A flavour of the takeaway & food delivery market
The UK is home to the third biggest online food delivery market in the world with UK households spending approximately £820 per person, per year!
This high level of spending indicates how embedded food delivery & takeaways have become in our everyday lives, particularly among younger consumers.
If you are in the food delivery market & wanna pizza the action, here is everything you need to know…
Who is craving those take outs?
Tech savvy & convenience hungry Gen Z & Millennials are reshaping the takeaway market as they demand faster deliveries, more diverse & healthier food options, & app-based ordering.
A whopping 69% of Gen Zs use food delivery apps regularly & whilst millennials are less frequent users, they do spend more, averaging over £60 per order.
These younger consumers are increasingly seeking healthier & more sustainable options, including more eco-friendly packaging. This shift towards sustainability is driving the rise of people wanting to order directly from local restaurants rather than through a 3rd party platform.
How do people satisfy their cravings?
People tend to decide where they want to order from in 2 ways:
- Via Google & searching for local takeaways
- Via 3rd party delivery platforms like Just Eat, Deliveroo & Uber Eats
So your take away should be to ensure you have a presence on Google AND sign up to 3rd party delivery platforms.
Serving up the perfect dish on Google
Google my business is a free platform you need to sign up to if you want to make sure you aren’t missing out on customers who google local takeaways. It gives you a page on Google when people search & ensures you appear on the map.
The page you create is like a website. You can add images, menus, reviews & everything people need to know about you. Without this, your business won’t be as visible.
In fact, some people use a Google my business page instead of having their own website – saving themselves loads of money. With an online ordering system, you can simply link this straight to your Google page.
Are additional fees leaving a bad taste…
The UK food delivery market is dominated by 3 major players; Just Eat, Deliveroo & Uber Eats, but these 3rd party platforms can eat into your profits with large fees. In addition, consumers spend 35% more when they order directly from a restaurant, compared to using 3rd party platform.
So if you want to minimise additional fees & maximise sales then you should:
- Get your own online ordering system as rates for collection will be much lower than the delivery platforms – usually around 1% instead of 15%.
- Don’t show links to delivery platforms on your Google page. You will only drive people to them for collections & then they’ll charge you 15% for using their software system.
- Get a web page, even if it’s just a low cost one to start with. Then you can direct your orders for collection to your online ordering system & your deliveries to the delivery apps.
- When you are ready, you may want to test using your own delivery drivers. Your online ordering system can handle collections & deliveries & usually offers a driver app. Ours does anyway.
Cooking up a local dish
Clearly you want people in your local area to know about your business so marketing to them is essential. Here are some ways to get started…
- Facebook / Instagram – Set up an account & you can start to target local people. We can help if you need advice or a marketing service.
- Door drops & flyers are useful to increase visibility in certain areas.
- Ensure your Epos system & online ordering system have a CRM. That way you can keep a record of your customers & email or text them promotions & offers. Most systems have this, but not all can handle table orders & online orders. Ours does if you need advice.
- Loyalty systems are great for repeat business. Again, most good Epos systems have this built in but if yours doesn’t, then do ask us for help.
Feast your eyes on phone & online orders
It’s useful to be able to take orders & fast payments via the telephone using a system that has the ability to do this directly rather than needing a card machine. This means safer, easier & quicker payments & frees up your card machine for face to face orders.
Remember, phone orders are great, but if your phone is engaged when people call, you’ll lose that business. So having both an online ordering system as well as taking orders via the phone will help you maximise sales.
Indulge in our banquet of services..
Breathe Payments offers Epos systems that can also manage your online ordering systems & link to your card machines. We also offer CRM systems & loyalty as part of the same integrated technology to help manage your customer lists & run marketing campaigns.
If you need a marketing service for social media platforms – we offer this too. It’s pretty low cost, so do get in touch for a quote.
Find out more about our systems which link directly to our payment gateway to offer a seamless online store for your restaurant or takeaway. We offer easy set up at a fraction of the cost of the online delivery companies – now that’s something to takeaway!
Breathe Payments – We live & Breathe food delivery platforms