NEW DELHI :Food aggregator platform Swiggy on Thursday announced that it will prioritize orders placed via its pickup and drop service Swiggy Genie that has witnessed a significant jump in monthly orders with the ongoing covid wave restricting people's mobility. All Genie orders will have customer support.
“The prioritization of Swiggy Genie orders will be of immense help for those recovering at home or taking care of someone with medical necessities, grocery needs or home cooked meals. Swiggy is also directly working with hundreds of covid heroes who are providing meals to affected families and will prioritize these deliveries as well," the company said in a statement.
Swiggy Genie has already witnessed a surge in monthly orders largely linked to riders ferrying medicines, medical supplies—such as oximeters and thermometers—apart from care packages, grocery and home-cooked foods.
The platform reported a 350% increase in the delivery of over-the-counter medicines through Swiggy Genie in the last 15 days compared with the same period last month. Almost half a million home-cooked meals and tiffins have been ferried to friends and family in the same period.
“Understanding just how important the service is in times like these, Swiggy has today announced the prioritization of Swiggy Genie orders," the company said.
Swiggy expanded its Genie service in April 2020 in the aftermath of India’s lockdown. It is currently present in 65 cities across the country.
The move comes as India continues to witness an unprecedented surge in covid-19 cases. More states have moved to temporary curfews and lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus.
“With several cities under lockdown, and family or friends to take care of, Swiggy Genie has delivered necessities such as home-cooked meals, over medicines, test reports and grocery to the doorsteps of Indians. Considering the criticality of the service, we are now prioritizing Genie deliveries. We urge users to stay indoors, and we will do our best to get them whatever they need while also keeping the safety of our partners top of mind," said Vivek Sunder, Swiggy's chief operating officer.
Last month, rival Zomato rolled out a priority delivery feature on its app allowing customers to place orders meant for covid-19 related emergencies.
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