Zomato and Swiggy have emerged as the preferred online food delivery apps for millions across India. Both the homegrown start-ups have remained neck-to-neck in competition and they have revolutionised the online food delivery sector in India.
There are a few other start-ups but they have not become as big as Zomato and Swiggy in terms of customer base and operations. The rise of both the food delivery giants has also led to a price war in the sector. Now, there is a new platform, which even offers cheaper food options compared to Zomato and Swiggy.
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is emerging as a competitor to the major food delivery platforms as it offers a cheaper price for the same food items compared to others.
ONDC is a government-developed platform which promotes open e-commerce through buyer and seller networks. This platform allows sellers across sectors, including restaurants to sell their items directly to customers and the sellers need not list on a third-party app.
This platform was launched in September 2022 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In recent months ONDC has gained popularity and the daily orders have crossed the 10,000 mark on this platform.
While ONDC offers lower commission and pricing for restaurants, experts are cautious about predicting its success. They suggest that ONDC needs to expand beyond the current customer base captured by Swiggy and Zomato, including tier 2, 3, and smaller towns.
ONDC could work well for repeat purchases where a customer already knows the restaurant. Experts also emphasise the importance of superior technology to handle food delivery smoothly, manage delivery times, and understand customers.
However, not being with an aggregator like Swiggy or Zomato could impact overall volumes.
The popularity of ONDC can be gauged by the fact that social media users are comparing the food delivery prices offered by ONDC, Swiggy and Zomato. After the comparison, users have found ONDC cheaper.
A price comparison among the three platforms shows that ONDC is indeed cheaper. Here is a price comparison for a pizza on the three platforms:
According to an individual, the price of a Peri Peri Mutton Pizza was Rs 656 on Zomato and Rs 666 on Swiggy, on the same restaurant. However, if you opt to order this same item from ONDC via Paytm, you will only need to pay Rs 600 on the same restaurant.
Additionally, several people have turned to Twitter to highlight the discrepancy in prices between ordering food from ONDC and using popular food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato.
One Twitter user pointed out that a McDonald’s burger on ONDC is priced at less than half the cost of the same burger ordered through Swiggy and Zomato.
🚨 ONDC is the Talk of the Town
I’ve shared earlier on offerings & if ONDC can create UPI like disruption for e-Commerce
Today, let’s Uncover Practicality & After Effects pic.twitter.com/arubL2NPXo
— Ravisutanjani (@Ravisutanjani) May 7, 2023
Similarly, another user highlighted how a pizza on ONDC was 20 percent cheaper than its price on the other platforms. In fact, one user went so far as to label ONDC as a potential challenger to food delivery giants like Zomato, Swiggy, and even Amazon.
A very interesting find. Same pizza store but one is 20% cheaper.
ONDC 👇 Zomato 👇 pic.twitter.com/pWWPjvHJFt
— Udit Goenka (@iuditg) May 3, 2023
Now you know the ONDC impact!
Same order, same place and same time.
The difference are clearly visible. pic.twitter.com/JG7xpjN8NB— Ankit Prakash (@ankitpr89) May 4, 2023
Mindblown!! Ordered food from ONDC (via @Paytm)..same restaurant same dish bill is 25% cheaper than @zomato @UPI_NPCI moment in e-commerce is here!!@vijayshekhar@torusoroamc@rajeshsawhney pic.twitter.com/eNCEqgaflC
— Nitin Agrawal (@agnitin_oro) May 5, 2023
Customers can order food, buy clothes, book cabs, and buy movie tickets and groceries through ONDC.
It is worth noting that ONDC is not a separate app that you can download from the app store. ONDC works like a UPI payment system, which means it can be added to apps like Paytm, PhonePe, Magicpin and Meesho.
Currently, ONDC has more than 29,000 sellers that are selling over 36 lakh products, according to the official website.
