Food delivery operations, dining out and quick commerce services were partly disrupted in Bengaluru due to heavy rainfall.
Major quick commerce platforms including BigBasket, Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart, and Blinkit operations were partially disrupted in some pin codes.
Platforms have charged heavy rain surge prices, higher minimum order requirements, and with fewer SKUs in some areas.
“At Zepto, our top priority is the safety of our delivery partners, especially during adverse weather. While certain areas in Bengaluru and Chennai were temporarily unserviceable due to heavy rains, we remain committed to serving our users,” said Vikas Sharma, COO, Zepto.
“Our teams are equipped with enhanced safety gear, and we’re taking all necessary precautions to ensure safe and efficient deliveries during this time,” he added.
Platforms also coordinated with delivery partners to plan out routes, noted players.
“While our operations were temporarily affected in some areas due to rains, our teams on ground are trying to be operational for our customers,” said Blinkit spokesperson.
“During monsoons and any other extreme weather conditions, our primary focus is on safety. Our delivery partners are equipped with raincoats to navigate the weather. As soon as our delivery partners update us about affected routes, we immediately blacklist those temporarily. Also, our proprietary weather stations actively communicate weather forecasts that help us and our delivery partners and to plan better,” the spokesperson added.
Not just quick commerce, dine outs have also seen a sharp decline noted industry experts.
“Yesterday was a complete washout, with nearly 70-80 per cent drop in footfall as people were cautious of stepping out. We already had a slow start to the month because of Ganesh Chaturthi, long weekends and if the rainfall trickles over to weekend it will be a killer blow for the month,” said Chethan Hegde, chapter head of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) in Bengaluru.