RESTAURANTS MAY HAVE TO USE DIFFERENT TACTICS TO DRIVE DIRECT ORDERS. ILLUSTRATION BY NICO HEINS/FIREFLY
But those markups may have been offset a bit by the proliferation of promotions and discounts offered by third-party apps. More than half (52%) of customers who ordered from a third party received a promotion, compared to just 32% of first-party customers. Ultimately, though, the researchers found that there was little correlation between price and customer satisfaction. “To a certain extent, once that decision is made that I’m going to order delivery, that relationship with price is almost moot,” said Sarah Beckett, VP of sales and marketing at Intouch Insight. “Essentially, you’ve decided to spend the money already.” Instead, satisfaction hinged on things like speed, accuracy and food temperature. On those variables, there was little distinction between first and third party. Customer satisfaction with speed of service was equal at 91% for both first- and third-party orders. The same was true for order accuracy: For both service models, 89% of shoppers said their order was correct. Third-party apps did slightly better on food temperature, with 90% of customers saying the food arrived at the right temperature, compared to
88% for first party. First party’s biggest edge was the actual delivery time. Orders placed directly took an average of 30 minutes to arrive, compared to more than 35 minutes for third-party orders. That could be because third-party transactions were far more likely to have other trips included along the delivery route. This practice, known as batching, occurred in 19% of third-party delivery orders, but just 4% of first-party orders. Customers who ordered directly were also more likely to have the option to customize their order: 97% were able to do so, vs. 90% for third-party apps. They also reported more personalization, like a note on the bag, extra sauces or a friendly delivery person. A quarter of first-party orders came with a personal touch, compared to 15% of third-party orders. The results suggest that if restaurants want to get more customers to order directly, they might consider focusing less on price and more on speed, customization and service. That appears to be where they have the biggest advantage compared to third-party apps right now. The Intouch Insight study was conducted from April to June between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. Customers were not allowed to use a paid account to get discounts or preferred delivery. Shoppers were spread equally across the U.S. Intouch Insight will present results from the full study at this year’s FSTEC restaurant technology conference, which will be held Sept. 14-16 in Orlando. Check out the study here.
OCTOBER 2025 RESTAURANT BUSINESS
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