Foodpanda, a food delivery service provider, has earmarked 75 million baht in its latest effort to help local merchants, offering reduced commission rates and discount coupons to help them weather the crisis caused by the pandemic.
The pandemic has caused 25,000 vendors on the platform to close their business, said Alexander Felde, co-founder and managing director of Foodpanda Thailand.
"The third wave of the pandemic has affected small businesses so we feel obliged to support our partners with our 'SupportSME' campaign," said Mr Felde.
More than 30,000 merchants are expected to benefit from the campaign, which includes a reduction in the commission rate to 25% during June 1-30, he said. The rate is usually 30-35%.
The campaign is also the result of cooperation with the Department of Internal Trade's Lot 11 promotion for restaurants, shops and the community.
Mr Felde said new small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participating on the platform are eligible for zero commissions for the first month following account activation.
Foodpanda has invested almost 200 million baht to support local SMEs this year, the largest amount among delivery platforms, he said.
Foodpanda also introduced a fee of 10 baht per order for all food and shop delivery orders within Bangkok and surrounding provinces. Of this amount, 5 baht is added to customers' orders and 5 baht is funded by Foodpanda during June 1-30. The funds collected support SMEs and fresh food vendors, helping them with daily operational costs, said Mr Felde.
The company is also allotting 40 million baht worth of vouchers and promotions, including "buy one, get one free" deals, to encourage more customers to support their favourite local businesses during the campaign. This represents up to a 60% discount on deals at 13,000 participating restaurants nationwide.