Zomato clocked in 60% and 35% higher gross merchandise value (GMV) on New Year’s Eve and Christmas in 2020 respectively, compared to the previous year, CEO Deepinder Goyal said on Twitter. The food delivery company took a financial hit when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, stalling orders and leading to layoffs and salary cuts.
As people continue to stay indoors, December 31 saw GMV of ₹75 crore, with orders per minute peaking at 4,254. The demand was “much higher than we could process” and delivery capacity ran out much before peak time, Goyal said, adding that GMV would have touched ₹100 crore if supply would have been enough. On Christmas, Goyal had estimated a 50% higher GMV on New Year’s Eve compared to last year.
People outside of India were placing orders to be delivered in India, Goyal said.
- On December 31, there were 2,500 orders per minute as of 6:15 pm, hitting 3,200 in another 40 minutes, and 3,500 in another 40 minutes, and 4,100 just before 8:30 pm
- At little past 7 pm, there were 100,000 live orders, increasing to 140,000 orders an hour late
- At 8 pm, there were 20,000 biryanis and 16,000 pizzas in transit; over 2,700 biryani orders were dispatched for delivery in five minutes
Just before the year closed, Zomato raised US $660 million (over ₹4,850 crore) in funding from new and existing investors. “The tailwinds for food delivery businesses are clearly visible, and we believe that the growth of the sector will accelerate post vaccine,” Goyal said.
In September this year, Goyal announced intention to take the company public in 2021. Info Edge executive Chintan Thakkar said last month that Zomato was indeed preparing for an IPO, but defining timelines was a premature question to answer.
