Swiggy Experiments With Social Commerce To Boost Dineout Vertical

Listed foodtech startup Swiggy has rolled out a short-form promotional video feature under its Dineout segment. 

Under this feature, users can scroll through a “reels” like feed within the app showcasing the multiple restaurants listed on the Swiggy Dineout platform. Users can further check availability on bookings for a particular restaurant as well as avail discounts. Besides, Bites also allows users to react in the videos and share them.

Bites is currently active in select metro cities such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. It is unclear if this new feature is rolled out by Swiggy as part of its advertising and promotional initiatives or if restaurants have to pay to post the promotional short videos on the platform.

Inc42 has reached out to Swiggy for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on their response.

The offering is eerily similar to what many ecommerce platforms like Meesho or Flipkart have been exploring under social commerce. Social commerce blends social media and online shopping, where product discovery, engagement and purchases happen directly within social platforms. 

Instead of browsing standalone ecommerce websites, consumers land products through influencers, short videos, livestreams and community-driven recommendations, creating a more interactive and trust-based buying experience. 

While this is common from ecommerce platforms, this might be the first time when a major foodtech player is experimenting with social commerce.

The social commerce experimentation is in-line with Swiggy’s spree of experimentation in recent times. The company has been consistently introducing new features or launching consumer apps at intervals.

In terms of new feature introductions, Swiggy brought in DeskEats in August this year. Meanwhile, it launched separate apps for its concierge service ‘Crew’, 15-minute food delivery app Snacc, economic-meal food delivery app ‘toing’, and services app Pyng this year.

However, it cannot be overlooked that some of its fast launches have been shut down including delivery service Genie, SaaS platform Minis and Pyng this year.

Despite the experimentation spree, Swiggy has been plunging deeper into losses over the past few quarters. In Q2 FY26, Swiggy’s net loss swelled 74% YoY to INR 1,092 Cr although its operating revenue increased 54% YoY to INR 5,561 Cr. 

In this the “Out Of Home Consumption” segment, which operates DineOut and SteppinOut offerings, reported a profit of INR 6 Cr in the quarter under review as against a loss of INR 9 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Its operating revenue surged 49% YoY to INR 88 Cr.

Shares of Swiggy ended today’s trading session up 2.77% at INR 399.10.