According to The Week, more than a thousand Bengaluru restaurants and hoteliers threatened to delist from Zomato and Swiggy, pointing to commission of up to 28%, discounts decided without them and payout reports they call opaque. Swiggy, meanwhile, offers partners professional food photography and subsidised hygiene audits (Yahoo Finance) and is building ten-minute meal delivery (TechCrunch).
The Bengaluru delisting threat
The sharpest recent sign of restaurants losing patience with Swiggy came out of Bengaluru. The Week reported that over a thousand restaurant owners and hoteliers in the city threatened to pull their listings en masse. Their grievances were specific and, in one case, put to a number:
- Commission that in some cases reaches 28%
- Discounts the platform decides on without the restaurant's say
- Payout reports that restaurants describe as opaque
Regulators and restaurant bodies have raised this before
None of this is new. TechCrunch reported in 2022 that India's Competition Commission had ordered a formal antitrust investigation into the conduct of Zomato and Swiggy, looking at whether they misused their market position and favoured certain restaurant partners over others.
Discounting has caused its own flashpoints. Inc42 reported that upwards of 900 restaurants, well-known chains among them, left Dineout, Swiggy's discount programme for dine-in guests. The restaurant association's argument was that heavy discounts were eating into the money restaurants make from guests who would otherwise dine in at full price.
Where Swiggy is putting its money
Meanwhile, Swiggy has been pushing harder on speed. According to TechCrunch's coverage of Bolt, thousands of partner restaurants, big chains included, are preparing dishes that can be turned around fast and delivered in about ten minutes to customers close to the kitchen.
It has also launched programmes aimed at restaurant partners. Yahoo Finance reported that these offer professional food photography and subsidised hygiene audits. That kind of help is designed to improve how a listing looks and how many orders it wins, rather than simply taking a cut of each sale.
Both sides of the picture
Swiggy is under genuine pressure from regulators and restaurant associations over what it charges and how it discounts. At the same time, it is paying for tools that give individual restaurants a reason to stay. If you are deciding how much of your business to run through Swiggy, weigh both.
What this means for your restaurant
- Go through your commission rate, the discounts running on your listing and your payout reports line by line; these are the exact points Bengaluru restaurants raised.
- Before joining a platform discount scheme such as Dineout, think about what it could do to revenue from guests who would have paid full price, the concern behind the exits Inc42 reported.
- Find out whether Swiggy's partner programmes, such as professional food photography and subsidised hygiene audits, can help lift your own listing.
- Set how much of your business goes through Swiggy by weighing the commission and discount pressure against the support it now offers.
Sources
- 'Won't take orders anymore': Why Bengaluru restaurants are threatening to boycott Zomato, Swiggy — The Week
- India orders antitrust investigation into Zomato and Swiggy conduct — TechCrunch
- 900+ Restaurants Opt Out Of Swiggy Dineout Amid Deep Discounting Issues — Inc42
- Swiggy escalates India quick commerce battle with 10-minute meals — TechCrunch
- India's Swiggy launches support programmes for restaurant partners — Yahoo Finance
This article summarises the reporting and guides listed above; the figures belong to those sources and are attributed in the text. Check anything that affects your business against your own platform agreements, payout statements and advisers.