When it come to the food delivery segment, Swiggy and Zomato are the undisputed leaders in India. There is, however, a third player as well, and it has been in the market for a while, though it started gaining popularity only in recent days.
The service is called ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) and is an initiative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Both Swiggy and Zomato, on the other hand, are private companies.
What is ONDC?
Incorporated in December 2021, ONDC is an aggregator of all products and services; it allows customers to order food, buy clothes, purchase movie tickets, order groceries, and electronics with just one click. Significantly, when a person orders food via ONDC, the delivery is made directly by the restaurant, without the need to involve a third-party (in this case, Swiggy and Zomato).
How to use ONDC?
It is not a separate app that can be downloaded from the Play Store. Users must, therefore, navigate to ondc.org to use it. Also, it works as UPI, which means it can be added to existing apps such as Paytm, PhonePe, Meesho etc.
The service can be availed on Paytm as well. There, people must type ONDC on the search bar, and order food from a restaurant.
ONDC vs Swiggy/Zomato
HT’s sister publication Mint did a price comparison among the three. The price of Big Tandoori Paneer Burger, for example, was ₹359 for both Swiggy and Zomato, while it was ₹270 on ONDC, nearly 25% lower.
Availability
Citing reports, Mint noted that ONDC has crossed the 10,000-daily order mark. As of September 2022, it was being beta tested at 16 locations across Bengaluru. The city also hosted alpha tests in April last year, before the process was extended to more than 80 cities by September.
