Zepto price disparity: YouTube content creator Vinita Singh on Friday flagged price disparities on the online quick commerce platform Zepto.
According to her social media post, the price of “green capsicum” was lower on an Android device than on an iPhone. The screenshots attached to the LinkedIn post showed that Zepto was charging ₹21 for 500-600 grams of green capsicum on an Android device, while the platform allegedly charged ₹107 on an iPhone for the same quantity of the product.
“Zepto Is there any clarification for this?” questioned Singh in her post.
She highlighted that both screenshots were taken at the same time (8:15 am). Looking at the user interface of the screenshots, it can be identified that the first one was taken from an Android and the second from an Apple iPhone.
“Both the screenshots where taken at the same time, this morning. But why such difference, Zepto? (sic)” she wrote.
The post sparked mixed reactions on social media. A social media account called Overhyped responded to Singh's post and said, “Please don’t hurt iphone users, they bought their phone on EMI, let them buy capsicum on EMI.”
Others like Ruturaj Mestry made fun of Zepto and sarcastically claimed that iPhone users might get fresher groceries, hence the hefty charge.
“Think like this, might be the iphone users will get the freshest of groceries, and leftovers are available to other users. That's why it's cheap for others. This might not answer the initial question, But iphone users might feel better,” said Mestry, responding to Vinita Singh's post.
Mint reported earlier that the Department of Consumer Affairs had taken action against cab service aggregators Ola and Uber over concerns about differential pricing based on the type of mobile device consumers use.
Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi on January 23 said that both cab aggregators have been issued notices asking for their responses to the matter.
After the Union Minister's direct, Ola spokesperson said, “We maintain a uniform pricing structure for all our customers. There is no differentiation based on the operating system of a user’s phone for similar rides,” according to a statement cited in an NDTV report.
They also said that the company had provided a detailed clarification to the CCPA to address any misconceptions.
Uber also released an official statement to the media: “We do not set prices based on a rider's phone manufacturer. We look forward to working with the Central Consumer Protection Authority to clear up any misunderstanding.”
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