 "Festive season to boost gig rider demand by 40% on quick commerce platforms")
The demand for gig delivery riders on quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto could increase by 40 per cent on peak-demand days during the festive season. The overall home delivery sector is expected to hire an additional 1-2 million gig riders during this period, according to a report by The Economic Times.
Ecommerce and food delivery platforms are expected to recruit about 20 per cent more gig riders for the peak festive season.
The report quoted Balasubramanian Anantha Narayanan, senior vice-president at manpower solutions firm TeamLease, indicating that currently quick commerce employs around 300,000-400,000 riders, whereas ecommerce and food delivery sectors have a much larger workforce of 4-5 million gig riders, with approximately two-thirds of them engaged in the ecommerce sector.
He said quick commerce currently accounts for a small portion of overall demand, but it is growing rapidly.
The report quoted executives as saying that a portion of this rising demand is likely to be met by riders who will take on gig work temporarily during the festive season.
Riders eye festive windfall
Delivery workers are expecting an increase in their earnings during the upcoming festive season, driven by higher demand and peak-hour bonuses, the report said.
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According to riders for quick-commerce platforms in major cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad, they typically earn between Rs 20 to Rs 30 per order. This amount varies based on the size of the order and the distance travelled. In addition to their per-order earnings, riders receive surge bonuses during periods of high demand, as well as incentives for completing a specific number of orders or hours worked. They can also earn financial rewards for referring recruits, especially during peak season.
Surge benefit boost pay
The news report quoted a Swiggy Instamart delivery worker in Hyderabad of receiving an extra Rs 15 per order as ‘surge benefit’ during peak hours recently. Meanwhile, a Blinkit delivery worker in Delhi mentioned earning an additional Rs 13 per order during peak hours on recent festive days.
Moreover, delivery workers can earn extra incentives by surpassing a certain number of completed orders or by working a specified number of hours, the report said.
The Instamart worker mentioned earlier earned Rs 1,200 from completing 22 orders recently, averaging about Rs 54 per order. Meanwhile, a Blinkit worker in Delhi made Rs 1,800 from 32 deliveries on the Rakhi festival, amounting to Rs 56 per order.
Long hours, few rewards
However, achieving such earnings often requires ‘unrealistic and grueling’ work, with delivery workers putting in 12–14-hour shifts, the report said. The report quoted Shaik Salauddin, president of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, saying that the platforms should offer workers basic business assurances, increased pay, and additional benefits.
“When everyone is home with their family during the festive season, the delivery worker is out there on the roads. The platforms should understand this and provide better benefits during this period,” he said, as quoted by the report.