Q-comm aggressive fee waivers fail to stem slide in downloads

Aggressive fee waivers in quick commerce announced in early November have failed to arrest the slide in new app downloads, with Zepto taking the sharpest hit despite offering the most generous incentives, according to the latest data from app intelligence platform Sensor Tower.

Zepto, which was the first to eliminate all handling, surge, rain, and convenience fees for orders above Rs 99 in early November, saw its new app downloads plunge 44% month-on-month. Downloads dropped from 3.62 million in October to just 2.01 million in November—its weakest monthly performance in the ten-month period from February to November, acoording to Sensor Tower.