Zomato aims presence in 700 cities by 2020

New Delhi: Food ordering platform Zomato on Tuesday said it expects Tier 3 and 4 cities to contribute 50 per cent of its monthly order volume by March 2020 from the present 35 per cent, as it expands presence across the country.

The online restaurant guide company is currently present in 556 cities and towns in India, Zomato said. "Most of Zomato's cities and towns beyond the top 15 markets run profitably and contribute to more than a third of our revenue.

These cities currently contribute 35 per cent to our monthly order volume which will increase to 50 per cent by the time we expand to more than 700 cities (March 2020)," Zomato Co-Founder & CEO Deepinder Goyal told.

A majority of the launches across the smaller cities reached the initial 1,000-orders-a-day milestone within a few weeks, if not days, Goyal said in a blog.

While average order value is lower in non-metro cities by 20 per cent, the cost of delivery is lower by 50 per cent making the economics superior in comparison to the metro cities, he added in the blog.

"By all measures, our delivery business economics in non-metro cities is superior to metro cities," Goyal said.

Zomato understands that the delivery business across India is a long game, the development and growth of these smaller cities belie popular stereotypes about these cities, he added.