Since food distribution is popular in urban India, delivery fees, packaging fees and platform commissions can be a concern for something.
While the overall impact varies, some restaurant operators say that loyalty programs, membership plans and alternative ordering platforms are helping users manage their expenses.
VU co-founder and CEO Mandar Lande noticed that some customers have begun to revaluate the price of food distribution.
“With the rising platform, distribution fees and packaging costs, many value-sensitive users are transferred back to dine-in,” he said.
He said that commission-free models such as VUs built on open networks for Digital Commerce (ONDC) allow the restaurant to offer more economical distribution, possibly slowing that change.
However, not all restaurants are looking at uniform trends.
Supreet Singh, founder and director of Rollappa said, “Dine-in footfall varies relatively stable and varies from large-scale location. The costs of increasing delivery have not switched a major switch from delivery to dine-in.”
In response to the preferences to be developed, food aggregators and platforms are promoting loyalty and membership programs such as Swiggi One and Zomato Gold.
These schemes usually bundle benefits such as free delivery, cashback and exclusive deals. According to Lande, users continuously order 6-10 times a month- you can protect from ₹ 3,000 to ₹ 8,000 annually on such platforms.
He said that on ONDC-based systems, savings between ₹ 4,000 and ₹ 10,000 can be higher annually, which allow direct restaurants offers and loyalty prizes.
Singh is cautious about the widespread impact of these schemes.
“The loyalty programs provide some relief, but they have not made a major change in consumer behavior unless a restaurant has already strong brand loyalty,” he said.
The use of these benefits is also mixed. Some users cannot fully tap in offerings due to lack of awareness or complexity of navigating various platforms.
According to Lande, the power user on new platforms is reaching facilities such as restaurant-led discounts, priority distribution and ONDC-wide cashback operations.
Credit card steps with additional benefits
Beyond the app-based discount, many consumers also turn to a credit card offering dining and delivery perk to customize expenses.
For example, Swiggy HDFC Bank Credit Card offers 5% cashback on other online expenses, provides 10% cashback on Swiggi Food Order, Instamart, Dineout and Gen’s Services.
Similarly, Eazydiner Indusind Bank offers a discount of up to 50% in select restaurants with a credit card and an annual prime membership with additional prize points and vouchers.
Other options include:
- SBI Card Prime – Prize and milestone benefits including food.
- Hdfc dinner club privilege – Participated restaurants and global conservative services include exemption.
- Axis Bank My Zone Credit Card – Dining discounts and food delivery benefits in participation apps.
