Cut Delivery Platform Fees: A Guide for Restaurants

Delivery platforms give you visibility and new guests, but every order placed through them comes at a cost. Depending on your contract, this is often a double-digit percentage per order, plus further charges. Knowing each cost item lets you respond in a targeted way.

• Commission per order, often a double-digit percentage depending on the contract
• Extra fees for promotion and a better position in the listing
• Costs for payment processing through the platform
• No direct access to your own customer data
• Growing dependence on the platform's terms

This does not make platforms bad; they are a useful reach channel. What matters is the mix: shifting part of your orders to a channel of your own clearly reduces the average fee per order.

Not every measure has the same effect. The biggest savings appear when you gradually steer recurring orders to your own channel while promoting lower-commission options such as pickup.

The key adjustments

• Place a clearly visible order button on your website
• Steer regular customers to your own ordering channel
• Actively promote pickup instead of delivery and make it attractive
• Set a sensible minimum order value
• Review and build your own delivery within the local area

These levers do not exclude the platform. They make sure guests who already know you choose the direct route, while the platform keeps bringing new customers.

An ordering channel of your own does not appear overnight, but it can be built in a structured way. The following steps help you take your first direct orders without much effort.

1. 1Set up your own order link on the restaurant website
2. 2Promote the link on the menu, a QR code and the receipt
3. 3Actively inform regular guests about the new ordering route
4. 4Keep using the platform specifically for reaching new customers
5. 5Compare margins and order mix regularly and adjust

Patience matters: give your guests time to get used to the new route and make ordering as easy as possible. Even a growing share of direct orders noticeably improves your margin.

An ordering channel of your own only convinces when it is as convenient as the platform. So pay attention to technology, speed and trust, so guests are happy to order directly from you.

• Fair payment processing with transparent fees
• A mobile-optimised order page for fast ordering on the go
• Clear pickup and delivery times with no nasty surprises
• Store and use customer data in line with the GDPR
• Reliable notifications for the guest and the kitchen

The smoother your own channel runs, the more likely guests are to return to it. A simple, trustworthy ordering flow is therefore the best basis for saving on commissions in the long term.

gastronomx gives you an ordering channel of your own on your own domain. Guests order directly from you, without the detour via a platform, with delivery, pickup or ordering at the table via QR code.

Your channel, your margin

Instead of a platform commission per order, you only pay fair payment fees for processing. The menu, the reservation and the ordering process all come together under your brand in one place.

A decisive advantage: the customer relationship stays with you. You see who orders from you and can address regulars directly, instead of selling anonymously through a third-party platform.