Vicious cycle of incentives in food delivery firms: How long will it last?

Food delivery firms incentivise both consumers and delivery agents. The incentive-only model will likely reach saturation quickly, and then will begin the inevitable decline

On March 22, Deepinder Goyal, co-founder and CEO of Zomato, posted a photograph of a delivery agent associated with the platform standing beside his spanking new Maruti Suzuki Swift car. The post, which was accompanied with the hashtag #ChaingingIndia, hinted at the kind of opportunity Zomato offered to relatively unskilled workers. While being complimented for changing the lives of many who would otherwise struggle to find employment, a few wondered whether a delivery agent would be able to bear the cost of running a car. “Is he an on-roll or off-roll employee,” asked one.

An overwhelming majority of the delivery agents