Restaurant Direct Ordering Report
How restaurants can strengthen their owned ordering channel, reduce commission leakage and build direct customer relationships without abandoning third-party marketplaces.
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Direct ordering is not simply a choice of software. It is a customer-ownership and revenue strategy connecting the restaurant website, search visibility, ordering experience, offers, communication and operations.
Third-party marketplaces can introduce a restaurant to customers and provide incremental demand. The strategic problem begins when the marketplace becomes the default destination for branded searches and repeat customers who would otherwise order directly. The restaurant pays a commission while the platform controls much of the customer relationship and transaction data.
This report combines The Digital Restaurant’s experience implementing direct-ordering strategies, documented restaurant website case studies and practical channel economics. It is an evidence-led strategic report—not an industry-wide benchmark—and does not assume that every third-party order can or should be converted to a direct order.
Executive summary
- Third-party marketplaces are acquisition channels—not owned customer channels.
A marketplace customer is primarily the platform’s customer until the restaurant earns a direct relationship. - Direct ordering requires infrastructure.
A fast website, visible owned ordering path, reliable POS-based ordering and clear location experience are foundational. - Repeat demand creates the largest opportunity.
The goal is not to eliminate marketplaces; it is to prevent repeat customers from paying through a commission-bearing channel by default. - Customer behavior must be changed deliberately.
Convenience, a one-time switching incentive, packaging, staff communication, email and other owned channels help customers form a new habit. - Search visibility protects the channel.
The official website and ordering path should be prominent in Google, Maps and branded searches so aggregators do not intercept demand intended for the restaurant. - Success is measured through channel mix and customer actions.
Direct-order growth, third-party volume, repeat behavior and commission exposure should be tracked together.
The economic question behind direct ordering
Consider a restaurant generating $50,000 per month through third-party marketplaces. At an illustrative 25% commission rate, the restaurant would pay $12,500 per month—or $150,000 per year—in marketplace commissions. This does not mean the entire amount can be recovered: marketplaces may create incremental demand, delivery and customer acquisition value. The useful question is how much repeat or branded demand is unnecessarily continuing through a commission-bearing channel.
Restaurants should model their own order volume, commission agreements, delivery costs, payment fees, promotional costs and customer mix rather than relying on a universal percentage. The purpose of the calculation is to establish the size of the opportunity and determine where investment in an owned channel is justified.
What documented restaurant website results show
Published RichMenu case studies report direct-order growth across different restaurant concepts after website, performance and conversion work was implemented. Examples include Palermo’s Pizza reporting 24% order growth and more than 12,800 direct orders; 518 Donuts reporting 41% growth and more than 28,000 direct orders; The Pit Rib House reporting 45% growth and more than 9,200 direct orders; Salerno’s Pizza reporting 27% growth and more than 34,500 direct orders; and Firo Pizza reporting 33% growth and more than 19,400 direct orders.
These are individual case-study outcomes with different business conditions and measurement periods. They do not establish a universal benchmark or prove that website changes alone caused every order. They demonstrate why direct ordering should be managed as a connected visibility, conversion and customer-relationship system.
The restaurant direct-ordering framework
1. Establish the channel baseline
Record direct online orders, marketplace orders, commissions, fees, average order value and available customer information by location. The NGAZE direct-ordering view can help organize the baseline and reveal how much business is flowing through owned and third-party channels.
2. Make the owned ordering experience competitive
Customers often choose marketplaces because they are familiar and easy. The restaurant website must load quickly on mobile, lead immediately to the correct location and menu, and connect cleanly to the POS-based ordering experience. Broken links, slow pages, extra steps or confusing location choices reinforce the marketplace habit.
3. Protect visibility and branded demand
The official website should rank for the restaurant’s name, cuisine, menu items and local demand. Google Business Profile ordering links should lead to the owned website or preferred direct-order path. Restaurants should also monitor whether marketplaces are buying branded ads or outranking the official site for searches intended for the restaurant.
4. Give customers a reason to switch
A one-time first-direct-order offer can reduce the friction of changing behavior without creating a permanent discount dependency. The restaurant should also communicate direct-order benefits clearly across the website, email, SMS, social media, packaging and in-store touchpoints.
5. Convert marketplace buyers into restaurant customers
A marketplace buyer becomes a restaurant customer when the restaurant can recognize, serve and communicate with that person directly. Packaging inserts, box stickers, staff conversations and a memorable direct-order experience can invite the next transaction into the owned channel. The restaurant must follow marketplace rules and applicable privacy requirements when doing so.
6. Build retention around the owned relationship
Direct ordering should connect with email, SMS, loyalty, offers and relevant seasonal campaigns. The objective is not constant discounting. It is making the restaurant’s owned channel the easiest and most valuable way for repeat customers to order.
7. Measure channel movement—not isolated totals
Track whether direct order volume and repeat activity are increasing while marketplace volume stabilizes or changes. A decrease in third-party volume is not automatically lost demand if total orders remain healthy and more repeat customers are moving to the direct channel. Review results by location because ordering behavior and marketplace dependence can vary.
The correct role of third-party marketplaces
A direct-ordering strategy should not treat DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub or similar marketplaces as enemies. They can provide discovery, convenience and access to customers the restaurant might not otherwise reach. The objective is to use them intentionally for acquisition and incremental demand while preventing them from becoming the permanent owner of branded and repeat customer traffic.
Questions every restaurant should be able to answer
- What percentage of online orders comes through the restaurant’s owned channel versus third-party marketplaces?
- What commissions and additional fees are paid by platform and location?
- Which marketplace orders appear to be incremental, and which may represent repeat or branded demand?
- Does the website make direct ordering as easy as using a marketplace?
- Do Google Business Profile and branded search results lead customers to the preferred owned path?
- Are third parties advertising on the restaurant’s brand name or intercepting branded traffic?
- What one-time incentive is offered to help a marketplace customer switch?
- How do packaging, staff and owned communication channels promote the direct relationship?
- Can the restaurant identify and communicate with direct customers appropriately?
- Is performance reviewed by location, channel, repeat behavior and revenue—not only total order count?
What restaurant operators should expect
The first 30 days should establish the baseline, correct obvious ordering-link and Google Business Profile gaps, assess mobile performance and build a prioritized roadmap. Some restaurants may see quick wins after fixing a broken or weak website path. Changing repeat customer behavior takes longer and depends on convenience, communication, staff participation and consistent execution.
The goal is not to eliminate third-party marketplaces. It is to strengthen the restaurant’s owned channel so that customers acquired through any source can become direct, repeat customers whose relationship and future value belong to the restaurant.
Your questions, answered.
Should restaurants stop using third-party delivery marketplaces?
No. Marketplaces can provide discovery, delivery infrastructure and incremental demand. Restaurants should evaluate the economics and use each channel intentionally while building a stronger owned option for branded and repeat customers.
What is a direct online order?
A direct order begins through a customer experience controlled by the restaurant, usually the restaurant’s website connected to its preferred ordering provider or POS. The restaurant retains more control over the relationship, data, experience and future communication than it typically does through a marketplace.
How can a restaurant encourage customers to order directly?
Make the direct experience fast and easy, promote it across search and owned channels, provide a one-time switching incentive when appropriate, train staff and use packaging inserts or stickers to invite the next order through the restaurant website.
Should restaurants offer a permanent discount for direct ordering?
Usually not. A one-time first-direct-order offer can help change behavior, while ongoing promotions should be planned around seasons, customer value and business goals rather than creating a permanent discount expectation.
How should direct-ordering success be measured?
Track direct and marketplace order volume, commissions, average order value, repeat activity, customer acquisition, website conversion and channel mix by location. Interpret movement across the full system rather than treating one platform’s reported order count as the complete result.
About this report
This report is based on The Digital Restaurant’s experience working exclusively with restaurants, published RichMenu case studies and practical direct-ordering strategy. It is intended to support better channel decisions, not to guarantee a specific reduction in commissions or increase in orders.