'Cost of convenience': Chennai journalist shares how Rs 45 'bun butter jam' is priced at Rs 115 on Swiggy

Pictures of the off line and online bills shared by Priyanka Thirumurthy on X.

A journalist in Chennai has recently shone the spotlight again on the price disparity of items listed on restaurant menus versus the prices mentioned on food delivery apps such as Swiggy. Taking to X, Priyanka Thirumurthy highlighted the "cost of convenience" after she placed an order via Swiggy for "bun butter jam" from a local cafe for Rs 115 each excluding the taxes and delivery charges. The item was priced at Rs 45 only on the restaurant menu offline.

Calling the prices "ridiculous," Priyanka said that she had placed the order for guests and would rather either visit the cafe in person or make herself some bun butter jam at home due to the steep prices on Swiggy.

The cost of convenience is pic.twitter.com/uzGZe4KCIi

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— Priyanka Thirumurthy (@priyankathiru) May 27, 2024

Swiggy and even Zomato charge about 24-28 percent of the order value as commission from the restaurants. This excludes charges for enabling delivery. The food delivery businesses also charge the restaurants extra for allocating their partners to deliver the orders even though the delivery charges are paid by the customers. Therefore, eateries increase their prices on third-party apps like Zomato and Swiggy to ensure they do not pay for the commission.

Earlier, when similar complaints were made on social media, Swiggy had clarified that they do not fix the prices for the food items, the restaurant partners do. "We're trying to maintain transparency in our services and that extends to the pricing on the platform. However, the prices might be different online and offline as it is the sole discretion of the restaurant without any added input from our end," a Swiggy Cares representative had shared.

Similarly, in its red herring prospectus, Zomato had previously stated: “We charge our restaurant partner commissions based on an agreed-upon rate. We remit to the restaurant partner a net amount equal to the cost of food ordered and packaging charges, less the commission and any restaurant-funded discounts. Separately, the restaurant partner may pay us for any food delivery- related advertisement on the platform.”