Online ordering seems too expensive?

With the rise of online ordering for takeaway food, the idea that it can actually cost you money has become a popular thought process for many business owners, but is this really the case?

When done correctly, online ordering can be very profitable. The trick is understanding the costs of receiving the orders and the long-term effect on your business, and then making the right choice about how you implement online ordering.

In the example below, we look at what using an online ordering platform could cost you for every order you receive through them.

Ordering Portal Charges:

• 20% commission on order value (average)
• 50p admin per order
• VAT added to total cost

Using the figures above on a single £20 order:

• 20% commission = £4
• Admin charge = £0.50
• VAT on ALL charges = £0.90
• TOTAL CHARGE for £20 order = £5.40

This example shows that on a £20 order you only receive £14.60, which means in total you have paid a whopping 27% to receive the order.

If you multiply this by 200-300 orders a month you can see that you are giving away £1000’s a month in fees to receive your online orders this way.

The arguments for using online ordering portals vary between ‘they do everything for you’, ‘they bring you more customers’, ‘it isn’t any cheaper to do it yourself’ or ‘it is too expensive to get your own service’. The truth is very different, and many of these arguments are myths, probably started by the online ordering portals themselves. 

A study done by one of the online portals, during their merger with another business, states that around 80% of customers would probably order direct from the businesses they listed, even if they didn’t use the portals. This means that up to 80% of the orders you could receive from using an online portal, would have come to you anyway, so why are you giving away up to 27% of your order for an existing and regular customer? The simple answer is you shouldn’t!

The alternative to the online portals is getting your own online and mobile App ordering system that allows you to offer the same kind of convenience and freedom to your customers, but you receive the orders, and more importantly, all the money, direct to your bank.

App4 already works with hundreds of food businesses across the UK, with many Fish & Chip Shops included in that list.  We provide each business with their own individual ordering system, fully branded and customised to their requirements, for a fixed monthly fee with NO commissions, admin fees or hidden extras.

We have been providing our service for over 5 years now and our customers generally save over £10,000 a year in online ordering fees, they see an average increase in customer spend of around 20% and over 50% of our customers have recommended us to another business.

We try to make the process of getting your own online ordering as simple as possible.  Once we have a copy of your menu and logo, we design everything for you to check and sign off.  Once you’re happy with the look and feel we build your App, populate your menus and supply you with the equipment to get going. 

Finally, we provide full training on using the system and we start marketing your new service using social media to get people using it.  As part of the package we also include some physical marketing materials, to help you promote in store and to your regulars.