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    Zomato Gold returns with discounts on delivery and dining out

    Synopsis

    According to company sources, the Gold membership is currently being offered on an invite-only basis. However, users with existing Pro memberships are being offered Gold subscriptions for three months.

    ZOMATO GOLD MEMBERSHIP RELAUNCHETtech
    Food tech platform Zomato has relaunched its Gold subscription programme.

    This comes almost 30 months after Gold was replaced by Zomato Pro, which was also shut down last year.

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    Sources said Gold is currently an invite-only programme. However, users with existing Pro memberships are being offered Gold subscriptions for three months.

    Last month, Zomato chief executive Deepinder Goyal tweeted a teaser of the Gold programme making a comeback.

    The new Zomato Gold membership is being offered at Rs 149 for a three-month subscription. This is a discount to the Rs 999 quarterly membership.

    Under the programme, subscribers will get free deliveries at restaurants that are within 10 kilometres on orders above Rs 199.

    Gold members will also get discounts on food deliveries and dining out.

    Additionally, the terms for Zomato's co-branded credit card with RBL Bank have also been amended. Initially, the Zomato Edition credit card holders were given a Zomato Pro membership co-terminus with the credit card, but the Pro membership has been cut short till February 23. Upon expiry of the Zomato Pro membership, the users will be given a three-month membership of Zomato Gold.

    In June 2020, the food delivery app shelved the Zomato Gold programme in favour of Zomato Pro, which had several privileges and discounts for dining out and delivery.

    The previous version of Zomato Gold membership offered several benefits for subscribers, including a 1+1 offer on food and beverages at restaurants.

    In August last year it discontinued Zomato Pro, months after it shut down its premium loyalty programme Zomato Pro Plus, which was launched in 2021.

    ET has reported previously that the company was working on a new loyalty programme.

    The new offering from Zomato is set to take on rival Swiggy's loyalty programme Swiggy One.

    During its earnings call for the second quarter, the company indicated that it would soon come up with a new loyalty programme.

    Speaking at the company's earnings call, Zomato's chief financial officer Akshant Goyal said: “On loyalty programmes, we are aware of what the competition is doing, and we had one of our own, which we discontinued. It’s a business call. There are pros and cons of the kind of loyalty programme that is out there in the market today”.

    He added that the company was working on “something more differentiated”.

    The company last month also rolled out Zomato Pay, through which users can make payments at partner restaurants from its app. The new service is live in 12 cities in India and the UAE, and Zomato said it plans to scale it up rapidly.

    Zomato reported a decline in its consolidated loss to Rs 250.80 crore during the second quarter, from a loss of Rs 434.90 crore a year ago.

    Last year, hundreds of restaurant outlets went offline from Swiggy’s dining out platform after industry body, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), told members that discount programmes such as Zomato Pay and Swiggy Diner were against the interests of restaurant owners.

    Swiggy also operates a loyalty programme called Swiggy One, under which it offers a common membership for the bouquet of services it provides, including food delivery, quick-commerce and local door-to-door package delivery. Swiggy One was launched last November.

    In May, Swiggy also acquired dining out platform Dineout from Times Internet in an all-stock deal worth around $120 million.

    Times Internet is the digital media arm of Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd (Times Group), which publishes the Economic Times.

    ET reported earlier this week that Zomato was shutting down its 10-minute delivery service Zomato Instant, as it chases profitability among tough market conditions.
    The Economic Times

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