Why regular customers continue to order via Lieferando
When regular customers continue to order via Lieferando, what they often lack is not good will, but an equally simple and familiar direct route. This guide shows you how to find the cause in your own company, how to use your website, packaging and team sensibly and how to avoid using portal contact details for advertising without asking.
Why do regular customers continue to order via Lieferando?
When well-known guests continue to order via Lieferando, they often lack goodwill. In most cases, the route via the portal is simply more familiar or easier to find. Your own shop is not visible at all, the link takes a detour or the information differs from that in the portal. Before you think about discounts, eliminate this friction.
A delivery platform can still reach new guests. Your own ordering channel has a different task: Anyone who already knows your restaurant should find a direct route to the menu, delivery and collection next time. Both channels can run in parallel.
Habit is stronger than a small hint
Lieferando itself explains that order history, previous favorites and other signals influence which restaurants are shown to a guest. The portal reminds the guest of an ordering method they have already used. A single QR code on the bottom of a flyer has to break this habit.
So first check how a regular guest actually orders today:
- He searches the restaurant name on Google.
- He opens the well-known Lieferando app or a previous order destination.
- It compares opening times, delivery areas and menus.
- He takes the path that seems complete and familiar.
If your website doesn't have an immediately visible order button or the wrong link is in the Google company profile, the familiar process usually wins. This is not a loyalty problem. It's a discoverability problem.
Find the specific cause in your own company
Open the website, Google business profile, and order store on a smartphone that wasn't used for setup. Search the way a guest would search. The restaurant name alone is enough as a starting point.
Answer these questions:
- Is the direct order button visible without scrolling or menu searching?
- Does it lead directly to the right restaurant and the current menu?
- Do opening hours, delivery area, minimum order value and prices match?
- Are online payment, delivery and pickup available where you advertise?
- Does a guest immediately recognize your restaurant by its name, logo and appearance?
- Does the shopping cart work seamlessly on a small smartphone?
Write down each fraction. A new advertising phrase does not solve an outdated link or a closed order page. First fix the process that you want to promote afterwards.
The general advice on more direct orders contains a detailed check for website, Google profile, QR code and restaurant operations. This scenario page focuses on known guests who already order through a portal.
Make the direct route visible for the next contact
Regular guests don't need to be convinced that your food tastes good. You have to see the other ordering method and find it again later. Good points of contact include your own website, restaurant, pickup and your own materials that you include with an order, if your contracts and processes allow this.
The note doesn't need a long explanation. Examples are:
- “Next time order directly from our website”
- “Our current menu and direct ordering”
- “Order delivery or collection directly from the restaurant”
Put a readable web address next to it and optionally a verified QR code. The QR code cannot be the only information. Guests should understand where the clue leads even without a camera.
Use the same landing page everywhere. An address on the packaging, another in the Google profile and a third link on Instagram make the direct route more difficult to notice. After changes, someone on the team should test all public links.
Do not use portal contact information as a promotional list
A telephone number or email address may be necessary to process an order. This does not automatically mean that the restaurant may use this data for later advertising. This is exactly where a breach of trust quickly occurs: the guest orders food and then receives unsolicited advertising messages.
Before you send emails, SMS or other direct advertising, you must check the legal basis, information requirements, consent and the possibility of objection for your specific case. The data protection conference's guidance describes the requirements and expressly points out complaints following unexpected advertising.
The safe, practical starting point is simpler: promote your direct channel at touchpoints you control. For push notifications in your own restaurant app, guests must also agree and be able to change their decision.
The direct shop must appear at least as reliable
A guest does not permanently switch to an ordering method that works worse on the first try. So don’t just check the homepage. As a test, order yourself for collection and delivery. Check the process until confirmation in the restaurant.
Pay particular attention to sold-out products, extras, address verification, payment options and realistic processing times. The reaction of the team is also part of it. If a direct order is confirmed later than a portal order, the guest will notice this difference immediately.
The shop should not promise benefits that do not apply in the company. Do not write “faster” or “cheaper” if prices, capacity utilization or delivery times do not reliably indicate this. The clear advantage is the direct ordering route under your restaurant brand.
Example: A pizzeria with two ordering methods
A pizzeria continues to use Lieferando because new customers are looking for pizza in the area. At the same time, she sets up her own online ordering website. On the website it says “Order directly” in the visible area. The Google business profile points to the same page.
When picking up the item, the team will point out the direct shop. The same address appears on our own cards and packaging instructions. The QR code does not open the homepage, but directly the mobile menu. Sizes, extras, delivery area and opening times correspond to the information in the restaurant.
The pizzeria does not promise a flat-rate price advantage and does not write to those who order from the portal without asking. After a few weeks, she compares how many direct orders are received, at which points guests drop off and what questions arise in the company. This creates the next concrete improvement.
When having your own direct channel isn’t enough
A new business without known guests can still rely on the reach of a marketplace. Even a restaurant with unclear opening hours, frequently sold-out dishes or an unreliable delivery process should get these basics in order first.
Having your own shop does not automatically create demand. It accepts direct orders if guests want to find and use it. For some companies, a parallel structure makes more sense than an abrupt change.
The Lieferando alternative for restaurants separates both models in detail. There you can check which task the portal and which task your own channel should take on in your company.
Which gastrosprint plan suits this scenario?
Complete is the recommendation if you want to build a website, online ordering website and your own restaurant app together. The website makes the direct route visible. The shop accepts the order. The app complements this path for returning guests with points, rewards, app offers and push notifications with consent.
The guide explains how this creates a restrained campaign plan Customer loyalty with restaurant app and push marketing. It separates order status and advertising and contains concrete message examples without a general promise of effectiveness.
If a good, working restaurant website already exists, Growth may be the leaner exception. Direct is suitable if you initially only need your own online ordering website. The plan comparison shows prices and services side by side.
For the first step you don't need an artificial switching rate. Check the current ordering process, eliminate the specific breaks and make the direct link visible at your own contact points. You can then use real orders to decide what needs to be improved next.
The Practice plan for Lieferando and Wolt customers in their own shop guides you through the implementation: with QR cards, invitation texts, a sample calculation and tasks for the first 30 days.
Frequently asked questions
Should I switch off Lieferando as soon as my own online ordering website is online?
Not automatically. A portal can continue to provide reach while your own shop is being set up for well-known guests. Check both ways separately based on your actual orders, costs and operational processes.
Can I use phone numbers from Lieferando orders for advertising?
Do not automatically treat contact information from a portal order as an advertising distribution list. Before sending an advertising message, check the legal basis, any necessary consent, the information for those affected and a simple option to object.
How do I make my own online ordering website visible to regular guests?
Use a clear order button on the website, a current link in the Google business profile and clear instructions in the restaurant, when picking up or on your own printed materials. Each clue should use the same target.
Does a restaurant need its own app for direct orders?
No. Direct works as a browser-based online ordering website without app installation. Your own restaurant app can also give returning guests a direct route with points, rewards, app offers and push notifications with consent.
Sources and product basis
- gastrosprint: Lieferando alternative for restaurantsProduct basis for separating marketplace reach and your own direct channel.Retrieved on
- gastrosprint: Increase direct orders in the restaurantExisting overview of website, Google business profile, QR codes and restaurant flow.Retrieved on
- Lieferando: placement and recommendation systemsOfficial Statement on Use of Order History, Favorites, Reviews, Operational Performance and Paid Placement.Retrieved on
- Data Protection Conference: Guidance on direct advertisingOfficial guidance on personal data, consent, objection and direct marketing.Retrieved on
