Zomato stops renewals and new sign-ups on Zomato Pro: What has changed?

The spokesperson of Zomato said that they are working on a new program and are working closely with the customers as well as the partners for the same

Food delivery platform Zomato has closed new sign-ups and renewals for its Zomato Pro. Earlier, the company had stopped its Zomato Pro Plus programme, according to a report by The Indian Express (IE).

Zomato Pro was launched in 2020, and Zomato Pro Plus in 2021. Zomato Pro was a replacement for the Zomato Gold membership. The benefits of the Pro pack included discounts on food delivery and dine-in at the company's partner restaurants.

"Thank you for being a part of the Zomato Pro program. The membership is unavailable for renewal as we are working on a new and better experience for you. We request you to check the Zomato app to stay updated on the latest offerings," the message showed on the apps of the users trying to renew their Pro packs.

The company spokesperson told IE that they are working on a new program and are working closely with the customers and partners for the same.

The platform has also revised its terms with the co-branded credit card with RBL Bank. It has decided to cap the cashback on orders placed via the bank's credit card. However, the app has decided to add the spending done on the Blinkit App to the cashback scheme.

Zomato acquired Blinkit on June 29 for Rs 4,447 crore in an all-stock deal. Blinkit was earlier known as Grofers.

Why did Zomato make the decision?

In a strategy to control its cash burn, Zomato shifted its focus from online ordering to dining in.

"I think if you have to go from where we are today and meaningfully increase customer frequency, we will have to look beyond these loyalty programs and look at introducing newer use cases, which perhaps leads to a lot of the current offline spend on restaurant food moving on to our platform," Zomato's chief financial officer (CFO) Akshant Goyal was quoted as saying by IE.

In the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY23), the company recorded a consolidated loss of Rs 186 crore. In the quarter before that, Q4FY22, the company had recorded a loss of Rs 359.7 crore.

A report by JM Financial Ltd, released on June 9, stated that the company might turn profitable in FY25 if it reached an annual order volume of 1 billion.

Zomato's rival in India, Swiggy, runs a similar loyalty program called Swiggy One. It was launched in November 2021. The program provides door-to-door delivery from Instamart, apart from the usual food delivery.