Takeaway ordering app development
The delivery platforms take a cut of every order and keep the customer details that came with it. Your own ordering app does not pay that cut, but it also does not bring you new customers. Both of those things are true and you should plan around them.
What you gain, and what you give up
You keep the commission on every order placed through your own app, and you keep the customer list, which means you can message people who already buy from you.
What you give up is discovery. Just Eat and Deliveroo put you in front of people who have never heard of you. The sensible approach for most takeaways is both: stay on the platforms for new customers, and move your regulars onto your own app where the margin is.
The whole loop, not just the customer app
An ordering app alone creates a problem: orders arriving on a phone nobody is watching during service. The kitchen needs a screen that accepts, times and closes orders, and if you deliver yourself the driver needs the run on their phone.
We build the loop: the ordering app and web storefront on your own domain, the kitchen screen, and the driver app with proof of delivery.
- Ordering app and website on your own domain
- Kitchen screen that accepts, times and closes orders
- Driver app with navigation, signature and a photo of the drop
- Payments into your own account
Built on real counter hardware
Orders print to the kitchen printer already on the pass. Alerts have their own sound so they are heard over an extractor fan. These sound like details until service starts.
Questions people ask before starting
Will my own app replace Just Eat or Deliveroo?+
Not for new customers. The platforms are a marketing channel and your own app is a margin channel. Most takeaways keep both and push regulars towards the app with the cheaper prices they can afford to offer there.
How do payments work?+
Through your own payment account, usually Stripe, so the money reaches you directly with no platform commission deducted first.
Do I need the kitchen screen and driver app as well?+
The kitchen screen, yes, almost always: orders on an unwatched phone get missed during service. The driver app only if you deliver with your own drivers rather than a third party.
Can customers reorder their usual in one tap?+
Yes, and for a takeaway it is the single feature that earns the app back, because most orders from regulars are the same order again.