Online food delivery platforms log just 7% spike in orders during IPL 2023

NEW DELHI: Online food delivery platforms saw a modest 7 per cent spike in orders during the just-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) season, a report showed on Friday.

In comparison, the online food delivery platforms dominated by the likes of Zomato and Swiggy garnered 50 per cent food order growth during IPL-2020.

The online food delivery platforms (OFD) took a softened approach during IPL-2023, leading to a modest spike in the business, according to the report by Redseer Strategy Consultants.

During the IPL seasons from 2017 to 2020, OFD giants made a significant presence on prime-time television through their advertisements.

"They enticed viewers with attractive discounts ranging from 50-60 per cent at a wide array of restaurants. Additionally, they integrated their offerings with OTT platforms and created customised advertisements for maximum impact," said Kushal Bhatnagar, Associate Partner, Redseer Strategy Consultants.

These efforts even led to a spike of more than 50 per cent in the IPL 2020 season.

However, in the 2023 IPL season, there was a noticeable change in the approach.

Despite the limited action by OFD platforms, IPL-2023 generated online food ordering use-cases among tier 2 and beyond consumers, wherein the spike was almost 2.5 times of mature consumers in the metro/tier 1 markets.

"This hints towards the ability of spike events to drive habit formation among not-so-mature-users in India," said the report.