India’s online food delivery order volumes continue to remain down by over 60% from the peak reached in the first two weeks of March, according to data from Israel’s Superfly Insights, which collated it through anonymised billing information.
“We are seeing some growth coming back, but still not at a pre-Covid-19 level and it’s so volatile that every day there is a new surprise. Consumer behaviour is also changing, some of it will be irreversible,” said Jaydeep Barman, CEO of cloud kitchen player Rebel Foods. According to Barman, demand is recovering faster in smaller towns like Lucknow, Bhopal, Vijaywada and Coimbatore, which have not been hit as much as the metros.
Emphasis on safety has been another area of focus for platforms like Zomato and Swiggy besides restaurants. Rebel Foods, which runs cloud kitchens like Behrouz Biryani, OvenStory and Faasos, has seen 75% of consumers who order on the platform scan the QR code to check on temperatures and medical certificates of those involved in cooking the meal.
Read: Food delivery firms reassure customers with contactless delivery, body temperature checks
Aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato have already cut 13-15% of their corporate staff (not delivery executives), pulled back on discounts, and aggressively expanded into grocery since the crisis started in March. According to Zomato co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal’s email to his staff earlier this month, the company expects this situation to continue for another 6 months at least.
“Our order volumes are down, but we have witnessed a strong recovery in these last two weeks,” a Zomato spokesperson said. Currently, 15% of its order volume comes from grocery. An emailed query to Swiggy did not elicit a response so far. National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), on Wednesday, sent out letters to leading mall owners, seeking urgent changes in rent arrangements.
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