How to move marketplace regulars to ordering direct
- Author
- Tamim Shoja
- Published
- Read time
- 2 mins
A marketplace is useful for the first order from someone who has never heard of you. The fifth order from the same person is a different matter. Marketplace commission on a delivery order is substantial. Uber Eats, for example, charges 20% to 30% depending on the plan, as Restaurant Dive reported in March 2026. You pay it again every time that regular reorders.
You cannot email them, so use what you control
The marketplace holds the guest’s contact details. You do not get an email address to write to. What you do control is everything the guest touches after the order leaves the app.
- The bag: a card or sticker with a QR code that opens your own ordering page
- The counter: a sign where pickup orders are collected
- Your Google listing: your own link set as the preferred order option
- Your Instagram bio and your website: one order link, the same one everywhere
Read your marketplace agreement before you put anything in a marketplace bag. Some agreements restrict what you can include.
Give them a reason
A guest will not change a habit to help your margin. They will change it for something that is better for them. Pick one and say it plainly on the card:
- The menu price, if you charge more on the apps to cover commission
- Items or specials that are only on your own menu
- Ordering ahead for a set time
- A loyalty reward or a promotion on the first direct order
Make the first direct order easy
The guest is comparing your page with an app that already has their card and address saved. Let them check out as a guest, on a phone, without creating an account. Every extra field loses some of the people who scanned the code.
Count it
Once a month, write down how many orders came through your own page and how many through each marketplace. The share that is direct is the number to watch. If it is not moving, change the offer on the card before you change anything else.
The aim is not to leave the marketplaces. It is to stop paying an introduction fee for guests you already know.
