Swiggy hikes platform fee to ₹3 on food delivery orders: Report

Swiggy has hiked the platform fee on food delivery orders to ₹3 per order, which marks a 50 percent jump as compared to the existing platform fee of ₹2, a report in The Economic Times stated on October 16.

The revised platform fee has been implemented from October 4 onwards, the newspaper said, adding that initially the increased rate was applicable for food orders in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, but was later expanded to all areas of operation across the country.

The Bengaluru-based food delivery aggregator has been applying the platform fee on food orders from April this year. The platform fee charged is ₹5, but Swiggy offers a ₹2 discount, which brings the effective rate to ₹3 on each order.

The company's main rival, Zomato, has also been levying a platform fee of ₹2 per order. In some cities, however, it is charging ₹3, the report noted.

A Swiggy spokesperson who spoke to the publication suggested that there was no unusual step enacted in charging a platform fee, as the same is applied by most food aggregators.

Notably, the platform fee is considered as a measure to improve unit economics – a reference to the revenue generated by an entity from each unit of sale or order. Companies such as Uber, BB Now, the quick commerce arm of BigBasket and Zepto have been imposing this charge on each order, a Business Standard report said.

Swiggy, a homegrown food aggregator, had reported an 80 percent on-year jump in losses to around $540 million in 2022, as per the information shared by its owner Prosus in June. Swiggy's chief executive and founder, Sriharsha Majety, in a blog post in May, claimed that the food delivery business turned profitable as of March this year.