Flipkart now testing 'Eat In' food delivery service in Bengaluru
What's the story
Walmart-backed Flipkart has begun testing its new food delivery service, 'Eat In,' among employees in Bengaluru. The move is a major step toward entering a market currently dominated by Zomato and Swiggy. According to Moneycontrol, the company plans to roll out this service to all its employees around September 15 before making it available to consumers in Bengaluru.
Market competition
New wave of competition in food delivery space
Flipkart's entry into the food delivery space comes as the sector witnesses a new wave of competition.
Companies like Rapido, Swiggy, and Zomato are trying out different strategies to expand their reach and attract price-sensitive customers.
Rapido's Ownly, which operates on a zero-commission model, recently crossed 50,000 daily food delivery orders in Bengaluru, about 10% of the city's estimated daily orders.
Budget options
Swiggy and Zomato also exploring affordability route
Swiggy has also joined the affordability race with its standalone food delivery app, Toing.
The app has gained a lot of traction since its launch.
A recent report from brokerage firm CLSA revealed that Toing's weekly active users are close to Zomato's at around 33 million, just behind Zomato's roughly 35 million.
Meanwhile, Zomato parent Eternal is pushing lower-priced offerings on Zomato while investing in Bistro, a different operating model for lower-priced food.
Service commitment
Eat In aims for lower commission structure for restaurants
Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had said in July that the company would test food delivery on a limited scale before deciding on a wider rollout.
He emphasized that Flipkart wants to offer customers more than just lower prices, including selection, service, reliability, and overall experience.
The company is building Eat In with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and working toward a lower commission structure for restaurants.