Online food delivery platform Swiggy has started charging all users a "platform fee" of Rs 2 per food order, irrespective of the cart value, a trend that is catching up with other home delivery e-commerce entites such as Zepto and Zomato as well.
Swiggy told IANS that the additional charges are being levied only on food orders on the main platform and does not apply on Instamart users, who are spared for now.
With this, Swiggy is likely to collect extra Rs. 20 to 40 lakh daily from online orders amounting to anywhere in the range of Rs. 6 to 12 crore per month.
"The platform fee is a nominal flat fee charged on food orders. This fee helps us operate and improve our platform and enhance app features to deliver a seamless app experience," a Swiggy spokesperson said in a statement.
As last reported, Swiggy claimed to have processed over 1.5-2 million orders through the day.
People in Hyderabad ordered a whopping 10 lakh biryanis and 4 lakh plates of haleem on leading food-delivery platform Swiggy during the holy month of Ramzan.
In March, the online food delivery platform said it delivered 33 million plates of idlis in the last 12 months, indicating the immense popularity of this dish among customers.
Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai were the top three cities where idlis were ordered the most. The company, on average, has over 2.5 lakh restaurant partners enabled on its platform, and typically onboards about 10,000 restaurants every month.
It may be noted that Zepto, which has initially made home deliveries free of cost if above Rs.150 has made the ceiling to Rs.200 and even started charging customers for packaging and other services to the extent of Rs.15 cet. bar. recently.
It remains to be seen how long the free home delivery system works in the country though the numbers are reaching the highest levels.
(With inputs from IANS)
