How to get customers to order direct instead of DoorDash

By the Nomback team, who build ordering apps for independent restaurants · Updated October 18, 2026 · Sources

Restaurants move customers to direct ordering by giving them a reason and making it easy: a card in every DoorDash bag with a reward for ordering direct next time, a lower price or perk only on the restaurant's own app, a stamp card for regulars, and an app or site that reorders in two taps. The goal isn't to quit DoorDash, which is good at finding new customers. It's to stop paying 15 to 30% on the second, third and tenth order from people who already know the restaurant. At 25%, every regular who switches saves the restaurant $10 on a $40 order.

Do bag inserts work for getting customers to order direct?

They are the most direct channel a restaurant has, because every delivery customer opens the bag. A small card with a QR code and a specific offer, such as a free slice or a few dollars off the next direct order, gives the customer a reason to switch at the exact moment they're eating the food. Nomback makes bag insert cards for this.

Should restaurants offer a discount for ordering direct?

Usually yes, because the restaurant can afford it. A restaurant paying a 25% commission can give 10% off direct orders and still keep about 15% more per order. Money a restaurant spends on app promotions works harder as a direct-order discount, because no commission comes out of it.

Does a loyalty program help restaurants get direct orders?

Yes, if the rewards only count on direct orders. A digital stamp card ("buy 9, get the 10th free") gives regulars a reason to keep coming back to the restaurant's own app, and push deals on slow nights reach them without paying DoorDash to win them back. See restaurant loyalty apps.

Should a restaurant charge the same prices on DoorDash and its own app?

Many keep app prices higher to cover commission, which makes direct ordering the cheaper option automatically. Delivery menus averaged 19% above in-store prices in 2023 (Gordon Haskett). Telling customers plainly that ordering direct is cheaper is the simplest pitch a restaurant has. Note that DoorDash's 6% pickup rate requires pickup prices to match in-store prices.

Do customers want to download an app for every restaurant?

Most won't, and they don't need to. A direct ordering website works for occasional customers. The app is for regulars who order weekly, which are exactly the orders a restaurant pays the most commission on.

What one switched regular is worth in a year

A regular who orders a $30 meal once a week costs a restaurant $390 a year in commission at 25% (52 × $7.50). Ten switched regulars is $3,900 a year, more than three years of a $99 a month ordering app. Check your own numbers in the commission calculator.

See it with your restaurant's name on it. Type the name into the 10 second demo and it turns into your own app. When you're ready, start your app.

Sources

Prices and fees were checked on October 18, 2026. They change, so check the source before you decide.