You finally set up your own ordering site. Your brand, your menu, your customers. But then you made one decision that quietly sends people right back to the apps.
You marked up your online prices.
It makes sense on paper. You are trying to cover costs. Maybe you heard that marketplace apps inflate prices, so you figured your own site should work the same way. But here is the problem: your customers notice. And when they do, they start comparing.
The comparison trap
When your online prices are higher than your in-store prices, you are inviting a mental math exercise you do not want your customer doing.
They pull up your site, see the prices, and then open DoorDash or UberEATS to check. If the difference is only a few bucks, they start weighing convenience. "For three dollars more I get it through the app, I already have my card saved, and I get tracking."
You just lost a direct order over a gap you created.
The whole point of having your own ordering channel is to make it the obvious choice. The moment your customer has to justify ordering from you instead of through an app, you have added friction. And friction kills conversions.
Keep your online prices the same as your in-store prices
This is the simplest thing you can do to protect your direct ordering channel: match your prices.
Same menu, same prices, whether someone orders at the counter or on your site. No surprises, no mental math, no reason to go check the apps.
This is especially important for pickup orders. There is no delivery cost involved. No driver, no logistics fee. If a customer is willing to come get the food themselves and your online price is higher than what they would pay walking in, you are penalizing them for using your own platform. That is the opposite of what you want.
Pickup should feel effortless. Same price, faster experience, no waiting in line. That is a value proposition that sells itself.
Protect your margins on delivery without inflating your menu
If you are worried about delivery costs eating into your margins, the answer is not raising menu prices. That punishes every customer, including the pickup orders that cost you nothing extra to fulfill.
Instead, use the tools that are meant for delivery costs:
Set a delivery minimum. Something reasonable like $20 or $25 keeps tiny orders from costing you money while still being accessible. Most customers expect a minimum on delivery anyway.
Choose a delivery fee that works for you. You control what the customer pays for delivery on your own site. Set it at a number that covers your costs or gets close. If your actual driver cost is $7 to $8, a $5.99 delivery fee offsets most of it. The customer is still paying way less than marketplace apps charge them in service fees, delivery fees, and inflated prices combined.
The goal is simple: keep your menu clean and honest, and handle delivery economics through delivery-specific settings. Your customer sees the same prices they trust from your restaurant, plus a transparent delivery fee. No tricks, no markup, no reason to compare.
Your direct site should be the better deal (and it already is)
Here is what a lot of restaurant owners miss: your direct site is already cheaper for the customer, even before you touch your prices.
Marketplace apps stack fees. Service fee, delivery fee, small order fee, sometimes a platform fee on top. A $30 order can hit $42 by checkout. On your own site, that same order is $30 plus a delivery fee. The customer saves money and you keep more of the sale.
You do not need to manufacture an advantage. You just need to not erase the one you already have by marking up the menu.
Make it the obvious choice
The restaurants that win with direct ordering are the ones that remove every reason for the customer to go somewhere else.
Same prices as the store. A clean, fast ordering experience. Transparent delivery fees. No hidden charges.
When the math is simple and the experience is easy, customers do not compare. They just order.
That's what direct ordering should feel like. No inflated prices, no hidden fees, no giving your customers a reason to open DoorDash or UberEATS instead.
Talos is an online ordering platform built for independent restaurants that want to own that experience. Your brand, your prices, your customers.