Retail body AICPDF files antitrust case against Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto over predatory pricing

Retail body AICPDF files anti-trust case against Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto for alleged predatory pricing

Retail body All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), on February 28, filed an anti-trust case with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against quick delivery players like Swiggy, Zomato, and Zepto over alleged predatory pricing and deep discounting, sources told Moneycontrol.

In its case filing, the AICPDF – which claims to represent 1.3 crore traders and merchants, and eight lakh offline distributors of FMCG products – has alleged that these practices by quick commerce and food delivery platforms go against the rules of fair competition.

This comes at a time when e-commerce firms in India are facing increasing scrutiny over pricing and anti-competitive prices. A CCI probe in September last year found that Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preference to select sellers on their shopping websites.

In fact, even food delivery players Swiggy and Zomato were found to have breached competition laws, with their business practices favouring restaurant chains listed on their platforms.

The AICPDF had filed a complaint with the Commerce Ministry last October, which was forwarded to the Department for promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). This was later escalated to the CCI, which directed the trade body to file a direct case.

“CCI often takes a call within 4-5 days, but hasn't allocated a case number or confirmed the initiation of an investigation against the quick commerce firms yet…The anti-trust body cannot admit cases unless an aggrieved party files a case directly with the commission,” said a person in the know.

The case will be admitted only after the CCI Chairperson takes cognisance and allocates a case number for the issue, the person said.

Notably, this is not AICPDF’s first run-in with quick delivery players. The organization has been outspoken against quick commerce firms and their alleged deep discounting over the past months.

In November last year, the retail body had raised concerns over fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies allegedly using e-commerce and quick commerce platforms as outlets to dump near-expiry and slow-moving products.

This comes amid rising concerns that quick delivery players, like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto, are taking away sales from traditional kirana stores. In fact, a recent report by Datum Intelligence showed that as much as $1.28 billion in sales were taken away from kiranas by quick commerce firms in 2024.

In the quick commerce space, Blinkit is the clear market leader with a 41 percent share, followed by Zepto and Swiggy Instamart in the second and third spot, a recent report by Citi showed. Of late, these companies have been on an expansion spree in a bid to gain market share and get a leg up over competitors.

Nevertheless, while India’s quick commerce market is growing at a scorching pace, expected to reach $89 billion by FY31 from $7.1 billion in FY22, companies operating in this space may find it challenging to keep up the growth momentum in the medium to long term, according to the recent Indus Valley 2025 report by venture capital firm Blume Ventures.