Chapter V

Findings Suggestions & Conclusion

5.1 Introduction

This section of the thesis elaborates the findings of the study based on the data analysis. The

interpretations drawn are purely on the basis of data collected and analysed using the

systematic and scientific tools for data analysis such as hypotheses testing. Though it can’t

be concluded that the findings can be generalized for the all the regions where Zomato and

Swiggy operates in India as the factor determining the behaviour of consumers and taste &

preference may vary from region to region based on their social & cultural environment.

Having said that it definitely provides foundation for overall formulation and implementation

of marketing strategies for these two firms.

The later part of this section speaks about the suggestion for the both the firms which may be

considered as groundwork for their marketing strategy formulation process.

The chapter also provides the list of research that could be taken up by research scholar in the

future. The chapter ends with conclusion of the study addresses the objectives of the study.

5.2 Findings

Following are the findings of the study

1. Of the total 1111 respondent 33 respondents did not reveal their age group. Majority

of the respondent were between the age of 18 to 60, only 1% were below 18 years of

age and 2% above 60 years and above. 40% of the respondents were between the age

group of 25 to 40 years, 36% belonged to 40 to 60 years age group where as 21%

were from 18 to 25 age group.

2. This age group distribution ensured that the respondent profile was balanced and the

majority of the users and buyers were reached by the researcher.

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3. The occupation profile of the respondents shows that 63% belonged to the category of

service employees which includes public, private sector and government employees.

19% of the respondent comprised of student community and 18% were self-

employed. This information is essential to understand the occupation wise preference

of the customers for online food delivery services.

4. The attempt was made make sure that there is gender parity in the respondent profile.

All possible efforts were made sure equal no of male and female respondent were

reached. At the end it is observed that 57% of the respondents were male and 43%

were female respondents. 55 respondents did not mention their gender.

5. The profile of the respondents shows that majority of the respondents were from

Bengaluru south i.e. 56% of the respondents whereas 28% were residents of

Bengaluru North and remaining 16% were from Bengaluru Central. This data is vital

to know the purchase behavior of customers from various geographical areas.

6. When analyzed the profile of the respondents it is observed that 42% of the

respondents were part of a family with 3 to 5 members, 38% were from less than 3

members family i.e., mostly couples and remaining 20% were part of family with

more than 5 members. This information provides important data to compare buying

behavior and preference of customers belonging to various family composition.

7. 99% of the respondents agree that they are aware of the online food delivery services.

Only 1% answered as neutral saying that they neither agree nor disagree. It is possible

that these people know about the services but may not be aware of specific service

providers, hence they were treated as eligible respondents. 57 had answered

negatively to this question hence, during the editing these responses were treated as

invalid and non-eligible and were removed from data set.

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8. 99% of the respondents were aware of the various online food delivery service

providers, only 1% answered as neither agree nor disagree.

9. 86% of the respondents are using at least one of the mobile applications of online food

retailers in the family 5% were not sure and reaming 9% did not use any of the mobile

applications for online food order.

10. Of the total 66% of the respondents have ordered food online in the last month, 8%

were not sure whereas 18% haven’t ordered in food online on the last one month. This

shows majority of the respondents are frequent users of the online food delivery

services.

11. It is observed that most of the respondents prefer ordering food online i.e., 61%. Only

17% mentioned that they don’t prefer online mode of ordering food. 22% of the

respondents were unsure of their decision to order food online.

12. Large no of respondents i.e., 76% prefer comparing the food choices available before

deciding the platform to order. Only 10% of the respondents disagreed with the

proposition. This clearly indicates that choice of food it the top priority and not the

platform.

13. 57% of the respondents have used company website for ordering the food. 27% never

used the website for food orders and 16% of the them are not sure using the website.

This indicate that most preferred mode of ordering food online is mobile application

and not company website.

14. None of the respondent order food online on daily basis. Mostly the orders (55%) are

placed occasionally (once or less in a week), 18% of the respondents order food two

three times a week. 23% order food online rarely and rest only 4% said that they never

ordered food online.

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15. Online Food order for dinner is preferred by 47% where as 27% prefer snacks order

online followed by 19% orders for lunch food and 5% order breakfast

16. The research made an effort to find out type of food that respondent prefer ordering

online, it is seen that 52% don’t have specific preference of type of food for online

food delivery. 20% prefer south Indian food items, 12% order western food, 2% order

Punjabi food & 6% other north Indian delicacies. 4% each prefer deserts and street

food to be ordered online.

17. 41% of the respondents prefer ordering non vegetarian food compared to that of 32%

order vegetarian food items and remaining 27% don’t have specific preference.

18. UPI apps is a choice of 41% of the respondents as preferred mode of payment

followed by 24% cash on delivery, 12% each prefer debit card payment & credit card

payment and remaining 11% prefer internet banking.

19. Zomato and Swiggy are almost equally placed in terms choice of firm for online

order. 50% prefer Zomato and 46% prefer swiggy and 4% are not particular about a

firm.

20. Majority i.e., 61% agree that they would continue to order food online, 31% are not

sure of the decision to continue ordering food online. Only 6% of the respondents

decided to discontinue to ordering food online.

21. Variety of food available is the most influential factor in deciding to go online for

food order, followed by ease of payment, simplicity of using application and delivery

time. It is interesting to note cash on delivery option, advertising and discounts are

least important and influencing factors for online food orders.

22. The awareness level about online food delivery services and firms is high among the

male respondents compared to that of female respondents. 84% of the males and 76%

of female strongly agree that they know about online food delivery firms.

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23. It is observed about those male respondents level of awareness of online food delivery

at door step is higher compared to female respondents. The ratio is 73% to 66%

respectively among male and female who responded as strongly agree. 2% of the

females neither agreed to know nor disagreed about their knowledge of such services.

24. There is a marginal difference between male (67%) and female (63%) respondents

about use of any of the mobile application for online food order in their respective

household. In fact, it is observed that there are females who answered as disagree and

strongly disagree compare to very few males disagreeing.

25. There is no difference among male and female respondents i.e., 60% male v/s 59%

female responded very positively when asked whether they had made any online food

purchase in the last one month. 15% male compared to 20 females responded with

disagreement.

26. 62% & 61% respectively male and female agree that they prefer ordering food online.

Having said that it is clear that male respondents were firm about their preference be it

was agreement or disagreement compare to female respondents.

27. 78% of both the gender agreed that they compare the food choices available before

deciding on the platform they use for ordering the food.

28. There is a significant difference among the gender regarding the use of website of the

for ordering the food. Almost 66% of the male respondents have used website

compared to only 49% of females. But when compared to the use of mobile

application, the usage of website is insignificant.

29. It is interesting to note that when it comes to frequency of ordering food online, 23%

female respondents order food two to three times a week compared to only 16%

males. 64% of Male respondents order food occasionally to that of 43% of female

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 respondents. 8% of the female respondents never ordered food online to that of only

3% of male respondents

30. Dinner (58%) is the most preferred food order followed by snacks (22%) for male

respondents whereas snacks (37%) followed by dinner (32%) is a choice of females.

Men don’t prefer ordering breakfast (2%), the same is slightly higher (10%) among

women.

31. Men were more specific about their food preference compared to women. 59% of

women don’t have specific preference to that of 47% of men. 24% men prefer south

Indian food whereas 15% women prefer south Indian food.

32. The first choice is no vegetarian food for both men and women followed by veg food.

44% men prefer ordering non veg food compared to 38% women & veg is preferred

by 31% men to that of 33% women.

33. UPI payment options are the most preferred by both men and women. 40% men &

41% women prefer UPI mode of payment followed by debit card. More no women

prefer using internet banking (15%) than that of men (9%). Cash on deliver seems to

be the choice of men (15%) whereas only 7% women prefer cash on delivery.

34. Zomato is the first choice of men (51%) and Swiggy is preferred by women (50%).

35. Men are surer about their decision to continue ordering food online which is reflected

in their 71% response agreeing to the statement compared to 55% of women agreeing

to the statement.

36. Factors that influence men the most are variety of food available, ease of payment,

simplicity of use of application, payment methos and delivery time. The factors which

have a least impact are include environmentally friendly packaging, promotional

offers, customization option and advertising. Cash on delivery is the least important

factor for men.

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37. Factors that influence women the most are customer friendly attitude of the delivery

person followed by payment options, variety of food available, simplicity of use of

application and ease of payment. The factors which have a least impact are include

price of the product, environmentally friendly packaging, promotional offers.

Discounts is the least important factor for women.

38. It is observed that people with service as occupation have better level of awareness i.e.

85% compared to self-employed and students. It is interesting to note that awareness

about online food delivery services is lowest among the students i.e. 68%

39. The awareness about online food service provider firm delivering food at doorstep is

also high among employees (77%) to that of self-employed (74%) and students (55%)

40. Use of at least one of the mobile applications is as high as 94% and 95% respectively

among the people who employees and self-employed compared to only 58% of the

students

41. Only 45% of the students had ordered online food in the last one month compared to

85% of the people who are employees and 69% who are self-employees. This is very

important revelation as it shows the that the students are not buying enough on online

food delivery platforms.

42. Almost 73% students prefer buying food online compared to 59% of employees and

58% of the self-employed people. When compared to only 45% actually make the

purchase, it shows that the students are willing to make the purchase but may not have

ability to pay the price.

43. 84% of the respondents with service as occupation compare food variety before

buying the food online to that of 79% of self-employed. Only 55% of the students do

compare the variety of the food available.

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44. As low as only 32% of the students have visited the company website for food order

compared to 66% of the people employed & 58% of the self-employed. The use of

website is minimal among the respondents across the section of the population.

45. Only 2% of the people with service as occupation 0% who are self-employed have

never ordered food online compare to almost 16% of the students who never ordered

food online. 32% of the students have rarely ordered food online and 37% ordered

occasionally. The frequency is higher among other two sections of the population.

46. Lunch seems to be the least preferred option for online food orders across the section

of population. Only 5% employed, 11% self-employed and none from students prefer

ordering lunch online. People with service as occupation prefer ordering dinner

whereas self employed prefer dinner and snacks orders. Students clearly prefer

ordering snacks online

47. 68% self-employed, 48% service & 45% of students don’t have specific preference

for type of food ordered online. Among the choices mentioned south Indian food is

the preferred choice of food by all. Followed by western food items such as burger,

pizza etc.

48. Non veg (41%) is a choice the first choice for online food order among people with

service as occupation, same is the case with students with 55% of them prefer

ordering non veg food online. The choice is different with self-employed, vegetarian

is a first preference of 33% of the them followed by 28% prefer non veg

49. 55% of the students prefer cash on delivery as preferred choice of payment followed

20% prefer using UPI apps. Use of credit and debit card is minimal among the

students. 48% of people with service as occupation prefer UPI as payment option

followed by other options equally preferred. In case of self-employed 37% prefer UPI

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 apps followed by 26% use cash on delivery. Use of internet banking is least preferred

payment option.

50. Swiggy is the first choice among people with service as occupation whereas Zomato

is preferred by self-employed and students.

51. 69% of people in service are likely to continue using online platforms for food orders

compared to 61% of self employed and only 47% of the students. 47% of the students

are undecided

52. The factors that influence most of the purchase decision of people with service as

their occupation are ease of payment, variety of food, simplicity of mobile application

whereas as the factor which have least impact are environmentally friendly packaging,

promotional offers and cash on delivery option.

53. Restaurant rating is one of the important factors of influence along with ease of

payment, variety food and simplicity of mobile application for self-employed

respondents. Previous experience of ordering food, reviews for delivery, price and

advertising are least influencing factors.

54. Students look for variety of food, ease of payment, behavior of food delivery person

as important factors governing their behavior. Price of the product, previous

experience of ordering food and promotional offers are least important factors of

influence for students.

55. When compared locality wise, it was observed that people from all areas of Bengaluru

have high degree of awareness (almost 100%) about online food delivery services.

56. Expect of 2% of the people in Bengaluru South all respondents replied positively

about their awareness of various firms providing doorstep delivery of food.

57. Use of at least one mobile application is common among 84% of Bengaluru south,

87% Bengaluru North and 94% of Bengaluru central people.

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58. 24% of the Bengaluru north people haven’t ordered food online in the last month

compared to only 15% of south and 12% central Bengaluru

59. 61%, 62% and 62% of people from Bengaluru South, North and Central respectively

prefer ordering food online. The highest no of undecided is found in Bengaluru

Central i.e. 31% where as highest no of people 24% of people from Bengaluru don’t

have preference for online food orders.

60. There is no significant difference among the people from all three areas when it comes

to comparing food choices available before ordering the food. 79%, 72% and 75% of

Bengaluru South, North and Central compare food choices before the order.

61. Highest i.e. 63% people from Bengaluru North have used company website to order

food compared to 59% from South and 52% from North part of Bengaluru.

62. Purchase frequency is highest among Bengaluru Central with 38% order at least two

to three times a week compared to that of only 7% from North and 19% from South.

The occasional buyers are highest among all these regions

63. Order for dinner is the first choice across all the regions i.e. 43%, 52% and 50%

respectively for Bengaluru South, North and Central. Dinner is followed by snacks

and lunch in all three regions in terms of preference. Breakfast is least preferred to be

ordered online.

64. 69% from Bengaluru Central don’t have specific choice compared to 48% each from

North and South region. Among the food preference, south Indian is choice of across

the region.

65. Non vegetarian is a choice of people from South Bengaluru (44%) and 50% of Central

region where as vegetarian food is the choice of 32% of North region. North region

also shows highest no of people without any specific preference i.e., 39%

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66. UPI apps followed by cash on delivery is the choice of payment mode across all the

regions. 19% Bengaluru south like to use credit card which is higher compared to only

3% from North and 6% from Central region.

67. The preference is 50-50% between Swiggy and Zomato for South and North region

where as 60% of Central region folks prefer Zomato.

68. Likelihood of ordering food online is quite high across the regions. 63% of South,

67% of North and 60% of Central people agree that they would continue using the

services of online food delivery firms.

69. For Bengaluru South people ease of payment, simplicity of application, variety of

food, customer friendly attitude of delivery person are the important factors of

influence. Pricing, promotional offers, advertising and environmentally friendly

packaging doesn’t appeal to these customers

70. Among the other factor hygienic practice is considered important by people from

North Bengaluru. Like other regions promotional offers, advertising and cash on

delivery have least influence on purchase behavior of people from Bengaluru North.

71. Simplicity of application and convenience of using the app influence the people of

Bengaluru Central whereas factors which are considered least important are following

the Covid norms, reviews for delivery services and promotional offers.

72. Awareness about the online food delivery services is high across all households with

varied family size.

73. Awareness about door delivery of food supply by firms is high almost 100% across all

the households irrespective of family size.

74. Higher the size of the family less is the usage of mobile application for online food

delivery. 70% of the households with more than 5 people have at least one mobile

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 application in the household compared to that of 92% with less than 3 members in

house and 88% with 3 to 5 members in the family.

75. Higher the size of the family less is the usage of online food delivery services. 70% of

the households with more than 5 people have ordered food online in last one month

compared to that of 92% with less than 3 members in house and 88% with 3 to 5

members in the family.

76. It interesting to note that only 53%household with less than 3 family members prefer

ordering food online compared to that of 74% with 3 to 5 members and 55% with

more than 5 members.

77. 80% of households with less than 3 members compare the choices of food available

compared to 78% with 3 to 5 members and only 65% with more than 5 members.

78. Use of company website is higher (65%) among the households with 3 to 5 members

in the family to that 55% with more than 5 members in the family and 49% with less

than 3 members

79. 95% of the households with more than 5 people in the family either order occasionally

or rarely online. The frequency of purchase is higher among the lesser family size

households.

80. 53% and 51% households with less than 3 members and 3 to 5 members respectively

prefer ordering dinner compared to only 25% households with more than 5 members,

these families prefer ordering snacks online.

81. Choice for type of food is specific among the bigger size families compared to smaller

families. South Indian is preferred choice across all the families irrespective of size of

family followed by western food items such as burger and pizza.

82. Non vegetarian food is the first choice of families with less than 3 people and more

than 5 people, whereas families with 3 to 5 members prefer ordering vegetarian food

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83. Cash on delivery (45%) is the preferred choice of payment for households with more

than 5 members. 55% and 34% of households with less than 3 and 3 to 5 members in

the family prefer using UPI for payments.

84. Zomato is the first choice for 59% of households with less than 3 members whereas

51% and 56% of families with 3 to 5 members and more than 5 members prefer

ordering food on Wwiggy.

85. 72% of households with more than 5 members in the family are likely to continue

ordering food online compare to 70% of families with less than 3 people and 54%

with 3 to 5 members likely to use online food delivery services.

86. Ease of payment, simplicity of mobile application, variety of food and delivery time

are important for households with less than 3 people in the family. Prices, promotional

offers, environmentally friendly packaging have least influence on purchase behavior.

87. Ease of payment, simplicity of mobile application, variety of food and hygienic

practices are important for households with 3 to 5 people in the family. Promotional

offers, advertising, customization have least influence on purchase behavior.

88. Customer friendly attitude of delivery person, ease of payment, complete food menu

and variety of food are most important factors considered by households with more

than 5 people in the family. Reviews for the food, promotional offers, advertising

appeal least to these families.

89. 88% of the Swiggy customers have ordered food online in the last one month. Only

12% haven’t done so.

90. 69% of Swiggy prefer ordering food online. 22% were undecided and 9% don’t prefer

ordering food online.

91. 83% of Swiggy customers compare food choices before ordering the food. Only 5%

disagree.

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92. Only 57% of the Swiggy customers have used company website to order food. 29%

never used website for food order.

93. 54% of the Swiggy customers are occasional buyers compared to only 22% purchase

two to three times a week. 5% said never ordered, this might be the lot who have

stopped making online purchase in the recent past.

94. 43% of Swiggy customers prefer ordering dinner followed by 29% snacks, 21% lunch

and only 7% prefer ordering breakfast.

95. 61% of Swiggy customers don’t have specific choices for food order followed by 27%

prefer south Indian food and rest 6% north Indian food.

96. 43% prefer ordering vegetarian food online compare to 31% non veg food. 26% had

no specific preference.

97. UPI apps is the most preferred mode of payment for Swiggy customers followed by

cash on delivery by 19%, 14% use credit cards, 12% debit cards and only 10%

internet banking services

98. 57% of Swiggy customers are likely to continue ordering online, 35% are undecided

and only 8% may not continue to use the services.

99. Variety of food, ease of payment, simplicity of application and delivery time are most

influential factors for swiggy customers whereas environmentally friendly packaging,

promotional offers and advertising influence the least.

100. Swiggy customers rated ease of using the swiggy app the highest followed by

payment options, availability of famous restaurants and quality of packaging. The

rating is lowest for social media presence, reward and cashback offers, cancellation

process and advertisement.

101. 69% of Zomato customers agree that they have ordered food in last one month online.

19% did not order food and 12% were not sure about their purchases.

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102. 59% of all Zomato customers prefer ordering food online. 20% don’t like to do the

same. 21% were undecided.

103. As high as 73% of Zomato customer compare food choices available before ordering

the food. 12% don’t prefer to comparison.

104. 61% of Zomato customers have used company website for food orders. 25% never

used the website and 19% were unsure.

105. Only 18% of Zomato customers order 2 to 3 times a week whereas 56% order

occasionally. 14% rarely order food online and only 2% haven’t done so in the recent

past.

106. Dinner is a preferred type of food ordered by Zomato customers i.e., 47% followed by

29% prefer ordering snacks items, lunch is preferred by 19% and breakfast is ordered

by only 5% of the customers

107. Higher no 62% of Zomato customers don’t have specific choice for food orders online

followed by 28% prefer south Indian food and 10% north Indian food.

108. 52% of Zomato customer look for ordering non veg food compared to 26% veg food.

22% have no specific choice.

109. 38% of Zomato customers prefer paying using UPI apps followed 26% cash on

delivery, and 14% each using internet banking or debit card. Credit card is least

preferred mode of payment.

110. 70% of Zomato customers are likely to continue ordering food online. Only 2% are

sure of not continuing the online food orders. 28% are usure of their decision

111. Ease of payment, variety of food available, simplicity of using the application and

rating of restaurants influence purchase decision of Zomato customers. Least

important factors of influence include promotional offers, environmentally friendly

packaging and customization options.

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112. Payment options, availability of food from famous restaurant, choice of food, quality

of food delivery is rated highest by Zomato customers. The least rating is for

promotional offers, reward & cash back, advertising or customer care service.

113. Dinner is the first choice for online order on all platforms followed by snacks and

lunch. It is observed that for lunch Swiggy is preferred and for dinner Zomato is

preferred.

114. Generally, there is no specific choice when it comes to type of food preferred on

various platform. Having said that Punjabi food is ordered on Swiggy more than that

of other service providers. For western food items both Swiggy and Zomato are not

preferred choice

115. Zomato is a preferred online food delivery service provider for non-vegetarian food

and vegetarian food Swiggy is the choice of customers.

116. UPI apps is the preferred mode of payment on both Zomato and Swiggy. It is

important to note for other service provider 80% prefer paying cash on delivery.

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5.2.1 Major Findings
1. Significant Difference in the buying behaviour of male and female customers
It is apparent from the data analysis and subsequent hypothesis tests; there male and female

customer differ significantly in their buying behaviour while making food purchased online.

The table below shows the difference.

Buying Behaviour Male Female

Though there is no significant
Preferred online
difference statistically, but
platform
males prefer Zomato
Frequency of Purchase Lower in males
Preference for online
Men prefer ordering dinner
order
Men are clearer about the
Type of Food choice of food they prefer i.e.
South Indian
Men & Women both prefer
Kind food ordered ordering no veg food over
veg food
Though the first choice for
both is UPI apps
Mode of Payment
Men prefer use of debit and
credit card
Men are firmer to continue
Likely hood to continue
ordering food online
ordering food online
compared to women
This comparison shows that there is need to consider men and women as separate segment
and the positioning and targeting must be done separately.
Though there is no significant
difference, but females prefer
Swiggy
Higher in female compared to
male
Females prefer ordering snacks,
order for breakfast in also
significantly high among women
Majority women don’t have
specific preference
Men & Women both prefer
ordering no veg food over veg
food
Though the first choice for both
is UPI apps
women prefer using internet
banking. Use of debit card is
significantly lower among
women compared to men
Women are less firm to continue
ordering food online compared to
men. As many as 35% of them
were undecided.

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2. Location wise buying behaviour of customer

It is important to study the difference in behaviour of customers from different region of the

city, the buying behaviour also depends on the location as factors such as standard of living,

social pattern influences the consumer behaviour. It is observed that there is difference

among the people from different regions on some parameters. The comparative statement is

shown as below

Bengaluru
Buying Behaviour Bengaluru South Bengaluru North
Central
The choice is almost The choice is almost
Zomato is
Preferred online equally divided equally divided
preferred over
platform between Swiggy and between Swiggy and
Swiggy
Zomato Zomato
Comparatively least Highest frequency
Frequency of Moderate frequency
frequent in ordering of ordering food
Purchase of online food orders
food online online
Though dinner is the
first choice
Though dinner is the
More no of residents
first choice The choice is
Preference for online of Bengaluru North
More no of residents similar to that of
order prefer ordering
of Bengaluru south Bengaluru North
snacks. Least no of
prefer ordering lunch
people prefer
ordering breakfast
Along with South
India, Bengaluru
South India food as
North Residents Majority are not
first choice but also
Type of Food prefer ordering other specific about
order western food
north Indian food their preference.
and
(excluding Punjabi)
and desserts
Prefer ordering
Prefer ordering Non Prefer ordering
Kind food ordered Non vegetarian
vegetarian food vegetarian food
food
UPI apps as majority
Higher use of credit Higher use of
Mode of Payment choice followed by
card observed internet banking
debit cards
Likely hood to Majority will Majority will
Majority will continue
continue ordering continue ordering continue ordering
ordering online
food online online online

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3. Occupation Wise difference in Buying Behaviour
Occupation of an individual does have impact on the buying behaviour and as this is one of
the bases of segmentation especially considering students as one of the most important
Buying Behaviour Service Self-employed Students
Preferred online
Swiggy Zomato Zomato
platform
Higher compared They prefer The frequency of
Frequency of
to other two ordering food ordering food is
Purchase
categories occasionally very less
Majority students
Preference for online Dinner is the first
Dinner and Snacks prefer ordering
order choice
snacks
Other than South
Indian, they prefer Not specific about
ordering other the choice of food Prefer ordering
Type of Food north Indians but prefer mostly street food and
(expect Punjabi) south Indian food western food
and western food items

Prefer ordering Prefer ordering

Prefer ordering
Kind food ordered Non vegetarian Non vegetarian
vegetarian food
food food
UPI apps as
Higher use UPI
majority choice Cash on delivery
apps followed by
Mode of Payment followed by debit is a choice of
debit and credit
cards & credit majority students
cards
cards
Likely hood to Majority will Moderate majority
Majority is
continue ordering continue ordering will continue
undecided.
food online online ordering online

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4. Family size wise buying behaviour
Indian family is an important unit of society and most the buying decisions are result of
consultation among all the members of the family. The family members take various buying
roles in the purchase process; hence it is vital to study the pattern of buying based on size of
the family. The detailed analysis is as follows.
Buying Behaviour Less than 3 3 to 5 More than 5
Preferred online Swiggy but the
Zomato Swiggy
platform difference is marginal
Most families
High as weekly 2
Frequency of Majority prefer either order
to 3 times is higher
Purchase ordering occasionally occasionally or
in this group
rarely
Preference for Dinner followed by
Dinner Snacks
online order lunch
Apart from south Apart from South
South Indian
Indian other north Indian, these
Type of Food followed by
Indian food and families prefer
Western food
western food ordering deserts
Prefer ordering Prefer ordering
Prefer ordering
Kind food ordered Non vegetarian Non vegetarian
vegetarian food
food food
Higher use UPI UPI apps as majority
Cash on delivery
apps followed by choice followed by
Mode of Payment is a choice of
debit and internet debit cards & credit
many families
banking cards
Moderate majority
Likely hood to Majority will Majority will
will continue but also
continue ordering continue ordering continue ordering
have substantial is
food online online online
undecided

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5. Online platform wise buying behaviour

The study focuses on two major online food delivery service platforms Zomato and Swiggy.

This analysis gives insights into one of the important elements of marketing strategy i.e. Point

of Parity (PoP) and Point of Difference (PoD). The details are given in the following table.

Buying Behaviour Zomato Swiggy

Lower compared to Higher compared to

Frequency of Purchase
Swiggy customers Zomato Customer

Dinner followed by Dinner followed by snacks

Preference for online order
snacks and lunch and lunch

South Indian and Other Apart from south Indian

Type of Food north Indian (except other north Indian and
Punjabi) Punjabi

Prefer ordering Non Prefer ordering vegetarian

Kind food ordered
vegetarian food food

UPI apps as majority

UPI apps followed by
Mode of Payment choice followed by other
cash on delivery
mode of payments

Moderate majority will

Likely hood to continue Majority will continue
continue but also have
ordering food online ordering online
substantial is undecided

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5.3 Suggestions
1. Segmentation on the basis of demographic factors
One of the most important elements of marketing strategy is right choice of segment or

segments as a target market of the firm. The data reveals that the choices of different groups

especially group based on demographic factors have different taste and preference. Among

the gender, men prefer ordering food occasionally or rarely whereas women prefer ordering

food two to three times a week. Order for breakfast is preferred by more women compared to

men. It is also observed that the choice of firm for online food order also differs. The same

case is with the occupation, location and size of family members.

Considering the above factors, following specific steps are suggested to the online food

delivery services

 It is advised to both Zomato and Swiggy to identify segments or group that prefer their

services. E.g. men prefer Zomato services where as women prefer Swiggy service.

Similarly, students and self-service people prefer Zomato where as people whose

occupation is service place order on Swiggy.

 Once the identification of segment or segment is done, it is important to study the factors

that are considered important by each segment, factor that influence their buying

behaviour and factors that they rate low for the services. This further gives insights into

service deliverables for the firm. Areas that need improvement and areas of operations

which are strengths for the firm.

 The approach of one size fits all is no more feasible and sustainable in the long run.

Hence it is important to develop a marketing plan for each segment separately.

 The execution is the key for success, firms must make sure that segment or segments are
reached successfully in all three channels of marketing
 Product channel – distribution channel
 Communication Channel
 Service Channel

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2. Clearly defined point of parity and point of differences

One of the major pitfalls in the marketing is being seen as “Me too”. The data shows that the

preference of firm is equally divided, this can also mean that there is not clear choice as such.

The customer may be using both the apps and may be ordering food using both the

applications. One of the questions was to know if the customer compares the food choices

available before placing the order, the response to this question was interesting to note.

Majority of the responded irrespective of their demographic background did mention that

they prefer comparing food choices available before placing the order. This shows that

customers are more interested in choice of food and variety available rather that who is

delivering the food.

This revelation is vital as it means the customer don’t see any difference between the two

firms. There are points of parity (PoP) such as delivery time, variety of food available,

payment options etc but there is no point of difference (PoD).

Both the firms must create Point of difference and position itself distinctly. Failing to which it

will reduce to the price war and survival of the fittest. Following steps are suggested to create

a point of difference.

 Identify core competency of the firm e.g. ability of the firm to connect as many possible

restaurants and getting them all on board, or hygiene is considered important by

customers, in that case can a company make an attempt to create a process of checking

the process followed by restaurants in following hygiene standard operating procedures.

 After listing of the core competencies, it is important to validate the sustainability of

each of the variable that is considered as strength or core competency. It is suggested to

apply VRIO framework of each of the variable to arrive at sustainable, valuable core

competency of the firm. The VRIO framework enables the firms to test each variable on

four parameters

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  Valuable – how valuable the variable is for the firm as well as to the customer

 Rare – how rate is the variable. This is important to know the ability to create a

distinction with competitor.

 Imitable – the variable identified as strength must not easy imitable by competing

firms, if it is imitable, it can’t be sustainable.

 Organized – it is about the ability of the firm to capitalize on the core competency.

 Once the core competency the firm is identified, the firm must communicate the same to

the customer as its USP (unique selling proposition).

 This must ultimately result in UCP (‘Unique consumer perception’) among the

customers.

This process ensures that there is clear ‘Point of Difference’.

3. Personalised offers based on profile of the customers

Today is the era of data science and big data. The firms have huge data available for mining

and draw conclusions about the customers. It is a common practice to use big data to

personalise the offers, and the researcher is aware of such practices adopted by the online

food delivery firms. Having said that, it is also observed that in the online food delivery

service space, the personalization of offers based on specific details such as type of food

preference, choice of delicacies, gender wise preference, location wise preference, mode of

payment preferred are limited. Both the firms are having generalized approach to the offers

made. The firms are suggested to adopt technologies to develop predictive and prescriptive

analytics algorithms to personalised offers for each customer and communicate with them.

It is also important to validate the effectiveness of such offers from time to time to decide

about continuing the offers.

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4. Loyalty programs with tied ups and cobranding

Demand for any product or as service is a combination of three important conditions to be

fulfilled.

 Ability to pay the price of the product

 Willingness to pay the price of the product

 Authority to pay the price of the product

The willingness to pay the price of the service comes with interest and desire for the product,

the effective adverting campaign, social media presence and use of other marketing tools

such as product, promotion and availability. Even after generating the desire for the product,

it may not get converted into demand due to inability to pay the price for the service.

Following are some suggestions to create willingness and ability to pay the price for the

online food service.

 Zomato and Swiggy both the firm have some or other promotional offers through the

purchase of UPI apps such as Phonepay & Gpay, that is one of the most important

reasons for UPI payment being the first choice of people across the section of the

customers. But it is noticed that there is no Cobranding effort being made by these

companies especially for those who are willing to pay using their debit card or credit

cards. Once of such exists is ICICI credit card with Amazon. The customer gets reward

points and personalized promotional offers. It is essential as close to 25% customer

prefer either credit or debit card but don’t get rewarded or incentivised for this purchase.

We are all aware of the Sodexo example for such initiatives.

 The firms may also consider having virtual loyalty card, to make sure that the customer

have repeat purchase and then become loyal customer. This is suggested keeping in mind

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 many respondents were not sure about their continuation for using the online platforms

for food deliver services. The uncertainty may be reduced with the loyalty programs.

 The student community is considered as big market by all firms, but little effort is

observed to make sure they are served well. The firms may consider starting student

centric services such as making street food which is one of the choices specifically of

student community are focused and personalised campaign may be developed to target

the student. Efforts may be made to bring in more and more famous street food vendors

on board.

5. Creating a Blue Ocean

There are two ways to win the competitions

 Taking on the existing players and increasing the market share at the cost of competitors

market share.

 Create a new market for the services of the firm.

The first approach is risk and leads to intensity of rivalry, in the whole process only there is

survival of the fittest and mightiest. There is constant need for evaluating the competitive

strategies and designing the strategies based on others. It is more of defensive and reactive in

nature.

The second approach creates huge unexplored opportunities for the firms. It creates a blue

ocean which is untapped by the existing players. The framework of creating Blue Ocean is

given by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in their famous book. “The Blue Ocean

Strategy. It basically focused on identifying the gap in the market using the strategic canvas

and positioning the services using ERRC (Eliminate, Reduce, raise and create) framework.

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The firms are suggested to consider following points to create a new market for themselves.

 Eliminate the generalised approach of advertising and marketing. Reduce the one size

fits all approach.

 It is clear from the data analysis that customers give very little importance to the price of

the product and promotional campaign, hence it is suggested to reduce the price

consideration and focus on promotional campaigns. Spend only what is necessary.

 Raise the quality for service by insuring hygiene SOPS, Quality audits and certification

by the competent authorities and market these physical evidences.

 Create a health consciousness among the consumer. Give them the choice of analysing

the nutrient levels of the food that they are going to consume. And also provide

comparative analysis among the food that they are about to consume. Foe example, if a

customer is placing an order for snacks, let him/her know what calories, fats, proteins or

carbohydrates that they are consuming.

 Create a platform where a customer may be able to see their order being prepared. This

shall bring transparency in best practices and customers shall be assured of great service.

5.4 Scope for the future research

1. Study of Marketing Environment of Online food delivery services

A study can be taken up with a broad objective to understand the internal and external

environment of the online food delivery services industry. The research is necessary due to

dynamic nature of the environmental it operates. The changing context of business and its

impact of on the business needs a detailed discussion to facilitate the strategic decision-

making process.

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2. Impact of online food delivery services on Ecology

The research to assess the impact of online food delivery services industry on the ecology is

important considering the significance associated with environmental issues in today’s

context. It is vital to study if this there is increase or decrease in the carbon foot print

considering the use of vehicles by the delivery persons and reduction in use of vehicles by the

customers due to home delivery of food. The ecological audit may be an important objective

of the study.

3. Study on risk perception and challenges about privacy & security of online food

retailing

Privacy and security are major concern in the digital era. Customer’s level of awareness and

risk perception needs to be assessed. This information will be useful for the industry in

satisfactorily addressing the issues of concerns of the customers and also help them assure of

safety and privacy. In days to come, these features itself can be USP of the firms.

4. Impact of online food retailing on traditional food retailers

With the advent of technology, the business models have undergone a sea change. One of the

most common features is digitization of business services going online. The food retail is also

changed drastically and received well by the customers. Having said this, we also need to

study the impact of these changes on traditional food retailers. It is important to note that

impact need not be only negative, these is a possibility of positive impact on the traditional

small food retailers due to online food delivery platforms. This has given then wider market

coverage and better access to the customers. A study in this field to ascertain the impact of

the online food retailers on traditional food retailer is advisable.

5. A study on social media reviews on the business of online food retailing

Social media is impacting every walk of life and business are also not different. Presence of

firms on social media a norm now, activities are tracked by the people and it has effect on

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creating positive as well as negative image for the firms. Research may be taken up to

understand the impact of social media on image of the firm. This could be useful for the firms

to decide social media strategies for the firms and may equip them better to take care of

negativities which may impact the business.

5.5 Conclusion

Business in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous) world is extremely

demanding and full of challenges. As Jack Trout mentions in his famous book “Differentiate

or Die”, today the issue is not that there are limited choices to the consumer but it is the

opposite, it is tyranny of choices due to too many choices. This poses a challenge to the

consumer in terms of decision making and also to the marketers to differentiate the product

offering and creating a distinct image in the minds of consumers. The competition is intense

and survival itself is a challenge, in is context marketing plays vital role for survival and

sustainable growth. Today, marketing is not a job a department in the organization but the

entire organization’s job is marketing. Every function and every activity is focused at making

the customer happy. Every task has a single point agenda to retain the existing customer and

gain the new customer. Hence, the marketing strategy is a comprehensive and holistic in its

nature, it involves 7 Ps of marketing and STP (Segmentation, Positioning and Targeting).

The present study was designed to understand every element of the 7Ps of marketing and

STP. The research focus was to understand consumer perception, their awareness levels about

various aspects of online food delivery services offered by particularly Zomato and Swiggy,

their buying behaviour and effectiveness of marketing strategies by assessing level of

satisfaction of various dimensions of services offered by these online platforms.

The research throws light on important issues such as segmentation and positioning. It is

observed that there are significant differences among various segments in terms of their
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buying behaviour and also the factors that influence the buying behaviour also differ from

one segment to other, this must form the basis of the marketing strategy of the firm. Though

there exist these differences, it is also important to note that the consumers don’t find

significant point of difference between these two firms in terms of the services offered,

marketing campaigns and target market of the firms. This shows that firms are operating in

similar context and competing on similar variables without nothing substantially distinct to

offer to the consumer, hence the choice for consumer is either or between Zomato and

Swiggy. This “Me Too” approach to the marketing strategy and its implementation is neither

sufficient nor sustainable for a long-term growth of the firms.

It is suggested to define and identify segment or segments as target market, create point of

difference, personalize the offering, cobranding & tie ups and most importantly to create a

blue ocean for creating new market for the firms. The best way to win the competition is not

by competing and creating rivalries but by making the competition irrelevant by create a new

market, differentiating the services and successfully positioning the services to creating a

distinct image in the minds of consumers. The core of marketing strategy should be

“Differentiation”. The bottom-line is Differentiate or Die.

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