Indian online delivery platforms served 65 lakh food orders on New Year’s Eve

There were 65 lakh online food delivery orders from Zomato, Swiggy and others on the New Year’s Eve 2023, setting a record and delivering 18 per cent higher volumes than the New Year’s Eve 2022, a report showed on Thursday.

The average order value (AOV) on the day was also at least 30 per cent higher compared to other days of the year, according to market research firm Redseer Strategy Consultants.

“Spike days like the IPL, Cricket World Cups, Diwali, NYE etc. are critical for online food delivery services as customers order more and spend more,” said Abhijit Routray, Associate Partner at Redseer.

It is also important for the brands and platforms to be able to serve the increased load on these days as customer experience cannot be hampered on these celebratory occasions, he added.

The day started with gross merchandise value (GMV) in breakfast (orders placed between 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.) being 1.5-2 times the daily average of the year.

The GMV peaked in the dinner and late-night orders, being 2.5-3 times the average of other days.

“Another dimension to premiumisation was people ordering from premium restaurants to treat themselves on the day,” the report noted.

Given the super-normal demand, platforms were able to step up to provide superior customer experience on the day with customers across city tiers expressing high satisfaction with food quality, packaging, delivery time and in-app discounts.