Pay Squeeze At Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit? Deferred Incentives And Fuel Price Hike Bite Gig Workers

Delivery workers across quick-commerce platforms are increasingly flagging pressure on earnings as rising fuel prices and more calibrated incentive structures squeeze take-home payouts, even as demand for gig workers remains elevated.

Workers associated with platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy say payouts are no longer keeping pace with operating costs, particularly fuel expenses, with many delivery partners clocking close to 100 kilometres daily.

The pressure comes as platforms increasingly shift away from the aggressive cash-burn strategies seen 12-18 months ago, when companies routinely rolled out blanket incentives and payout hikes to shore up rider supply during peak demand periods.

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"Platforms are now in a consolidation phase," said Balasubramanian A, senior vice president at staffing firm TeamLease Services. "Earlier, they were throwing money at the problem. Now the focus is on profitability, IPO readiness and improving utilisation."

According to industry executives, platforms are also changing how delivery demand is managed during extreme summer afternoons, particularly between 12 pm and 5 pm. Rather than pushing order volumes aggressively, apps are limiting rider exposure during peak heat hours and keeping only a minimum supply of delivery partners active in certain areas.

Algorithms are increasingly balancing order allocation by prioritising riders who may not yet have completed deliveries during those hours, while also reducing "bucketing" -- the practice of combining multiple deliveries into a single trip.

"Rate cards remain the same, but payouts vary depending on incentives, milestones and time slots," an industry executive said. "There is greater emphasis now on late evening and night-hour incentives rather than broad daytime bonuses."

Executives said rider availability issues continue to persist across platforms, though companies are attempting to solve the problem operationally rather than through large payout increases.

Balasubramanian said the gig workforce model remains highly localised, making labour availability uneven even within the same city. "In Bengaluru, for instance, there could be excess supply in Whitefield but shortages in Indiranagar," he said.

He added that while demand for gig workers continues to rise, supply has historically lagged demand. However, that mismatch is no longer being addressed through indiscriminate spending.

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Quick-commerce growth itself remains robust, driven by rising wallet spends and expansion into higher-value categories such as electronics and other non-grocery items. But that growth is no longer translating linearly into workforce expansion, TeamLease said.

Companies are also grappling with warehouse optimisation challenges as the size and variety of products sold on quick-commerce platforms expand, making storage of slower-moving inventory more difficult.

Despite concerns around rider availability, TeamLease said labour shortages are currently more acute in sectors such as construction and infrastructure than in app-based gig work.

Queries sent to Blinkit, Swiggy and Zepto remained unanswered.

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