Home meal delivery platforms are all well and good... as long as you don't go overboard! For a restaurateur, it's essential to know how to take advantage of opportunities without losing your independence. Otherwise, you could quickly feel like you're working for Uber Eats or Deliveroo.
First of all, it's not a question of rejecting platforms out of hand... Home meal delivery can bring a lot to the table, whether you're in a classic or "fast & good" restaurant. It's growing much faster (+20% in sales in 2018 in France) and is increasingly diversifying beyond the pizza-sushi-sandwich trifecta. The advantage is that it enables restaurants to diversify, generating sales without having to invest too much and without taking up space.
The downside is that they're expensive! Relying too much on delivery platforms can add up to a hefty bill for restaurateurs. In a market where a few platforms dictate the terms, there's little room for negotiation if you're not a major brand yourself.
And the trend is towards concentration: in the face of unbridled competition, many platforms have thrown in the towel. Gone are Take Eat Easy, Foodora and Tok Tok Tok. In this fight to the death, only the American Uber Eats and the British Deliveroo and Just Eat remain. Regularly loss-making in most cities, they have no intention of lowering their commissions - up to 30% of the bill for Uber Eats or Deliveroo.
Beyond the cost of commission, delivery platforms have perverse effects on restaurants. Like table-booking platforms, they sometimes bring you customers who already know you. In the end, it's not so much the platform that sends you customers, as the other way around. Many restaurants find themselves paying high commissions on customers they already own.
Delivery platforms have another flaw: they encourage restaurants to offer promotions to stand out in a plethora of offerings. The discounts offered on the site encourage managers to sell off their meals, further lowering their margins (already affected by commissions).
Finally, platforms have the disadvantage of adding an intermediary between you and your customers. The added value is primarily for the platform: it holds the customer filewhich is so important for developing communication campaigns.
While home delivery can generate a real leap in sales, many restaurateurs are disappointed because margins are falling. They also have a lot to lose, not least their independence. No one wants to replicate what happened with the hotel industry, where booking platforms (Booking, Hotel.com, Trivago...) now dictate terms to captive hoteliers.
So how do you make the most of it without losing your independence? Some restaurants have taken action and set up their own fleet of delivery drivers, taking orders on their own or via Just Eat, which offers a reduced commission without delivery. Internalizing delivery becomes much more profitable once you reach a certain volume and equip yourself with professional tools! There are totally independent online order-taking solutions for deliverysuch as Clickeat. The advantage is that you can take orders online (no more constantly ringing phones) via your own online store. The restaurateur is free to configure his menu, delivery zones and delivery charges. It's a time-saver for restaurants choosing to internalize their delivery! With Clickeat, it's also possible to call on a fleet of delivery drivers via their delivery partners (Stuart).
Other possibilities: use home meal delivery platforms, while at the same time activating solutions that create links with customers, without intermediaries. SMS marketingmarketing, loyalty programs... These are just some of the solutions offered by Pongo to help you maintain control over your customer relations, in complete independence!
