Every restaurant owner knows the temptation: sign up with a delivery app and orders arrive from day one. A few months later you notice a share of every bill goes as commission, that you do not know your customer's phone number, and that the platform shows your competitors next to you. The right question is not "delivery apps or my own restaurant ordering app?" but "how do I use each one wisely?"
What the delivery apps give you
- New customers who are searching for a restaurant and do not know you yet.
- Ready drivers and online payment.
- No technical investment on your side.
What do you pay for it? A commission on orders, less control over display and prices, and customer data that stays with the platform. Ask each platform for its terms in writing and work out what is left to you per order after commission.
What your own app or site gives you
- The customer is yours. You know who orders what and when, and can send an offer on a Friday.
- No platform commission on each order (you may pay only payment-gateway fees).
- Your identity. Your menu, photos and offers, with no competitors beside them.
- Re-order in two taps, and a loyalty scheme of your own.
But you need something to bring customers to your channel: an active Instagram account, a QR code on tables, bags and boxes, and a simple local ad.
Side by side
| Delivery apps | Your own channel | |
|---|---|---|
| Winning new customers | Strong | Needs marketing effort |
| Cost per order | Commission | Low (payment fees) |
| Who owns customer data | The platform | You |
| Control of display | Limited | Full |
| Speed to start | Days | Weeks |
Using both is the answer for most restaurants
Use the apps to discover new customers, then make the second order come from your channel: a card in the bag saying "order direct and get a free drink", and a QR code that opens your ordering page. That is how a platform customer becomes your customer.
What your channel should include
- A menu in Arabic and English with real photos, extras and options.
- Delivery or pickup ordering, and table booking.
- Online payment or cash on delivery.
- A kitchen screen that receives orders directly, and driver tracking.
- Reports: best-selling dishes and peak hours.
Also read about online payments in Oman and the Gulf.
What we build for you
We set up an ordering channel in your name, with restaurant and delivery management behind it. Try the restaurant sample demo on both sides and look at the restaurant management system and delivery systems. If you are a delivery company, see the delivery companies example.
Work out what is left from each order
Before you decide, write down for an average order at your restaurant: the selling price, ingredient cost, the platform commission (from its written terms), packaging cost, delivery cost if it falls on you, then what remains. Repeat the sum for an order through your own channel with payment fees. The gap between the two figures is what you can invest in bringing customers to your channel.
A three-week plan for your own ordering channel
Week one: a final menu with photos, prices and extras, and decide delivery areas and times. Week two: launch the order and payment page and the kitchen screen, and try ten real orders with family and friends. Week three: a QR code on bags, boxes and tables, the direct-order offer, and a post on Instagram and your Google profile.
What you must not compromise
Time: a customer who waits an hour does not come back. Set the advertised preparation time honestly, and let the system stop taking orders when you are overloaded. Then quality on arrival: how the order is packed and how hot it is matters more than any technical feature.
Common questions
How do I move delivery-app customers to my own channel?
Put a card with a QR code and a direct offer in the bag, share the ordering link on Instagram and your Google profile, and offer a points scheme the platform does not. Being on the map helps: local SEO.