Food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy have quietly withdrawn a key perk from their respective loyalty programmes, leaving subscribers to bear the full brunt of surge pricing during rainy weather.
Until recently, users enrolled in Zomato Gold and Swiggy One, the premium subscription services offered by the two platforms, were exempt from paying additional charges during weather-related surges. That benefit has now been scrapped, as confirmed by recent in-app notifications.
With the latest policy change, even paying members will now be charged the same delivery surcharges as non-members when adverse weather conditions like rain impact delivery operations. The update has sparked discontent among customers who pay a recurring fee to enjoy premium services, only to now find themselves footing extra charges under challenging conditions.
The change comes at a time when both platforms are facing growing pressure to boost revenues and shore up margins. Zomato, now rebranded as Eternal, recently reported a sharp 78% year-on-year drop in profit after tax, falling to Rs 39 crore in the fourth quarter of FY25 from Rs 175 crore a year earlier. Its Q3 profit stood at Rs 59 crore.
Swiggy’s financial picture is more severe. The company posted a net loss of Rs 1,081 crore for Q4 FY25, nearly doubling its loss from the same quarter last year, when it stood at Rs 555 crore.
The core food delivery operations remain profitable for both players, but mounting investments in the fast-growing quick commerce segment, delivering groceries and essentials within minutes, have dragged down overall earnings. To offset these losses, the platforms appear to be squeezing more revenue from their food delivery businesses.
One of the key strategies includes ramping up platform fees, which have seen a fivefold increase in recent months. What began as a modest Rs 2 charge per order has now climbed to Rs 10 in many cases. With both Zomato and Swiggy handling over 2 million food orders daily, even this seemingly small hike translates into an additional Rs 2 crore or more in daily revenue for each firm.