Flipkart plans Bengaluru food-delivery pilot with 10–11% restaurant commissions

Flipkart is targeting a mid-August Bengaluru pilot for food delivery, leveraging ONDC and positioning its 10–11% restaurant commission model against the 25–35% typically charged by Swiggy and Zomato.

— Source publishedMon, 3 Aug, 2026, 13:13 IST·First seen Mon, 3 Aug, 2026, 13:30 IST·Source Inc42

What happened

Flipkart plans a Bengaluru food-delivery pilot by mid-August, using ONDC and charging restaurants 10-11% commission versus Swiggy and Zomato’s typical 25-35%.

Key facts

  • 10-11% restaurant commission per order
  • Swiggy and Zomato commissions of 25-35% per order
  • more than 500 million registered users
  • $2 billion-$2.5 billion potential pre-IPO funding round

Why this matters

Flipkart’s entry makes ONDC-linked restaurant, logistics and merchant-enablement partnerships more strategically valuable, while incumbents may seek defensive alliances or pricing responses to protect supply.

What to watch

  • Pilot launch timing, serviceable Bengaluru pin codes and whether ordering is embedded directly in the Flipkart app.
  • Named logistics partners, rider hiring activity, dark-store or hub usage and delivery-time commitments.
  • Number and quality mix of restaurant partners, especially major chains versus long-tail independent restaurants.
  • Whether the 10–11% commission is a base take rate or excludes delivery fees, advertising, payment charges and promotional contributions.
  • Consumer subsidy intensity, free-delivery thresholds and marketing spend relative to Swiggy and Zomato.
  • Swiggy and Zomato responses: restaurant retention offers, effective commission changes, ad-credit packages or Bengaluru-specific promotions.
  • Order frequency, cancellation rates, restaurant preparation times and customer-support complaints during the first 8–12 weeks.
  • Evidence of ONDC interoperability constraints or dependence on a small set of network participants.
  • Expansion announcements into other metros or integration with Flipkart Minutes and loyalty products.
  • Recruit Bengaluru restaurant chains and high-rated independent outlets with lower commissions, reduced onboarding costs and marketing support.
  • Partner with or build last-mile delivery capacity, likely prioritizing dense neighbourhood clusters before citywide coverage.
  • Use introductory discounts, Flipkart app placements and loyalty/payment incentives to acquire repeat food-ordering users.
  • Position the service as an ONDC-enabled merchant-friendly alternative while avoiding a full national price war at launch.
  • Test cross-sell offers linking food delivery with Flipkart Minutes, grocery, payments and membership benefits.
  • Expand to a second metro only after measuring repeat-order rates, delivery reliability, rider utilization and restaurant retention.

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