Five Ways to Reduce Your Dependence on Delivery Apps

Delivery marketplaces are useful for discovery, but commissions of 20-30% per order add up fast. Here are five practical ways restaurants can start building a direct channel alongside them.

1. Put your ordering link everywhere

Add your direct ordering link to your Instagram bio, receipts, table tents, and packaging. Every touchpoint is a chance to remind customers they can skip the markup.

2. Reward repeat customers directly

Simple perks — a free side, a point system, early access to new menu items — work better when they come from a channel you control.

3. Make direct ordering as easy as the apps

If your own storefront is slower or clunkier than a delivery app, customers will default back. It needs to be just as fast.

4. Use delivery apps for discovery, not retention

Treat marketplaces as a top-of-funnel channel. Once a customer has ordered once, move the relationship to your own storefront.

5. Own your customer data

Delivery apps rarely share customer contact details. A direct storefront lets you build a list you can actually market to.

None of this means dropping delivery apps overnight — it means building a direct channel so you're not entirely dependent on them.