Ordering food online to get costlier as Swiggy, Zomato eye platform fee hike to Rs 10-15 per order: Report

Many restaurants listed on Swiggy and Zomato hold the belief that the online food aggregators will hike the platform fee further to Rs 10-15 per order, Business Standard reported.

This comes after Zomato hiked its platform fee from Rs 5 to Rs 6 this week with an eye on increasing margins amid spiking operational costs.

The publication also reported that restaurants have asked for the high commission rates charged by these platforms to be slashed. BS reported one say that the platform fee would 'definitely' increase more keeping in line with global markets.

Platform fee is charged when shopping on any platform and allows companies to make money directly from users. Each time a person orders food from either of these companies, Swiggy and Zomato charge a platform fee.

Given the high commissions these delivery companies charge, very often restaurants inflate their food prices online as compared to their actual menu prices. As a result, food ordered online is usually more expensive than it would be if a person visited the same restaurant to eat.

The decision to hike the platform fees comes as both the delivery giants seek to improve their unit economics and boost their overall revenues and profits.