Zomato agrees to share customer data with restaurants, NRAI hopes Swiggy will follow suit

Eternal’s food delivery platform Zomato has agreed to start sharing customer data with restaurants, marking a key shift in the long-standing dispute between aggregators and the restaurant industry. The data-sharing however, will only be shared if the customer agrees for their data to be shared.According to the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), Zomato will soon begin sending pop-ups to users seeking one-time consent to for data to be shared. The pop-up will start appearing for customers starting today, asking them to consent to allow restaurants to use their data for internal and promotional activities.

“The wording they are proposing is: I allow restaurants to reach out to me for promotional activities,” an NRAI representative said, adding that while this is a great development for the industry, discussions are ongoing on the final phrasing of the consent message.

This data will include name, location, ordering patterns etc, which NRAI says will help restaurants better understand user ordering and consumption patterns.However, the data sharing hasn’t officially begun yet. Zomato is currently formalising a methodology to share the data with restaurants. The industry body added that it is also scheduled to meet rival platform Swiggy, expressing hope that the company will “follow suit.”

Zomato has not yet commented on queries regarding the development.

The move comes against the backdrop of NRAI’s earlier complaint before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Zomato and Swiggy, where data masking and lack of transparency were among the key issues raised by restaurants. The association had argued that platforms withheld crucial customer information, limiting restaurants’ ability to understand and engage with their own patrons.

In a clarification posted separatelyZomato’s CEO for delivery, Aditya Mangla, said the company is only in the “early stages” of rolling out the feature. He emphasised that customers will explicitly have to opt in, and that — if consent is provided — only the customer’s phone number will be shared with restaurants, and no other data. “There’s nothing sneaky or automatic about it,” he said, adding that Zomato has shared screenshots of the feature and sought user feedback.