Zomato clocks 34% higher gross merchandise value this Christmas over last year: CEO

Zomato has clocked a 34% higher gross merchandise value (GMV) this Christmas over last year, making it the “biggest ever” Christmas for food delivery in India, claims founder & CEO Deepinder Goyal.

The company estimates GMV to exceed 50% on New Year’s eve compared to the previous year as curfews across various cities is expected to boost demand for food delivery. Zomato recorded as many as 2,500 orders per minute (OPM) early Thursday evening and the numbers only kept growing over the course of the night.

“Surpassed India vs Pakistan day wala opm. And it’s only 6pm! I hope our tech lives through this,” the CEO said in a tweet.

Even as the dine-in segment struggles to get its business in shape, food delivery boomed as home-bound consumers took to online ordering of food. More people explored the concept which otherwise was subscribed largely by corporates and millennials. Industry experts said delivery along with takeaway will continue to lead the sectoral trend in 2021.

Not surprisingly, start-ups operating in the food delivery space cornered the bulk of the investor funding. Earlier this month, Zomato closed a $660-million funding round backed by 10 new investors including Tiger Global Management and Mirae Asset at a post-money valuation of $3.9 billion.

“December 2020 is expected to be the highest ever GMV month in our history. We are now clocking nearly 25% higher GMV than our previous peaks in February 2020,” Goyal had said earlier. Zomato delivered 22 packets of Biryani every minute this year and received the highest number of orders for Momos from New Delhi.

In a report released in September, the company had said that it registered a massive spike in orders on occasions such as Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Teacher’s Day and Independence Day. Customers, who had not ordered since the first day of lockdown, were 20% more likely to do so for the first time during such festivals.