How to Get Takeaway Customers to Order Online, Not by Phone
To get takeaway customers ordering online, give them a reason that benefits them: a guaranteed collection time, no waiting on hold, no app service fee, already paid. Then put your link where they already are (a QR code on the pizza box, your Google profile, your voicemail) and offer it on every phone call. Expect 10–15% at first, rising as regulars switch.
Why most takeaway websites take so few orders
On French pizza forums, owners who bought an ordering system describe the same first months again and again: "a few orders, but too rare", sometimes "no online orders at all". Customers rang at half seven wanting food "now", and a system built around pre-booking felt unmanageable. Another owner, three years into click and collect, still says most orders come by phone; a shop in the same thread gets 10–15% through its own site. He had sunk around €3,000 plus an intern's wages into custom software. The tool was never the problem.
In the UK there's a second twist: your customers already order online. They just do it through Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats. So you're fighting two habits at once, the phone and the app, and the app is a very good habit.
Pizza is an impulse buy. People decide at 7pm and want to eat at 7:45. If your ordering only works well for scheduling later, it misses most of the demand. It has to handle "as soon as possible" first.
Give customers a reason that's about them, not you
"No commission" and "frees up my line" are your reasons. The customer doesn't care. What moves them is what the phone and the apps can't offer:
- A guaranteed collection time. On a Friday night the phone says "20 minutes" and it's 40. Online, they pick 8:15pm and the pizza comes out at 8:15pm.
- No service fee. The big apps add a service charge, and often a small-order fee, on top of the menu price. Ordering direct is the same tap-and-pay experience without it. Say so on the box.
- No hold music, no misheard order. No "large pepperoni, no onions" lost in the noise of the oven.
- Already paid. Collection takes ten seconds.
A slot only works if you keep it, so it must match your real capacity. Pizza makers on the forums quote 5–8 pizzas per 15 minutes working alone, 9–11 with a helper. Past that, the next slot should show automatically.
Managing the rush: capacity per 15 minutes
Put the link everywhere the customer already is
On the pizza box
This is the most effective spot. The box sits on the customer's coffee table for an hour, at home, right when they're thinking about next time. A sticker with a QR code and a short web address is enough. Sell the benefit ("Pick your time, no fees"), not "Find us online".
On your Google Business Profile
Since the end of June 2024 Google no longer takes orders itself: the "Order online" button sends people to a website. Under "Food ordering" in your profile, add your own link and set it as preferred, separately for pickup and delivery. Otherwise Just Eat or Deliveroo is often what shows first. Careful: switching off "Accept orders on your profile" hides every link, yours included.
Everywhere else
- Your voicemail and on-hold message.
- The shop window, leaflets through doors, receipts.
- Your Instagram bio, Facebook page and WhatsApp status.
The phone script: convert callers one by one
Nobody uses this lever, and it's the strongest. Every caller is a customer who has already decided to buy and just doesn't know your link yet.
- At peak: "We're flat out on the phone. Order at [short address], you'll pick your time and skip the queue."
- Off-peak: take the order, then text the link "for next time".
- Withheld numbers: hoax orders and fake addresses are a recurring complaint among takeaway owners. It's the natural moment to say "for withheld numbers we only take prepaid online orders".
Expect a clear step up the first busy weekend the whole team uses the script. Not before.
Incentives that work (and ones that train bad habits)
| Incentive | Effect | Our view |
|---|---|---|
| 10% off orders placed before 4pm | Moves orders online and flattens the rush | Excellent, used by a forum pizzeria |
| Free dip, dessert or drink on the first online order | Triggers the first try | Good, cost is capped |
| Loyalty stamps only online | Brings them back through the right door | Very good long term |
| Permanent 10% off online | Cuts margin on customers you already had | Avoid |
If you're also on Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats, read your contract before pricing direct orders lower. Where it's allowed, being cheaper direct is the strongest lever of all. Just Eat's base rate is around 14% plus VAT when you deliver yourself, and much more when their riders do; on a £25 order that easily leaves room to knock £1 off your own price and still come out ahead.
Loyalty cards for takeaways: what actually works
Make ordering online faster than a phone call
Time it: pull out your phone and order from your own site. If it takes more than a minute, the call wins. You need:
- Three taps to the basket, no forced account.
- Photos and allergen information visible, not a PDF.
- The real next free slot shown straight away.
- Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay. People on apps expect them.
Building a menu that works on a phone
Measure the switch
Every week, note the share of orders placed online and where they came from (QR on the box, Google, leaflet). A different link per channel is all it takes. To see what each order you move off an app saves you, use our delivery commission calculator.
FAQ
What share of takeaway orders can go online?
It varies widely. One forum pizzeria reports 10–15% through its own site, with the phone still dominant after three years. Shops that push the link on calls and on the box do far better than those who just put a website up.
Should I give a discount for online orders?
A time-limited one works: 10% off before 4pm also flattens the rush. Prefer a first-order freebie or online-only loyalty to a permanent discount, and check any price-parity clause in your platform contracts first.
Why do customers keep ringing instead of ordering online?
Pizza is an impulse buy and the phone feels quicker. Your site has to beat it: a guaranteed collection time, no waiting, payment done and a menu that takes three taps.
Can customers still order directly on Google?
No. Since June 2024 the order button sends people to a website. Add your own ordering link in your Business Profile and set it as preferred so it isn't a platform's.
Setting up online ordering, step by step