With fees that slash restaurant profits, platforms like Uber Eats and Menulog have become a necessary headache for many restaurants.

Studies out of the US report that 70% of operators have seen off-premises orders take on a higher proportion than they ever held prior to COVID-19, leaving many QSRs attempting to work out how to add some balance and perspective to the third-party business craze.

It’s brought about the rise of companies that can establish an online and ordering presence external to these delivery apps.

Where third-party platforms do the QSR in question a disservice by facilitating repeat purchases on their own terms, taking away any potential customer engagement.

These new companies then base their success on eliminating this from the equation, offering a service that helps to establish an online presence and allows for first-party ordering systems.

While the big players happily work with the necessary evil of third-party ordering apps, understanding the ultimate value in having multiple ways for potential customers to access their products, it’s the independent and small to medium operators who would benefit greatly from keeping their customers, and the data they bring, internal.

Retaining these customers and their data won’t be difficult once it is established that ordering becomes significantly cheaper by going directly through the QSR, so there is surely legs in this premise and it will likely begin to expand further than the shores of the US.