How Restaurants Get More Orders on Delivery Apps (Marketing Guide 2026)

Delivery platforms reward restaurants with great photography, clean menu structure, prompt acceptance, consistent quality, positive reviews, and strategic use of promotions. The six levers that actually move order volume — ranked by impact — are photography, review rating, menu structure, promotions, prep-time accuracy, and (optionally) paid advertising. Most restaurants lose orders to the first three before the fourth is ever relevant.

1. Photography

The single highest-leverage change any restaurant can make. A/B tests on Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and independent studies consistently show 20–50% conversion lift when stock images or phone snaps are replaced with properly-shot dish photography. Good photography costs £200–£500 for a full menu shoot; the payback is typically a matter of weeks.

Minimum: every dish photographed in natural light on a clean background. Best: every dish plus signature dishes with styled context shots. Update seasonally and for new menu launches.

2. Review star rating

Below 4.3 stars, visibility drops sharply on all major platforms. Above 4.5, you get a subtle boost. Drivers of good reviews: hot food, accurate orders, correct packing, realistic prep times, friendly rider handoff. Drivers of bad reviews: cold food, missing items, long delays. Each of these is fixable operationally.

3. Menu structure

• Logical categories (Starters / Mains / Sides / Drinks / Desserts, not alphabetical)
• Clear descriptions: ingredients, spice level, size
• Accurate allergens (GDPR-equivalent food regulation requires this)
• Well-priced bundles ("meal deals") that feel like value
• Limited modifiers (lots of build-your-own options increase errors)
• Clear variant labelling (small/medium/large)
• Signature dishes flagged prominently

4. Promotions (used strategically)

"25% off first order" for new customers is usually good economics — acquisition cost via ads is higher. "20% off any order" eroded across existing customers is expensive. Free delivery promotions work well during slow hours (2–5pm, 9–11pm). Always measure promotion ROI — many are net loss.

5. Prep-time accuracy

If your app says "30 minutes" but delivery actually takes 50 minutes, reviews suffer. Better to be honest about 40 minutes and over-deliver at 38 than to under-promise at 30 and disappoint. Platforms use prep-time accuracy in their ranking — restaurants that consistently miss estimates get deprioritised.

6. Paid advertising (used carefully)

All three major platforms offer Sponsored Listings, Featured Positions, and similar. Typical cost: 5–15% of advertised-order revenue. ROI can be positive if your organic rating is strong, negative if you are paying to drive customers into a poor experience. Start with a small budget (£50–£100/week) and measure incremental order lift vs. baseline.

What about multi-platform strategy?

Most UK restaurants list on all three majors (Uber Eats + Deliveroo + Just Eat) plus an emerging lower-commission platform like GeraEats. Prices on each can be lightly different to reflect commission. Exclusivity deals with one platform (in exchange for lower commission) exist but rarely good value — you exclude yourself from a significant audience.

How should I track success?

• Orders per day (trend, not absolute)
• Average basket size
• Star rating
• Conversion rate (basket-builds to completed orders)
• Repeat customer %
• Net margin per order (after commission, food cost, labour)

GeraEats provides all of these in the restaurant dashboard. Many competitors show only the revenue side.