The online food delivery business saw a hike of 20 percent in their business during the third lockdown when compared to the previous two lockdowns.
Bengaluru: According to the reports of National Restaurant Association of India, the overall food deliveries have increased by 10 to 15 percent during the lockdown. Pre-lockdown, the average revenue earned by online food deliveries were 10 percent. It increased rapidly during the first lockdown to 29 percent and 33 percent in the second lockdown.
“Before lockdown, the average orders we received were ten thousand that is Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 3 lakhs of revenue per month. But after lockdown, it was just Swiggy and Zomato and people were dependent on them. Today, we receive 30 thousand orders a month making a business of Rs. 9 lakhs,” said Harish, the manager of Ambari Gardenia Restaurant.
Online food deliveries and takeaways made 30 percent of the total revenue earned during the lockdown.
Zomato and Swiggy are the top food aggregators in the market today. Dunzo, a delivery company, was also a key player during the third lockdown.
Tanveer, a Zomato delivery partner says, “I deliver 30 to 35 times in a day. On Saturdays and Sundays, I get more orders between 12 noon to 3pm and between 7pm to 10pm. In a week, I manage to achieve the weekly target of Rs. 9,000 with a very good margin.”
The biggest reason for the increase is people working from home. Due to their busy working schedules, they were unable to manage works and meals simultaneously. Therefore, they had no other option but to order food online.
People were stuck at home and it was difficult to manage work and meals. So they had to depend on ordering food.
“I stay alone and I cook my own meals. When I had work offline I managed my lunch in the office canteen. But after work from home, it was difficult to cook and work simultaneously. So I had to rely upon homemade tiffin services,” said Tanmay who works as a product designer.
The Bengaluru Hotels’ Association believes that it could be a more profit making business if the aggregators would cut down on the commission of 25 – 30 percent on the order value from the restaurants.
Veerendra Kamat, who is the secretary of Bengaluru Hotel’s Association, says, “It caters only a certain category of people. They have to focus on their rate. They should cut down on their delivery charges and taxes from the customers. They should make it pocket friendly- then only middle class or upper middle class can order through online.”
Despite a surge in the online business, the restaurant owners want their customers to visit the dine-ins. They still believe that they could make profits if the customers visit their restaurants instead of ordering food online.
