Walmart-backed Flipkart has rolled out an immediate effect platform fee of INR 3 on its e-commerce platform. Further, the company has a platform fee of INR 5 in its quick commerce offering, Flipkart Minutes. This move will help Flipkart to increase revenues and help keep changes in the industry piling up better.
New Charge On Large Orders
Orders above INR 10,000 on Flipkart will now charge of INR 3 more per order. For items purchased worth INR 15,000 will attract an additional INR 15 charge. This charge, however, won’t be levied on orders through Flipkart Grocery and its travel vertical, Cleartrip. Interestingly, Myntra, Flipkart’s fashion arm already has such a fee in place.
Flipkart Fee Matches Quick Commerce Rivals
The introduction of the platform fee comes at a time when Flipkart has increased its focus on the quick commerce category with Flipkart Minutes, which is live in a few pin codes and touts delivery within 8-16 minutes. It is part of Flipkart’s bid to boost overall revenues and profits as it fights for a share in the changing e-commerce landscape.
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The new fee for e-commerce major Flipkart has brought the company at par with others regarding the handling fees now being charged by other quick commerce platforms. In comparison, Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart have a charge of INR 4-5 per order, Zepto has a charge of INR 9.99, while major e-commerce rival Amazon does not charge a platform or handling fee; neither does Meesho, which has just announced profitability in Q3 2023.
New Fee Amidst Rising Charges
The platform fee has been introduced at a time when, under Walmart’s ownership, Flipkart would look to push for more international sales. In Q2, they saw double-digit topline growth alongside an improvement in contribution margins. Last month, food aggregator rivals Swiggy and Zomato were also hiking their platform fees to ₹ 6 per order in key markets like Delhi and Bengaluru.
Fees are exclusive of GST and restaurant charges, irrespective of whether users subscribe to premium services such as Zomato Gold or Swiggy One, which normally waive off delivery charges.
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