Bengaluru restaurants threaten Swiggy, Zomato boycott over deductions
The Karnataka Hotel Association says restaurants could stop taking Swiggy and Zomato orders from 15 August unless deductions, discount costs and contract terms become more transparent. Operators claim they retain only 45–50% of order value and are exploring direct ordering and alternatives such as Rapido Ownly.
What happened
Karnataka Hotel Association says thousands of Bengaluru restaurants may stop accepting Swiggy and Zomato orders from 15 August unless deductions, discount
Key facts
- About 21,000 hotels and restaurants are registered on Swiggy in Bengaluru
- Restaurants allege they receive only 45-50% of order value after deductions
- Restaurants claim 50-55% of order value is deducted through commissions, discounts, ads and other charges
- Commission allegedly rose from 5-8% to 15-20%
- Boycott deadline: 15 August
Why this matters
The threatened boycott creates an opening for direct-order technology, lower-fee logistics partners and platforms such as Rapido Ownly to win restaurant supply through more transparent commercial terms.
What to watch
- Whether the Karnataka Hotel Association publishes a verified list of participating restaurants and a minimum boycott threshold.
- Platform announcements on commission caps, discount-sharing rules, ad-spend requirements, settlement timing, or invoice transparency.
- The share of prominent Bengaluru independent restaurants disabling delivery listings on or after 15 August.
- App-level changes in restaurant availability, delivery times, basket discounts, and delivery fees in Bengaluru.
- Restaurant adoption rates for direct-order systems and evidence of repeat-order migration away from marketplaces.
- Rapido Ownly merchant onboarding, delivery coverage, customer acquisition spending, and any exclusive restaurant partnerships.
- Whether restaurant associations in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, or Chennai adopt comparable demands.
- Any Competition Commission, state government, or consumer-affairs scrutiny of platform contract practices and discount funding.
- Publish clearer order-level deduction statements separating commission, delivery fees, payment charges, ad spend, refund costs, and discount funding.
- Offer Bengaluru-specific commercial packages, including lower commissions for self-funded promotions or reduced fees for high-volume partners.
- Prioritize retention of anchor local brands and restaurant associations through direct negotiations before the 15 August deadline.
- Increase consumer incentives and merchandising for chains, cloud kitchens, and exclusive partners to offset any restaurant assortment gaps.
- Restaurants accelerate QR-led direct ordering, loyalty databases, WhatsApp ordering, and pickup offers to reduce dependence on marketplace demand.
- Rapido Ownly and other challengers position zero- or low-commission models as restaurant-friendly, though they must prove consumer demand, logistics reliability, and discovery scale.