Zomato To Charge Additional Rain Fee For Gold Users From May 16

A week after Zomato announced that it is putting its 50:50 refund-sharing policy with restaurants on hold, the foodtech major has now rolled out a key change to its Gold membership benefits.

The foodtech major has quietly announced via its app that starting May 16, it will begin charging an additional rain fee even for users subscribed to its Gold membership plan. 

This move will likely disappoint many Gold members as the cost was previously waived as part of the membership perks.

In the notification, Zomato said, “Starting May 16, surge fee waiver during rains will not be part of your Gold benefits.” It further added, “This fee helps us compensate our delivery partners better during rains.”

Zomato has long applied rain surcharges, typically starting from INR 10–15 during bad weather, but Gold members were previously exempted from these fees.

But, it looks like this is going to add to growing frustration around hidden costs and shrinking perks in the quick commerce space.

Just in March, Inc42 reported that consumer outrage around dark patterns on 10-minute delivery apps has steadily increased, just like the platforms’ revenues. 

While players like Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy are on track to collectively rake in close to $2 Bn in revenue by the end of FY25, many consumers believe this growth is built on hidden charges and manipulative design practices that often discriminate based on income groups, neighbourhoods, and user profiles.

It is important to note that dark patterns have become a sore point in the quick commerce growth story. 

Dark patterns refer to user interface and experience designs that compromise consumer autonomy and push them toward choices not in their best interest.

The guidelines list several types of dark patterns — including false urgency, basket sneaking, confirmation shaming (which guilts users into certain choices), forced actions (where unrelated steps are required to complete a task), and subscription traps that make cancellations difficult.

Zomato’s adjusted EBITDA stood at INR 428 Cr in the March quarter, up 56% year-on-year (YoY) and 2% sequentially. Adjusted revenue rose 17% YoY and down 0.2% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to INR 2,409 Cr.  

Besides, Zomato delisted 19,000 restaurants in Q4 and said it would shut its Quick and Everyday services.