Swiggy Super: Can it be as successful as Zomato in driving paid subscription?

Rolling out paid subscription programme to create a loyal customer base has been emerging as a strong trend amongst consumer-facing Internet companies. After Amazon and Zomato, foodtech major Swiggy is launching low ticketsize subscription - Swiggy Super this week.

Leveraging Swiggy Super, subscribers will avail unlimited free deliveries across all restaurants listed on the Meituan-backed company. The monthly subscription will be priced between Rs 99 to 149. Swiggy also plans to have a quarterly subscription, however, pricing for it is yet to be ascertained (via Mint).

The move seems to be inspired from rival Zomato’s subscription Piggybank. Launched a few weeks ago, Zomato Piggybank lets users save 10 per cent every time they order with the Alibaba-backed company.

Besides enjoying unlimited deliveries, Swiggy Super’s subscribers will also be exempted from surge fee (applicable during peak hours or rainy days) and entitled to exclusive deals offered by restaurant partners.

The Bengaluru-based company will cover over 2,00,000 users across 7 cities in the beginning. It plans opening up Swiggy Super to all users by October this year.

Zomato is having a ball with paid subscription programmes

Paid subscription plan in India was first introduced by Amazon (Amazon Prime) in July 2016. Since then, the global online retail behemoth has amassed about 10 million Prime subscribers in India. However, Zomato turned first vertical player in the country to evangelise multiple subscription programmes.

Last June, the Gurugram-based company had introduced Zomato Treat, a subscription (priced at Rs 249) that lets subscribers avail a free dessert with every meal they order. Five months later, it launched another paid subscription -  Zomato Gold.

Priced at Rs 599 for a monthly subscription, Zomato Gold extends special perks like a complimentary dish, and up to 2 complimentary drinks, every time you dine out or hit the bar at any of its partner restaurants.

Both paid subscriptions have worked for the Deepinder Goyal-led firm. While Treat has about 2,50,000 subscribers, Gold already has crossed 4,00,000 members.

Buoyed by acceptance of the aforementioned loyalty programme,  Zomato had launched Piggybank this month. Within 2 days, the premium membership program had received 200,000 sign-ups.

Paid subscription: New frontier of battle for Zomato and Swiggy

Food delivery business has been dominated by Swiggy. However, a rather latecomer Zomato is catching on fast since past 12 months. It hit 3 million monthly delivery mark in August and within a year it claimed to touch 13 million deliveries. In comparison, Swiggy has a monthly order run rate of about 16-17 million.

Experts believe that acquisition of Runnr and a slew of subscription services have worked in favour of Zomato in past one year. Moreover, Zomato tends to be preferred by premium customers while Swiggy is a sort of mass brand (just like Uber and Ola preference).

Driving paid subscription becomes easy with the premium customer base as they don’t mind paying for convenience and exclusivity. Nevertheless, Swiggy has more customer base and frequent consumers don't mind paying as little as Rs 149 for a bouquet of benefits.

Ultimately, with Swiggy Super, Zomato finally will get some serious competition, and the ongoing fight between the two is slated to become more fierce.