Direct orders, not just platforms: why your restaurant needs its own ordering channel
Delivery platforms bring reach but charge commission. How your own ordering channel on your website and Facebook protects your margin and your guest relationships.
Many restaurants in Switzerland sell online mainly through large delivery platforms. That is convenient and brings visibility. But every order placed through a third-party platform costs commission – and in the end the relationship with the guest belongs to the platform, not to you.
What platforms cost
In 2021 the Swiss magazine Beobachter reported that restaurants pay up to 13 percent commission on orders placed via Eat.ch. If the platform also handles delivery, the report says it is almost a third of the order value. Orders placed through the restaurant's own website carry no such commission.
Do the maths: on a CHF 40 order, 13 percent is CHF 5.20 – a third is more than CHF 13. Across a hundred orders a month, that makes a real difference.
Your guests are already online
According to the WEMF study MA Net 2025-2, 94.4 percent of people aged 14 and over in Switzerland are online, and 94.7 percent of internet users go online with a smartphone. Anyone who wants to order from you will usually look for you on their phone – via Google, your website or your Facebook page.
Three reasons for your own ordering channel
- More margin per order: without high platform commission, more of the revenue stays with you.
- You own the guest relationship: guests who order directly become your regulars – not a platform's customers.
- Your brand, your rules: you decide on menu, prices, opening hours and promotions.
Platforms and your own channel can coexist
You do not have to leave delivery platforms straight away. Many restaurants keep using them to reach new guests – and actively steer regulars to their own ordering channel. Useful steps:
- a clearly visible order button on your website and Facebook page,
- a note on flyers, table cards and packaging,
- up-to-date details on Google so guests find you directly.
How SparissimoFood helps
With SparissimoFood your guests order directly through your website, Facebook or app. Getting started is free (freemium). You pay 5 to 8 percent per order – and we invest that revenue in advertising your restaurant on Google and social media. Hardware and on-site installation are included.
Tip: start with a simple goal – for example, one in ten orders coming directly through your website – and build from there.