Rapido Slashes Food Delivery Charges by Half to Counter Zomato, Swiggy
Ride-hailing app Rapido has finalised online food delivery partnership costs and terms with restaurants at nearly half the commissions from entrenched rivals Swiggy and Zomato, challenging the duopoly.
According to the agreed terms with industry body National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), Rapido is expected to charge commissions in the range of 8-15 percent from restaurants, compared to 16-30 percent Zomato and Swiggy charge.
The partnership terms state Rapido will charge a fixed fee of Rs 25 on orders below Rs 400 and Rs 50 on orders over Rs 400.
This translates to a range of 8-15 percent commissions from restaurants, compared to 16-30 percent charged by Zomato and Swiggy.
The Rapido app will list restaurants and allow customers to place orders.
This will be especially beneficial to tiny eateries.
The pilot is anticipated to launch in Bengaluru at the end of June or the first week of July.
"We've been in discussion with Rapido over the last few months just the way we are working closely with ONDC. We are discussing a structure which is economically and democratically much more viable for restaurants to sustain," NRAI president Sagar Daryani said.
"It's also very important for us to know our customers and the same has been candidly communicated to them," Daryani added. Allegations of data masking have been a core point of disagreement between restaurants and the large platforms.
Swiggy presently has a limited "idle-time" agreement with the ride-hailing unicorn's bike-taxi riders to deliver meals in a few locations, but the agreement is not exclusive. In January, the government-backed ONDC and the NRAI, which represents more than 500,000 restaurants, started a similar agreement; however, due to slower momentum, the conditions are still being worked out.
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Some small restaurant proprietors have been criticizing Zomato and Swiggy for what they claim are "steep charges" in recent months.
Last Monday, Saffroma, a tiny restaurant in the National Capital Region, announced on X that it was leaving Zomato, citing "zero payouts, mystery service charges, and advertisements initiated without approval." The post went viral. Since then, the post has been removed.