Three In Four Customers Of Food Delivery Platforms Report Hidden Fees, Taxes And Higher App Menu Price
The respondents reported hidden fees such as high packaging or platform charges that made orders a lot costlier than expected, and contributes to poor transparency about total costs before checkout.
Up to 55% of customers surveyed by LocalCircles reported hidden fees, taxes and higher menu prices on food aggregation and delivery apps compared with dining out, the firm said in a report.
“Consumers increasingly complain that food delivery apps inflate prices because high commissions — 20% to 30% or more — charged to restaurants are reflected in menu prices seen online, with savings not passed back to customers. Restaurants sometimes charge much higher prices on apps than in-house, leading to perceptions of unfair overpricing,” the report said.
Respondents also reported hidden fees, including high packaging or platform charges, which made orders costlier than expected and contributed to poor transparency on total costs before checkout.
Respondents pushed for greater transparency on pricing, with 87% demanding that dine-in prices be listed alongside delivery prices.
Additional issues included inaccurate delivery fees, refunds denied for wrong or missing items, and weak customer support responses, the report said.
The report logged more than 7,000 grievances against delivery apps in 2024–25, indicating persistent dissatisfaction.
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Food quality also emerged as an issue, with more than 95% of respondents expressing dissatisfaction with food delivered to them. The most common complaint was unsafe food packaging, cited by 27% of respondents as their main concern.
“For instance, the food is often delivered in black plastic containers, which can contain harmful chemicals like phthalates, flame retardants and heavy metals — including lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium and mercury,” the report said.
“These chemicals can leach into food and cause serious health problems, including cancer,” it added.
Stale food ranked as the second most common complaint at 25%, matched by lack of proper temperature maintenance at 25%.
Up to 56% of respondents also reported receiving food in containers that were damaged, spilled or spoiled.
The survey received more than 79,000 responses from consumers across 359 districts in India. Men accounted for 61% of respondents, while women made up 39%. About 45% of respondents were from tier 1 cities, 33% from tier 2 cities, and 22% from tier 3, tier 4 and rural districts.
Despite these issues, the report said the food delivery market is forecast to be worth between $100 billion and more than $140 billion by 2030, up from $31.8 billion in 2024, depending on the source and growth assumptions.
