Direct Online Ordering vs. Delivery Apps: What Restaurants Should Consider
Third-party delivery apps bring reach; direct ordering protects margins and customer relationships. Here’s how to think about the balance.
6 min read · October 25, 2026
Delivery marketplaces can introduce your restaurant to people who’d never have found you. But they typically charge commissions and fees on each order, and the customer relationship — their email, their order history — mostly stays with the platform. Direct online ordering through your own website flips that trade-off. Most independent restaurants end up using both; the question is how to tilt the balance toward direct.
Questions to ask about your current mix
- What are you actually paying per marketplace order once commissions, marketing fees and promotions are included? Check your statements.
- How many of those orders come from regulars who would happily order from you directly?
- Do you have any way to contact those customers again?
Make direct ordering the easiest option
- Put a prominent “Order online” button at the top of your homepage and Google Business Profile — linking to your own ordering page, not a marketplace.
- Make sure the direct ordering flow works smoothly on a phone.
- Offer something you can afford that marketplaces don’t, such as faster pickup, a loyalty reward or a direct-only item.
- Add an order-direct reminder to bags and receipts for marketplace orders, where platform rules allow.
Use marketplaces for discovery, direct for loyalty
A practical approach: treat marketplaces as a discovery channel for new customers, and focus your own marketing — social posts, email, your website — on turning those customers into direct-ordering regulars.
Measure what matters
Track direct vs. marketplace orders month to month in your POS or ordering system. If the direct share is growing, your marketing is working — even if total orders fluctuate with the season.