New Delhi: Zomato, a food delivery service, has begun testing a Rs 2 platform fee in select markets. The fee is being levied per order, regardless of the cart value, and applies to all users, including those enrolled in the Zomato Gold loyalty program.
The platform fee is currently in an experimental phase and it is not yet clear if it will be rolled out to all users.
New Platform Fee Introduced
Zomato has introduced a nominal fee of Rs 2 per order in select markets. The company says that the fee is aimed at exploring new avenues for profitability and improving the user experience. However, the long-term implementation of this fee structure will depend on the results of the trial and user feedback. Zomato will assess the effectiveness of the fee before scaling it down further.
Why Is Zomato Charging Platform Fee
Zomato’s first-ever consolidated profit of Rs 2 crore in the April-June quarter this year is a positive sign for the company. However, the total expenses in the quarter jumped from Rs 1,768 crore to Rs 2,612 crore. This shows that Zomato still needs to find ways to reduce its expenses in order to become profitable in the long term, as per Zee Business.
Recently, Zomato’s CFO, Akshant Goyal, said on an earnings call that the company had not decided whether to implement platform fees. However, it now appears that Zomato will start charging users a small fee on a trial basis, as per ET.
“Realistically speaking, we were expecting to hit this milestone in the September quarter (Q2FY24), and we were being conservative in our earlier guidance. However, some critical parts of the team across our businesses out-executed our expectations/plans, and some of our initiatives delivered better outcomes than we had expected, Akshant Goyal was quoted saying by Hindustan Times.
About Zomato
Zomato is a restaurant discovery and food delivery platform founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah. It was originally called Foodiebay, but was renamed Zomato in 2010. Zomato provides information about restaurants, such as menus, reviews, and photos. It also allows users to order food online, book tables, and manage their dining experiences. Zomato, launched in 2010, is a technology platform that connects customers, restaurant partners, and delivery partners. The platform serves the multiple needs of these stakeholders by providing a variety of services, including:
- Searching and discovering restaurants
- Reading and writing customer-generated reviews and viewing and uploading photos
- Ordering food delivery
- Booking tables at restaurants
- Making payments while dining out
