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The 12-day war caused widespread disruption of online businesses and services in Iran, and Snapp, the country's leading super-app, was no exception. Figures released by the company reveal the effect on its performance in some of its activities and measures taken to cushion the effect.
Urban rides drop dramatically as driver supplies dwindle
In the war, mobility within the cities was severely affected. Snapp recorded a 35% fall in active drivers, whose activity rate dipped to nearly half of the regular level. Contributing factors for this fall included migrant self-deportation from the cities, security concerns, malfunctioning GPS, and fuel shortages.
At the same time, demand for passengers increased, creating a serious supply-demand imbalance. As a result, completed urban trips decreased by 42%. Some of the worst-affected cities were Tehran, Kish, Karaj, Qeshm, and Kermanshah, with the greatest decreases in Tehran due to mass exoduses of inhabitants.
Intercity demand rises but satisfaction falls
While people were leaving high-risk areas, intercity travel demand increased 116%. But logistics-fewer drivers available, lack of fuel, security issues, and cut routes-kept Snapp from keeping up. Completed intercity trips decreased 28%, despite strong demand. Mazandaran, Tehran, Gilan, Isfahan, and Qom requested the most, primarily because citizens were returning after having left Tehran in the initial phases of fighting.
To keep the transport in business, Snapp provided 2,500 full-time drivers with 10 billion tomans of non-repayable funding whose incomes had collapsed. The business also waived commission charges on some drivers from Tehran and Karaj to encourage sustained operations despite the dangers.
GPS interference plays a role in the challenges
National GPS outages presented a major challenge for ride-hailing platforms. Driver cancellations after accepting rides increased by 25% on June 12. Support tickets on mapping issues, incorrect positioning, and mismatches of pick-up points escalated six-fold and reached its peak on June 19 before there was some easing after the ceasefire-but the issue has not disappeared.
To reduce the effect, Snapp implemented a new feature on June 29 that allowed drivers to manually define their location when the app was offline. The move was intended to improve ride matching and reduce navigation errors. The firm also increased support teams to monitor real-time issues.
Other Snapp services under pressure
SnappFood offered 26 billion tomans of free advertisement credit in 51 cities to help cash-strapped vendors regain sales, and giving 450,000 users free FoodPro subscriptions.
SnappMarket had internet constraints, delivery shortages, and security issues. It rolled out free delivery vouchers in eight cities and upgraded customer support capacity. Demand from users shifted to essentials like rice, canned foods, eggs, and bottled water.
SnappDoctor provided one free psychology consultation throughout the nation on stressful days, with psychological support.
SnappTrip charged all the canceled flights and travel bookings from its own funds even when they were short of liquidity with suppliers. Refunds were sent to the bank accounts or wallets of the users directly along with SMS messages.
SnappShop had orders of 80% lost in early days but redirected focus to core products. Within 72 hours of the ceasefire, 80% of the lost orders were regained.
SnappPay extended the loan repayment dates to July 5 in order to ease financial pressure, and SnappPro subscription dates were extended for two weeks free of charge so that users could enjoy discounts and privileges.
Employee care during the crisis
In addition to drivers and clients, Snapp also cared about workers' welfare. Working from home was introduced, advance payment of half of monthly wages, and an exclusive communication line was established to avoid anxiety and provide a feeling of security for the employees.
The 12-day war put its network under unprecedented pressure-reducing city rides and peak intercity orders, logistics problems, GPS disruptions, and cash losses. The company responded with emergency relief, incentives, free services, and refunds to stabilize operations. Even subsequent to the ceasefire, however, ongoing GPS issues remain challenging the user experience.
