Swiggy to prioritise Genie orders as deliveries jump 350% in 15 days

With the COVID-19 wave II severely impacting India, Bengaluru-based food tech platform Swiggy has stated that it will prioritise deliveries through its hyperlocal pick-up and drop service, Genie.

Swiggy, in the last 15 days, has witnessed a 350 per cent increase in the delivery of over the counter (OTC) medicines through Genie services, compared to the same period last month. Almost half a million home-cooked meals and tiffins have been ferried to friends and family in the same period, it claimed.

The company, in a statement, said that it was overwhelmed with messages from consumers saying how Genie has been a lifeline for those recovering at home.

Swiggy's Chief Operating Officer Vivek Sunder, while announcing the move, said "with several cities under lockdown, Swiggy Genie has delivered even test reports to the doorsteps. Considering the criticality of the service, we are now prioritising Genie deliveries," and urged users to stay indoors.

Swiggy stated it will be focussing on necessities such as delivering OTC medicines, oximeters, home-cooked meals, grocery and care packages.

Other food and Instamart deliveries won't be delayed, this just means that the Genie orders will be assigned first, it added. Genie orders will also have dedicated customer support.

Meanwhile, Swiggy has also decided to move to a 4-day work week during May due to the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country. Not just this, Swiggy has also allowed its employees the flexibility to pick the days they would want to work.

Swiggy is also directly working with hundreds of COVID Heroes who are providing meals to affected families and will prioritise these deliveries as well.

(Edited by Vivek Dubey)

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