With most restaurants jacking up their online menu prices as compared to in-store rates, the discounts on Swiggy and Zomato turn into a farce. The trend is likely to stay as the foodtech duopoly gets deeply entrenched, and consumer activism goes missing
If monopoly hurts, then duopoly also does no good. It can create barriers for new entrants, limiting competition and stifling innovation.
Let’s start with the first side of the coin. “Restaurants are forced to resort to such practices due to steep commissions charged by Swiggy and Zomato,” laments Savar Malhotra, working partner at Delhi-based The Embassy Restaurant, which traces its origin to 1948. “I have not yet added GST,” he says, adding that the bleeding food delivery aggregators are trying to squeeze restaurants as much as possible to reduce their bulging losses. “They (aggregators) are a pain for restaurants and are trying to make a profit by charging more from food players,” he rues. Restaurants, Malhotra underscores, are the first side of the coin.