Zomato to launch new app 'District' to capture its 'going-out' market

The District app will include Zomato's dining-out business and incorporate additional use cases like movies, sports ticketing, live performances, shopping, and staycation

Food aggregator Zomato is launching a new app, District, to expand its services beyond its core food delivery and quick commerce business. The new platform aims to consolidate various ‘going-out’ services such as dining, movies, sports ticketing, live performances, shopping, and staycations, creating a one-stop destination for customers.

In a communication to shareholders following Zomato’s first-quarter results, CEO Deepinder Goyal outlined the potential for significant growth with this new venture. He emphasized that Zomato and Blinkit are currently serving customers’ needs at home, but there is a large opportunity to expand into the going-out market. Goyal highlighted the profitability of Zomato’s dining-out business, which is operating at a run rate of over $500 million in annualised Gross Order Value (GOV).

 

How will the District app work?

Goyal believes building a comprehensive app for going-out services could be a game changer. The District app will build on the existing dining-out business and incorporate additional use cases like movies, sports ticketing, live performances, shopping, and staycations.

The move is aimed at making ‘going-out’ the third large B2C business to emerge from Zomato.

“Building a one-stop destination app for going-out could be a game changer for each of these use cases, and we intend to do exactly that with our new District (by Zomato) app. If we execute this well, we see going-out becoming the 3rd large B2C business emerging out of Zomato,” Goyal said.

Zomato’s strategic app move

The launch of District positions Zomato as a competitor to platforms like BookMyShow. In June, Zomato confirmed to the exchanges that it is in talks with Paytm to acquire its movies and ticketing business, further solidifying its foray into the going-out segment.

Unlike its rivals Swiggy and BigBasket, Zomato has not built a super app. Instead, it focuses on combining its Dining-out and Zomato Live business verticals under the new District app. This strategic move aims to offer a seamless and comprehensive experience for customers looking for various going-out activities.

Zomato Q1FY25 results

Zomato reported a net profit of Rs 253 crore for Q1FY25, a significant increase from the Rs 2 crore net profit reported during the same quarter last year. Revenue for Zomato rose by nearly 74 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,206 crore, compared to Rs 1,416 crore last year.
 

However, Blinkit, Zomato’s quick-commerce business, reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) of a negative Rs 3 crore, despite adding 113 stores, surpassing their guidance of 100 stores.