delhi and Mumbai. Only food deliveries will incur the platform cost. It’s not the same as the handling fee that Instamart orders (whether from Swiggy One customers or not) always incur.
Analysts estimate that Swiggy’s daily order volume of over 1.5 million may generate sufficient revenue from a price increase of just Rs 2. The tax, which has been implemented gradually over the course of the past week, will most likely be expanded to other areas. As investors continue to be stingy, this is especiall y advantageous for the company, which has accelerated its profitability timelines.
The decline in shipping activity is the main impetus for the change. Swiggy CEO and co-founder Sriharsha Majety wrote in an email to staff, “the company was no exception when it came to cutting 380 jobs. We, like many of our global peers, have seen a slowdown in the food delivery industry’s growth rate compared to our predictions. While we have sufficient cash on hand to weather any storms that may come our way, we must not let this become a crutch; rather, we must keep looking for ways to cut costs in order to ensure our long-term success.”