Woman Pays Rs 115 For Rs 45 Bun Butter Jam On Swiggy, Calls It 'Ridiculous'

The rise of instant doorstep delivery services for daily use goods like milk, butter and fruits has fueled the popularity of food and grocery delivery apps. Many people place orders on online platforms without paying attention to the prices. Recently, a Chennai-based journalist pointed out the difference in prices when a product is ordered online vs when it is bought straight from the store. The price difference for the same product from the same shop, was excluding the delivery fee.

Priyanka Thirumurthy shared a screenshot of her online food delivery order that priced a “bread butter jam” from cafe Coffee Shastra at Rs 115 online, whereas her in-person receipt showed the same “bread butter jam” priced at Rs 45. In her post, she described this “cost of convenience” as “ridiculous”.

According to Moneycontrol, platforms like Swiggy and even Zomato charge about 24-28 per cent of the order value as commission from the restaurants, which excludes the delivery cost. This may explain the increase in online order prices. In response to the above-mentioned X post, many people agreed with Thirumurthy that the price discrepancy was too high, while a few also argued that it was a fair increase.

An X user wrote, “Getting a cup of coffee at Coffee Shastra T.Nagar during peak hours is frustrating to the core. The slow service, the smoking zone nearby, the dustbins, the bus stop. This is indeed a ‘convenience’ fee.”

Another person wrote, “It should be. The fuel consumed to transport such a small meal is not so efficient if we take the climate seriously. The cost must be higher so we don’t take climate or fuel for granted.”

Someone else pointed out how despite charging a hefty amount from customers, brands still underpay their delivery workers. Additionally, they try to fool customers by showing misleading discounts. Making this point, an X user wrote, “The most ridiculous part is after charging so much commission, platform fees and not paying their delivery partners much, Swiggy claims that they aren’t yet profitable. Their offers are almost useless. 50% off upto ₹40 on orders above ₹100. So that’s just ₹40 discount but psychologically make your order for ₹150-200 by showing 50% discount.”

Back in 2020, Swiggy addressed the matter of the difference between online and offline prices.

In response to an X post about increased prices on Swiggy and Zomato, Swiggy wrote, “We’re trying to maintain transparency in our services & that extends to the pricing on the platform. However, the prices might be different online & offline as it is the sole discretion of the restaurant without any added input from our end. Have a good day ahead.”