The Hidden Costs of Relying on Delivery Apps: A Closer Look at UK Restaurants
Over the past decade, food delivery platforms have reshaped how people in the UK eat. Services such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats have become household names, bringing everything from burgers to biryanis to customers’ doors with just a few taps on a phone.
For many restaurants, joining these platforms has felt less like an option and more like a necessity. Visibility on the apps can bring a rush of new customers, open up a late-night revenue stream, and keep a restaurant competitive in an age when consumer habits have shifted dramatically.
Yet beneath the surface, the relationship between independent restaurants and delivery apps is far more complicated. For every benefit promised, there are hidden downsides that quietly erode margins, dilute brand identity, and lock businesses into models that often serve the platforms more than the restaurants themselves.
Commission fees that bite into margins
The most immediate challenge for any restaurant signing up to these platforms is the commission structure. Apps typically charge between 25 and 35 percent per order, sometimes even higher depending on the arrangement. For a business already operating on razor-thin margins, handing over a third of every sale is crippling.
To put this into perspective, many independent restaurants rely on margins of 5 to 10 percent after covering rent, staff wages, utilities and ingredient costs. Losing a large chunk of turnover to commissions can flip a profitable dish into a loss-maker.
Restaurants may feel pressure to raise menu prices on the platforms to cover the fee, but that creates another problem: customers may notice the higher prices compared to dining in or ordering directly, and may choose a competitor instead.
What commission could be costing your restaurant or takeaway
Lets assume your average order value is £25. Commission on each order at 30% = £7.50. That's £7.50 lost to commission on every order. If you get 100 app orders a week, that's £750 per week, £3250 per month, £39,000 per year swallowed in commission alone!
This is where directing customers to order directly becomes powerful. With the arrival of AI phone ordering systems, restaurants can encourage callers to bypass delivery apps altogether.
An automated phone ordering system answers every call instantly, takes orders accurately, and ensures no customer is ever lost to an unanswered phone. The cost savings from avoiding commission fees can be dramatic, allowing restaurants to keep more of their revenue while still offering convenience. A phone ordering system from Alayic starts from just £39.99 per month, which is a huge difference to the cost of delivery app commission.
Loss of direct customer relationships
Traditionally, a restaurant builds loyalty by getting to know its customers. Staff greet regulars by name, the chef remembers a favourite dish, and the business grows through word-of-mouth recommendations. On the delivery apps, that relationship is severed. The platform owns the customer data, from phone numbers to email addresses, and the restaurant never sees it.
Without access to this information, restaurants cannot market directly to the people who have already shown an interest in their food. They cannot send promotions, ask for feedback, or build a mailing list. All customer engagement is filtered through the app’s own communication channels, meaning the platform retains control over the experience and the restaurant becomes just another listing in a crowded marketplace.
AI phone ordering changes that dynamic. Every call is an opportunity to connect directly with the customer. The system can politely collect names and preferences, ensure orders are logged accurately, and feed the restaurant with data it actually owns. This helps build loyalty programmes, capture repeat business, and create opportunities for upselling that would otherwise be missed on third-party apps.
Brand dilution in a crowded environment
Scroll through Deliveroo or Just Eat and you are presented with hundreds of options within a small radius. For the consumer, this creates convenience and choice. For the restaurant, it creates a branding problem. Even if a business has a unique concept or carefully cultivated reputation, on the app it appears as just another tile among dozens of similar offerings.
This lack of distinction can erode a restaurant’s identity. Customers who would normally connect emotionally with a brand or a dining experience end up seeing it as a commodity. Worse, the algorithms used by the apps often favour the biggest spenders in advertising or the chains that can offer discounts, making it harder for independents to stand out.
By comparison, a phone line answered every time by an AI assistant allows a restaurant to control the tone and personality of the interaction. It ensures the customer hears the restaurant’s name, experiences its unique style of service, and feels connected directly to the brand rather than through a generic delivery app interface.
Quality and reputation risks
Another challenge is the impact on food quality. Restaurants design their menus for the dining room, not necessarily for transport in a courier’s backpack. Some dishes simply do not travel well. Chips become soggy, pizzas arrive cold, sauces leak. Even if the restaurant has prepared the food perfectly, it is the delivery experience that shapes the customer’s final impression.
Unfortunately, when a dish arrives late, damaged or unappealing, the customer is more likely to blame the restaurant than the courier or the app. Negative reviews accumulate and reputations suffer, even though the business has little control over the delivery process. To mitigate this, some restaurants create separate delivery menus or invest in expensive packaging, but that adds yet another layer of cost.
Encouraging direct orders through AI phone systems allows restaurants to set clear collection or in-house delivery expectations. Customers who call directly can be told precise collection times, or reassured about delivery slots, creating a smoother overall experience that reflects better on the brand.
Dependency and reduced control
Once a restaurant starts receiving significant order volume through these platforms, it risks becoming dependent on them. A sudden algorithm change, a shift in commission rates, or the arrival of a new competitor in the local area can all disrupt sales overnight. The restaurant becomes a tenant in a digital landlord’s property, with little power to negotiate.
This dependency also reduces a business’s flexibility. Promotions must often be approved or run through the app’s system. Customer complaints are handled by the platform’s support teams, which can be slow to respond or fail to capture the nuance of a particular restaurant’s service standards. In essence, the restaurant hands over control of its customer journey to a third party.
By contrast, a direct ordering channel supported by AI means the restaurant is in charge. The system can upsell meal deals, suggest sides, and maintain a consistent brand tone. Instead of competing for algorithmic visibility, restaurants reclaim control of their destiny.
While the promise of delivery apps is that they bring in more revenue, the reality for many operators is more complex. A surge of orders during peak times can overwhelm kitchens that are already stretched. Staff find themselves juggling in-house diners with a stream of tickets from the app, leading to delays, errors and frustration on both sides.
This can increase staff stress and turnover, which are already major challenges in the hospitality sector. In some cases, restaurants hire additional staff purely to handle delivery orders, which further eats into profitability. The operational pressure can alter the entire rhythm of a restaurant, forcing it to adapt to the demands of the platform rather than its own business model.
The illusion of marketing support
Platforms often promote themselves as marketing engines for restaurants, offering exposure to thousands of potential customers. While this is true to an extent, it is not always the kind of marketing that builds a long-term brand. Visibility is algorithm-driven, and many restaurants find themselves buried beneath larger chains unless they pay extra for sponsored placements.
In effect, the restaurant is competing in a bidding war just to be noticed, and the app reaps the benefits of the advertising spend. Independent operators often lack the budget to compete with multinational chains that can afford constant discounts and promotions. As a result, they gain some short-term exposure but little sustainable growth in customer loyalty.
AI phone ordering offers a smarter alternative. Every call becomes an opportunity to market directly: offering a discount for collection, suggesting a drink or dessert, or inviting customers to join a loyalty scheme. It is targeted marketing at the point of sale, without the costly bidding wars.
Conclusion
The rise of Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats has undeniably changed the UK hospitality landscape. These platforms have made food delivery easier for consumers and opened up new sales channels for restaurants. Yet the costs hidden behind the convenience are significant. Commission fees, brand dilution, loss of customer data and operational pressures can all undermine the long-term health of independent restaurants.
For operators, the challenge is not whether to use these platforms but how. By combining a strategic presence on delivery apps with direct channels such as AI-powered phone ordering, restaurants can reclaim control of their customer relationships, protect their margins, and safeguard their brand.
Ultimately, success lies in balance. Delivery apps may be part of the picture, but restaurants that invest in direct ordering solutions stand to keep more profit, build stronger customer loyalty, and create a business model less dependent on third parties. In a sector where every percentage point of margin counts, that control can make all the difference.
Find out more about AI phone ordering systems for takeaways from Alayic.
