Zomato has undergone a remarkable surge in its stock value of nearly 260% since last April, leading to challenges in keeping up with market expectations. Despite this remarkable growth, Zomato announced an increase in its platform fee for users from Rs 3 to Rs 4 on January 1, aiming to enhance its revenue streams and potentially offset tax demands.
The platform fee is an additional charge applied by Zomato on top of the delivery fee, with exceptions for Zomato Gold members who enjoy benefits like discounts and free delivery. To stay competitive, Zomato's main rival, Swiggy, charges a platform fee of Rs 5 on food delivery orders. Zomato initially introduced the platform fee at Rs 2, eventually raising it to Rs 3 in most major markets, alongside implementing a handling charge of Rs 2 on every order through its Blinkit quick-commerce platform.
Industry insiders suggest that the increase in platform fees could aid Zomato in addressing significant tax demands from the goods and services tax authorities. Furthermore, amidst its various strategic moves, Zomato has paused its intercity delivery service named Legends, with plans to revamp its model due to consumer disinterest and legal challenges. Despite these adjustments, Zomato reported a third consecutive quarterly profit of Rs 138 crore for the October-December period, marking a significant improvement from past performance. Additionally, the company received authorization from the RBI to operate as an online payment aggregator, facilitating online transactions through its platform and launching its payment service, Zomato Pay, in collaboration with ICICI Bank.