Amazon India planning to take on Zomato, Swiggy? New dine-in payments feature spotted

Amazon India is currently testing a dine-in payments feature to engage customers. The service is currently available in certain areas of Bengaluru. The new feature will allow users to make payments through various methods such as credit/debit cards, net banking, UPI, or Amazon Pay Later. Additionally, Amazon India is providing discounts on bill payments at nearly all participating restaurants. The new payment options were spotted by TechCrunch.

Zomato and Swiggy are two of the biggest brands that already dominate the arena of in-restaurant payment options. The aggregators also offer heavy discounts to attract more customers. Zomato allows users to go to select restaurants and pay via their own app in order to avail substantial discounts. Zomato also introduced an offer under 'Dining Carnival' offer. Which let Gold users book a time slot at a restaurant for a nominal amount and then avail up to 50 per cent flat discount on the total bill. Similarly, Swiggy is offering flat 50 per cent off on restaurant dine-in bills under the Great Indian Restaraunt Festival (GIRF).

Also read: CEO Deepinder Goyal's ESOPs cost Zomato Rs 143 crore in H2FY23

Earlier this year, Amazon joined the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative established by India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry. While its participation in ONDC is limited, the goal is to create an "interoperable" network for sellers, providing an alternative to relying solely on centralized marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart.

Amazon Hikes Seller Fees

Effective May 31, Amazon India will implement higher seller fees across several significant categories, including apparels, beauty products, groceries, and medicines. This fee hike may result in increased product prices on the platform, as sellers are expected to pass on the additional costs to customers. Additionally, Amazon India will substantially raise its fees for managing product returns.

Also read: 'You'll never go to Amazon': Bill Gates believes AI will change the way we shop and search