Zomato has officially taken its biggest step yet outside the food business.
Zomato has launched District, its going-out app. District’s launch comes after Zomato had acquired Paytm event ticketing business for Rs. 2,048 crore in August this year. District allows users to book movie tickets, attend events, and eat out at restaurants.
District is a separate app, though its app icon does prominently say that it’s “by Zomato”. District also appears to have its own design language, and opts for a purple theme and a zany font as opposed to Zomato’s red. Users can choose to either create a separate account to use District, or either login through their Zomato account. Logging in through Zomato’s account is seamless, and we were ready to use District in a single click.
District has three chief categories: Movies, Events and Dining. The movies section allows users to book movies playing near them. The booking experience is similar to what people are already used to, with users getting to pick their own seats and make payments online. Interestingly, District charges the exact same booking charges as BookMyShow, so it doesn’t seem to be competing — at the moment — on price. Like BookMyShow, Dsitrict lets users cancel their tickets. It appears that Zomato also has fewer bank offers on movie tickets than BookMyShow.
The events tab lets users discover and book events near them. There seem to be a fair selection of events on the app, but the kind of events that are on offer don’t seem to be very different from what are available on other apps. The Dining tab appears to be powered entirely by Zomato, and allows users to discover restaurants, book tables and unlock offers.
In spite of doing quite a bit in a single app, District never feels cluttered or information-dense. The tabs are neatly laid out on the top, and navigating the app is pretty straightforward. The dark theme is easy on the eyes, and the app does seem to be better designed than competitors like BookMyShow — the pictures of events and shows seem to be better-chosen, and the interface looks quite polished.
But that’s about the only parameter on which District currently stands out from competition. When Paytm had launched its movie ticketing business several years ago, it had aggressively cut prices, and look to take away competition from BookMyShow. District, however, seems to have the same prices as its biggest competitor, and the same selection of movies. Even the events seem to largely be similar with similar prices. District had the opportunity to creatively combine its different verticals — it could’ve, for instance, offered discounts on combos of movie tickets and a meal immediately after at a nearby restaurant, but thus far, it seems to be keeping its three tabs resolutely separate.
District thus could be a challenge to grow for Zomato. Zomato will likely cross-promote District similar to how it currently promotes Blinkit on its app, but thus far, there’s no pressing reason for users to download and use District — it offers the same services at similar prices that users can discover on other apps. District does have the advantage of offering everything under the same umbrella, but it’s not clear if users open an app while being still undecided on whether they want to eat out or watch a movie — they likely make these decisions first, and then open an app that services their needs. District is a slick and well-made product, but might not currently offer a compelling use case for most users.