Running a business in India is different from any other country. Starting from the prices to the revenue models, everything is different from other countries. Companies play a different game to acquire customers and then play an all-new, different game to keep their financials healthy. That is something we are witnessing these days with e-commerce and delivery platforms. Initially, to acquire customers, they aggressively offered discounts, and eventually they lowered the offers, and over the period, they started levying extra fees. Today, we as customers pay different fees for these platforms, and something that we need to discuss is the rise of the platform fees.
One of the major headlines that we can see is about the “Increase in platform fee by Zomato and Swiggy.” Swiggy has recently increased its platform fee for food delivery orders to ₹14(including GST) in some high-demand areas. This is the third hike in just three weeks. The fee was first raised from ₹12 to ₹14 around mid-August and has now gone up again by another rupee. This platform fee is a flat charge on every order, no matter how small or big the order value is. Swiggy’s biggest competitor, Zomato, has also raised its fee, moving it from ₹10 to ₹12 per order. Here comes the major discussion on why they are increasing the platform fees.
But it doesn’t stop only with these two platforms; many other platforms started levying platform fees. To give you more context here, let’s take another example, and then let’s discuss it further. Another big example is Amazon India. The e-commerce giant has quietly started adding a ₹5 platform fee on certain orders, regardless of whether you’re a Prime member or not. At first glance, ₹5 may not sound like much, but it’s significant when you realize that millions of transactions happen daily on Amazon. Even this small charge translates into a massive additional revenue stream for the company. What makes it interesting is that Amazon does not charge such a fee in the US. There, customers only pay for their product price, taxes, and delivery (if not covered under Prime). So, the question is, why only in India?
This is where we go back to the point where I started. Running a business in India is way different from other countries. There are some factors that led businesses to opt for this. Let’s figure out some reasons here. Running a food delivery business or even an e-commerce business in India looks glamorous from the outside, but inside, the margins are razor thin. For every ₹100 you pay on your food order, the platforms only get to keep a small fraction after sharing commissions with restaurants, paying delivery partners, and burning money on discounts and offers.
This is why we’re seeing a recalibration of business models. Companies are no longer relying only on commissions or delivery charges, and they are now squeezing in platform fees as a new and stable revenue line. And the numbers prove how important this shift is. Zomato collected up about ₹89 crore in Q1 FY26 from platform fees alone and even counted it directly as revenue. On the other hand, Swiggy earned a higher ₹109 crore in the same quarter, though it labels this line differently as “additional fees from customers.” These numbers are not small. Let’s say if companies hike an additional ₹2–₹3 per order, it can bring them more than a hundred crores in revenue for the overall financial year. This is increasing the chance for the companies to predict the stable revenues as compared to the advertisement revenues. So, this is why not Zomato and Swiggy; even the Amazon has followed this route.
Now you may think, why are people still choosing to continue? This is where the paradox comes in. Indian customers are known to be extremely price-conscious. For many, even a ₹10 to ₹20 difference can decide whether they go ahead with an order or not. That’s why platforms fought so hard in the early days by throwing discounts as much as possible to attract customers. But here’s the twist: the very same customers who are sensitive to small price changes still continue to pay platform fees. Why? Because in India, small surcharges are normalized. From mobile recharges to electricity bills, gas bookings, and movie tickets, consumers are used to seeing a few extra rupees levied on as “convenience charges” or “service fees.” Over time, this has become part of the spending. A flat ₹5 to ₹14 platform fee doesn’t feel like a burden, and it feels like just another surcharge.
To give you a better perspective, let’s look at IRCTC. Train ticketing in India is as mass-market. Almost everyone books tickets online today. And yet, IRCTC’s so-called convenience fee has become a major revenue contributor. In Q3 FY25 (Oct–Dec 2024), IRCTC generated about ₹254 crore just from convenience fees. In Q4 FY25 (Jan–Mar 2025), they collected fees of about ₹242 crore. This shows how Indian consumers are habituated to the convenience fees. Once they get used to these fees, they may grumble first, but in the end they pay. So, platform fees don’t stop them from ordering food. Instead, it becomes part of the “cost of convenience.”
And that’s exactly why food delivery players like Swiggy, Zomato, and even Amazon are confident that customers will continue because the habit is already set. And to continue offering the services, every company should turn profitable because no company can run longer by making losses. So, companies are finding their ways to become profitable.
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