Diwali sees strong delivery orders as dine-in slows in major cities

From favourite food items to last minute preparations, delivery portals come through for consumers

Dine-in was soft in most cities, including in Mumbai and Delhi-NCR, on Diwali, while online food orders kept delivery executives many times busier than on any normal day. 

  Aggregator platforms saw rising orders for products across categories — from burgers and pizzas to son papdi. Quick commerce also did brisk business amid last-minute preparations for the festival. 

With Diwali being celebrated on two days, sales got bifurcated, according to Puneet Kohli, director of Sita Ram Diwan Chand — a well-known chole bhatoore spot in Delhi’s Paharganj area. 

  “While we do somewhere around 1,000 plates a day, we did 1,500 plates on Thursday, when most of Delhi was celebrating Diwali. On Friday, we sold around 1,400 plates. Most of these orders were through delivery as people preferred to stay in,” Kohli said. 

  For many restaurants it was the first time staying open on the day of Diwali. “Because there was some confusion about the dates, we stayed open in Mumbai on Thursday, when north India celebrated Diwali. While dine-in sales were soft in the city, delivery performed very well,” said Zorawar Kalra, founder, Massive Restaurants that operates brands like Farzi Cafe, Slyce Pizza and Louis Burger. 

  In Delhi, lunch was soft and dine-in venues closed by 4 pm, but delivery orders saw a phenomenal uptick, Kalra said. ‘’We saw a high double digit growth for Louis Burger and a triple-digit growth for Slyce Pizza in the city on Thursday,” he added.

  Among others, quick service restaurant (QSR) chain Wow! Momo saw a 20-25 per cent rise from last Diwali in delivery orders. 

  “We have seen that dine-in usually takes a backseat on big festival days as people prefer to celebrate at home. While chhoti Diwali saw a huge rush for dine-in, delivery stood out on Thursday when north India was celebrating Diwali,” said Sagar Daryani, co-founder and chief executive officer at Wow! Momo.

  Movies also play a role on how and where food is served.  

“On Friday, with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 hitting the theatres, footfall at malls picked up and we are seeing a considerable rise in dine-in numbers again” Daryani said. 

  As for quick commerce, Diwali orders ranging from sweets to diyas to decorative lights saw a huge surge. Quick commerce major Zepto sold as many as 700,000 soan papdi boxes, 1 million curated Diwali gift boxes, and 69,000 festival bags on the occasion, chief executive officer (CEO) Aadit Palicha shared in a post on social media platform LinkedIn.

  “Thank you for letting us bring the festivities to your doorstep,” Palicha wrote in the post.

  Zepto is currently the third-largest q-com firm in India with a 22 per cent market share, as of January 2024. Zomato-owned Blinkit is the market leader with a 40 per cent share, followed by Swiggy Instamart at 32 per cent, according to a report by 

HSBC Global.

 

Compared to last year, Zepto witnessed a 20-fold increase in sales of decorative lights, a nine-fold increase in sales of gold and silver coins, a seven-fold increase in candies, and a six-fold growth in diya sales. Mithai sales on the platform grew three-fold from last Diwali, and Zepto sold twice as many gift boxes as it did last year. 

Other prominent quick commerce players are yet to share their Diwali delivery numbers.    

DELIVERY ON DEMAND

- Quick service restaurant chain Wow! Momo logged 20-25% rise in delivery orders

- Qcom major Zepto sold 700,000 soan papdi boxes

- It saw 20-fold increase in sales of decorative lights

- Movies lead to rise in footfall at malls