Government asks quick commerce players to prove their ‘10 Minute’ delivery claims

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), set up under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, has reportedly asked quick commerce players Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and Big Basket (BB Now) to prove their ‘10 minute’ delivery claims. CCPA has asked these companies to share median data for delivery times across major cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai. Quick commerce has become a preferred channel for consumers, primarily in Tier-I cities.

As per news source, a senior government official said, “Instant delivery platforms have been asked to share their median delivery times across major cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai.”

The official also said that the companies will not be asked to make any changes in case the companies are unable to prove their quick delivery justification claim but they must alter the message. Almost all the companies claim that they deliver items within ten minutes.

As per the report, if proved wrong, companies will have to change their claims from “in 10 minutes or less” to delivery in “15 minutes or less.”

The government has further added a buffer of four minutes to the orders and said that while it's okay if the order time extends to fourteen minutes, any delay beyond the same means that companies must change their advertisements.

The report also stated that this step has been taken by the government amid the rising consumer complaints regarding delivery timing. After receiving the data, the government intends to meet the executives from the quick commerce apps. As per the report, they will come up with guidelines for the protection of customers if the orders are late.

Meanwhile, e-commerce platform Zepto had increased its delivery timing from ten to thirteen minutes, according to the report.