Eternal, the parent company of food delivery major Zomato, has increased the cost burden on restaurants for fulfilling orders, particularly those placed from nearby locations as it pushes to boost profitability on every order.
Zomato has introduced a new distance-based fee structure for restaurants. MoneyControl has reviewed the latest communication document, which specified the new fee structure for restaurants.
As per the document, for orders valued above ₹150, restaurants will be charged an extra ₹20 if the delivery address is 4–6 km away from their outlet or cloud kitchen. This fee doubles to ₹40 for deliveries exceeding 6 km. For lower-value orders—those priced under ₹150—no additional fee will apply as long as the delivery is within a 6 km radius, the report said.
If these small orders are delivered beyond 6 kilometres, Zomato will collect Rs 40 per order from the restaurant. However, the total amount payable to Zomato, including all components, will be capped at 30% of the order value in commission. It means that no restaurant partner will be asked to pay more than 30% of the order value, it added.
Interestingly, this increase in delivery charges will not be passed on to end-customers. The customers will continue to pay the same delivery fee for all orders.
This came after ride-hailing platform Rapido is all set to enter the food delivery space with less commission fee to restaurant partners.
Rapido's Food Delivery Bet
The Bengaluru-based start-up has finalised the food delivery costs and terms with restaurants at nearly half the commissions compared to rivals Swiggy and Zomato.
While Swiggy and Zomato charge commissions of around 16-30%, Rapido will charge only 8-15% from restaurants, depend upon the order value, the report said. It also gave clarification on delivery fee, that is, customers will be charged ₹25 for orders below ₹400 and ₹50 for above.
The start-up is likely to kick off its pilot launch in Bengaluru by late June or early July.
