Zepto’s marketing stunt backfired spectacularly, exposing the fast commerce platform to a great deal of criticism. The problem was discovered after a client complained that Zepto had tone-deafly sent her an unwanted and unsolicited marketing communication.
Pallavi Pareek, a legal specialist in workplace diversity and sexual harassment prevention, presented her story on LinkedIn, a social networking platform. She claimed to have gotten a message from the business stating, “I-pill Emergency Contraceptive pill says I-miss you, Pallavi.” Social media users were quite interested in this and questioned the morality of digital marketing.
Pareek wrote in her message, “Dear Zepto and Zepto Cares team,” in reference to Zepto. There are so many issues with this. First off, I have never purchased an urgent medication from you. Even if I did, you should know that neither I nor it should be missing me in this situation. Do you wish that I should be required to take an emergency contraceptive? Most importantly, though, is why am I receiving this when I have never placed an order with you? Only when a message is amusing, sensitive, or logical is it appropriate. When your alerts try to be too sleazy or corny, that’s when I draw the line. However, this is going a bit too far.
Her post received over 2,650 likes and went viral very soon. Pareek made it clear, though, that she has no desire to disparage Zepto or its offerings. She emphasized how much she relies on the app and its goods in her daily life and how much she loves them. “This post is not against ipill promo or availability; rather, it is meant to draw attention to the flaw in mindless logic and copy,” she stated.
Zepto apologized for their callous approach in response to the post, writing, “Hey Pallavi, We sincerely apologize for the mistake we made. We recognize how careless and even dangerous it was. Please be aware that we have moved right away: – Fixed the problem – Updated our procedures – Retrained the group Above everything, we cherish your trust and well-being. This error won’t occur again.”
Nonetheless, the experience sparked a larger discussion about how technology can promote the need for human oversight in some situations. Some merely criticized the company for using improper marketing strategies. “Hey Zepto, I think my groceries are getting a little too personal,” remarked one of the users. Fresh vegetables is what I’m here for, not emergency supplies that make me miss my ex even more! Shall we maybe let Tinder handle the flirtatious messages? I’m just saying. I mean, you went too far.