MADURAI
Nowadays, it is hard to miss the group of delivery boys, working for various online food delivering platforms, crowding in front of restaurants and eateries in the city, to deliver food to their customers. The increasing presence of online food delivery platforms in the city is helping in boosting their business, say restaurant owners.
Uber Eats, Swiggy and Zomato are some of the main players in the online food delivery market. Since the introduction of these platforms in the city for over a year, there is a change in the eating habits of people.
“Since there are different cuisines available online, I usually order for food items that cannot be cooked at home,” says A. Srinidhi, a resident of Surya Nagar, who regularly orders food online.
Over 400 outlets starting from big restaurants to roadside eateries are now accessible through these platforms.
Though there is a marginal decline in the number of dine-in customers, the food items are sold easily through these platforms, says K. Kamalanathan, manager of a restaurant chain in the city. “With the increasing traffic congestion and less availability of parking space, customers prefer ordering food through these apps,” he says.
With hundreds of restaurants and eateries being registered under these platforms, the roadside eateries have benefitted the most. The sales have doubled in a year, says K. Krishna, owner of Bismi Hotel, which gets around 400 online orders every day.
“Due to space constraints we cannot accommodate a large number of customers inside our outlet,” he says.
In fact, for many roadside eateries, business is done mainly through these platforms, says K.L. Kumar, president, Madurai District Hotel Owners’ Association. “With no walk-in customers, many eateries are earning higher profits through these platforms,” he says.
By delivering food even by extending outside the periphery of the city- Othakadai, Viraganoor, Oomachikulam, the platforms have increased the customer base for the eateries.
A sales manager of a food delivery platform, who supervises the deliveries in the city, says that the platforms have performed better than what the companies had expected. “The reach of the platforms among youngsters is on rise and we expect a good growth trajectory,” said the manager.
The customers of the online food delivery platforms are enticed by the discounts that are being offered. The discount offered to the customers is equally shared by the restaurants and the food delivering platforms.
The companies fix the prices in such a way that even after extending the discount, they earn profit, says R. Karthik, who runs ‘Chicken Mafia’. “Even though the profit margin is reduced, the increase in sales ensures that there are no leftovers, which is a great relief for restaurant owners,” he says.
Although food is delivered quickly to the customers, rash driving among delivery boys is a major point of concern. Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Joseph Nixon says that many delivery boys violate traffic rules in order to ensure quicker delivery for higher ratings. “From the use of mobile phones to overtaking, jumping signals and zigzagging through busy roads, delivery boys are found constantly flouting basic traffic rules. After continuous awareness and penalties, we are hoping to bring down the number of violators,” he says.
