Ashneer Grover on Blinkit row: 'Problem is 10-minute delivery has no economics'

Commenting on the Blinkit controversy, Ashneer Grover said low ticket size and low margin can never be solved through forced low delivery cost.

Ashneer Grover has taken a stand in the controversy surrounding Blinkit after it reduced the fixed payouts per delivery from Rs 25 to Rs 15 prompting delivery workers to go a strike and eventually leading to the company having to shut down some of its stores in Gurugram.

According to the entrepreneur and former Shark Tank India judge, the problem Blinkit has been facing isn't really the lowering of delivery charge but that delivering goods in 10 minutes "has no economics".

Taking to Twitter, Ashneer Grover wrote, "BlinkIt/Zepto - problem is not Rs 15 for delivery against Rs 50. Problem is 10-minute delivery has no economics -- low ticket size and low margin can never be solved through forced low delivery cost. BlinkIt journey: 90 Min (bull run) —> Next day (bear run) —> 10 Min (bull run) —> ??"

BlinkIt / Zepto - problem is not ₹15 for delivery against ₹50. Problem is 10Min delivery has no economics - low ticket size and low margin can never be solved through forced low delivery cost. BlinkIt journey : 90 Min (bull run) —> Next day (bear run) —> 10 Min (bull run) —> ??

— Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) April 16, 2023

Soon, Grover's tweet was flooded with responses from irate customers of Blinkit and other delivery apps, who had to wait for a lot more than 10 minutes to get their order delivered or even registered.

"The last time I ordered it took me more than an hour to realise that they are not gonna deliver. I bought the items from a nearby shop. The waiting time on the panel kept showing 6 mins from the time I ordered, till canceling it," commented Sohail Iqbal (@sohail_08).

"Both, do not always give a 10-minute delivery. During peak hours it touches 30 minutes. Not sure how it makes sense," replied Niladri Chakravarty (@niladrich).

Another Twitter user Jaspreet Singh (@jsprt20) wrote, "Absolutely... No sense, no economics, plus nobody looks at it from a safety point of view which is the biggest loser. Snacks are something one can get an urge and might want to order and get delivered in 20 mins but why veggies, why butter?"

Zomato-owned Blinkit recently told delivery workers, who have been on a strike against the lowering of payouts, that some of its Gurugram dark stores are being shut down permanently.

“Dear Blinkit partner, We thank you for providing your services to customers from your store. You all have not been working at the store for the past 3-4 days, and work has not started despite a lot of talks. That’s why the company is having to shut down this store forever,” the message on the partner app said in a mix of Hindi and English. “Since this store is being shuttered permanently, we are disabling all of your IDs. For any issue, you can raise a ticket on support."

Around 2,500 Blinkit delivery workers have been on strike in Gurugram since last week, after the company reduced the fixed payouts per delivery from Rs 25 to Rs 15. More workers have been joining the strike in Delhi and Noida in protest of this move.

Read more: Blinkit strike: BJP leader writes to deputy labour commissioner on pay cut of delivery workers