The Rise and Fall of Zomato Gold
Launched in 2017, Zomato Gold, first of its kind, drew the attention of a large number of young Indians who were excited to try the new addition to the food delivery app. As per the scheme, subscribers were to get access to complimentary food and drinks at over 1,200 top-rated restaurant partners, when they place an order. Upon its launch, Zomato Gold was made available at an inaugural price of ₹299 for 3 months and ₹999 for 12 months.
Zomato Gold quickly gained popularity amongst people in metropolitan cities and due to its availability at top restaurants, one saw an increase in the number of customers in restaurants and the customers in turn enjoyed availing their 1+1 on food or 2+2 on drinks offer.
Right from the time of its launch, Zomato Gold saw numbers rising- both in the number of people subscribing to the programme and also the number of restaurants enrolling in the scheme. Zomato Gold had crossed 150,000 subscribers within three months of its launch which represented a growth of 477% in three months, as Zomato had about 26,000 subscribers, apparently just around seven-eight hours after its launch. The number of partner restaurants also grew from 1100 to 2300 within the time frame.
Just when Zomato saw the increasing rise in the number of people subscribe to the scheme, they increased the price of subscription to ₹599 for 3 months and ₹1499 for 12 months. Today, the price of subscription has gone up to ₹2400 for 12 months. This constant increase in the price of subscription kept previous subscribers from re subscribing to the scheme which drove a notable part of their customer base to reduce. To add to this, as people started discovering loopholes in the scheme and taking advantage of them, Zomato started making their rules and regulations about the use of Zomato Gold even more strict.
The rising number of customers due to Zomato Gold did look enticing to the restaurants initially, however soon after it became a reason for trouble. The deep discounts began to affect the profits of the restaurants negatively and they felt that Zomato was not taking into consideration the problems they were facing. This was a major set off for Zomato as by the end of 2018 restaurants started to opt out of their partnership with them and as of last month, 2000 out of 6500 restaurant partners with Zomato Gold had enrolled out of the scheme. To add to this National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), a trade body that represents more than 500,000 restaurants in the country, kick-started a #LogOut campaign against Zomato and other dining startups. In response to the protests and requests of the restaurants, Zomato made major changes this September, however NRAI still feels the changes are not enough.
Zomato Gold’s restructuring now allows users to use Gold only once a day, and a maximum of 2 Gold per table. These new changes made with the intention of catering to the demands of the partner restaurants, has left the customer base dissatisfied.
Zomato now seems to be caught in a trade off between making its partners or customers happy and finding a middle ground is a necessity. Zomato recently enrolled Gold for delivery but people who are used to availing a lot more benefits from this scheme, can’t seem to happily settle with the new restrictions. Only a thoughtful plan that works out for all the parties involved can help Zomato Gold thrive again.
Zomato Gold quickly gained popularity amongst people in metropolitan cities and due to its availability at top restaurants, one saw an increase in the number of customers in restaurants and the customers in turn enjoyed availing their 1+1 on food or 2+2 on drinks offer.
Right from the time of its launch, Zomato Gold saw numbers rising- both in the number of people subscribing to the programme and also the number of restaurants enrolling in the scheme. Zomato Gold had crossed 150,000 subscribers within three months of its launch which represented a growth of 477% in three months, as Zomato had about 26,000 subscribers, apparently just around seven-eight hours after its launch. The number of partner restaurants also grew from 1100 to 2300 within the time frame.
Just when Zomato saw the increasing rise in the number of people subscribe to the scheme, they increased the price of subscription to ₹599 for 3 months and ₹1499 for 12 months. Today, the price of subscription has gone up to ₹2400 for 12 months. This constant increase in the price of subscription kept previous subscribers from re subscribing to the scheme which drove a notable part of their customer base to reduce. To add to this, as people started discovering loopholes in the scheme and taking advantage of them, Zomato started making their rules and regulations about the use of Zomato Gold even more strict.
The rising number of customers due to Zomato Gold did look enticing to the restaurants initially, however soon after it became a reason for trouble. The deep discounts began to affect the profits of the restaurants negatively and they felt that Zomato was not taking into consideration the problems they were facing. This was a major set off for Zomato as by the end of 2018 restaurants started to opt out of their partnership with them and as of last month, 2000 out of 6500 restaurant partners with Zomato Gold had enrolled out of the scheme. To add to this National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), a trade body that represents more than 500,000 restaurants in the country, kick-started a #LogOut campaign against Zomato and other dining startups. In response to the protests and requests of the restaurants, Zomato made major changes this September, however NRAI still feels the changes are not enough.
Zomato Gold’s restructuring now allows users to use Gold only once a day, and a maximum of 2 Gold per table. These new changes made with the intention of catering to the demands of the partner restaurants, has left the customer base dissatisfied.
Zomato now seems to be caught in a trade off between making its partners or customers happy and finding a middle ground is a necessity. Zomato recently enrolled Gold for delivery but people who are used to availing a lot more benefits from this scheme, can’t seem to happily settle with the new restrictions. Only a thoughtful plan that works out for all the parties involved can help Zomato Gold thrive again.
Cedrus Wealth Partners
Pune, Maharashtra.
www.cedruswealth.com
Pune, Maharashtra.
www.cedruswealth.com
No comments:
Post a Comment