foodpanda warned over 'misleading' free delivery ad for pandapro

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The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has issued a warning to food delivery platform foodpanda for its "misleading" advertisement in a recent advertising campaign for its pandapro subscription service.

The pandapro advertisement promoted “unlimited free delivery on all restaurants” for the subscription service which ran from 1 July to 30 September 2024.

This was displayed across multiple platforms including foodpanda’s Instagram page, its in-app marketing, billboards and signages at public areas such as bus stops.

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In August 2024, CCCS commenced an investigation following a complaint on the advertisement.

Without any qualifiers, it could mislead consumers into thinking that pandapro subscribers would enjoy free delivery on all restaurants available on foodpanda, said CCCS in a statement.

In fact, in respect of food delivery fees, pandapro subscribers only received a SG$3 discount for all restaurants, or a discount of up to SG$6 for selected restaurants.

Contrary to the advertised “free delivery on all restaurants” CCCS found that over 40% of food delivery transactions made by pandapro subscribers on all restaurants over the advertising period required a residual delivery fee to be paid after the discounts were applied, said CCCS.

Following the investigation, foodpanda acknowledged CCCS’s concerns and agreed to provide a full refund of subscription fees to customers who subscribed to pandapro from 1 July to 30 September 2024.

It also agreed to provide clarification to customers who had subscribed to pandapro during the advertising period and the public on the terms of the pandapro subscription and review its existing and future marketing materials for its pandapro subscription to ensure compliance with Singapore’s fair trading laws.

"CCCS has issued a warning to foodpanda. CCCS will not hesitate to take stronger enforcement action against foodpanda if it engages in any misleading advertisements," it added.

When MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out, a foodpanda spokesperson said that it does its best to create a transparent and positive experience for all its customers.

"From 1 July to 30 September 2024, we ran a campaign that promoted enhanced benefits to our pandapro subscription plan. We acknowledge that the terms and conditions required for pandapro subscribers to enjoy free delivery could have been communicated more clearly," it said.

"Following customer feedback and an inquiry from the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore that the benefits advertised did not meet their expectations, we are reaching out to all new customers who subscribed to pandapro during the campaign period to offer refunds on a no-questions-asked basis, and to better illustrate the campaign's terms," it added.

foodpanda went on to say that it has since taken steps to improve its communication and ensure that all future campaigns are clear.

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