5 Ways to Increase Your Cafe Sales Without Relying on Delivery Apps

Let's do some quick math.

If your café does $20,000/month through DoorDash at a 30% commission rate, you're paying $6,000/month—or $72,000/year—just for the privilege of having an app take your orders.

That's a full-time employee's salary. Or a complete kitchen renovation. Or the down payment on a second location.

The dirty secret of third-party delivery apps? They're designed to make them rich, not you. They keep your customer data, they control the relationship, and they're actively trying to get those customers to order from your competitors too.

There's a better way. Here are 5 proven strategies to grow your sales while keeping more of your hard-earned revenue.

1. Launch Your Own Ordering App (Yes, You Can Afford It)

"But I can't afford a custom app!" Actually, you probably can't afford not to have one.

Here's the thing: you're already paying for customer acquisition through DoorDash. They just happen to be keeping the customers you paid for. When someone orders through DoorDash, you get the sale but DoorDash gets:

• The customer's contact info
• Their order history
• The ability to market your competitors to them
• 20-30% of every order, forever

The Alternative: White-label ordering platforms let you have your own branded app in the App Store for a fraction of what DoorDash takes. We're talking $200-400/month instead of thousands in commissions.

What a Branded App Gets You

With your own app:

• You own the customer relationship—email, phone, order history
• You control the experience—your brand, your upsells, your promotions
• You keep the margins—platforms like GoTasty charge just 1%, not 30%

The "Starbucks Effect"

Ever notice how Starbucks customers are obsessed with their app? That's not an accident. Mobile ordering creates habit loops:

1. Cue: Morning commute
2. Routine: Open app, one-tap reorder
3. Reward: Skip the line, collect points

You can create the same experience. Customers who order through your app are significantly more likely to become regulars than those ordering through DoorDash (who might order from someone else tomorrow).

Real example: One LA coffee shop moved 65% of their delivery orders to their own app within 6 months. Monthly savings: $4,200. Annual savings: over $50,000.

2. Build a Loyalty Program That Creates Regulars

If you're not running a loyalty program, you're essentially hoping customers remember to come back. Hope is not a strategy.

The psychology is simple: People love earning rewards and hate losing progress toward them. A customer who has 80 points toward a free drink will go out of their way to visit you instead of a competitor—even if the competitor is slightly more convenient.

Elements of a High-Impact Loyalty Program

1. Low barrier to first reward: If someone has to spend $200 to earn a free $5 drink, they'll lose interest. Make the first reward achievable within 2-3 visits.
2. Progress visibility: Show customers exactly how close they are. "2 more drinks to your free latte" is powerful motivation.
3. Tiers that create aspirations: Bronze → Silver → Gold → VIP makes customers want to "level up."
4. Rewards beyond free stuff: Early access to new items, birthday perks, exclusive events—these create emotional connection, not just transactional loyalty.

The Social Loyalty Multiplier

Here's what most loyalty programs miss: your customers can be your marketing team.

Modern loyalty platforms (including GoTasty) let you reward customers for:

• Posting about you on Instagram
• Tagging you in stories
• Leaving Google reviews
• Referring friends

Imagine: every Instagram post earns the customer 50 points, while giving you free marketing. That's not a cost—it's an investment with measurable returns.

3. Use Marketing Automation (Your 24/7 Growth Assistant)

You don't have time to send personalized emails to every customer. But your software can.

Marketing automation means setting up campaigns once that run automatically based on customer behavior. It's like having a marketing employee who works 24/7 without breaks.

Campaigns That Run Themselves

The Win-Back Campaign

• Trigger: Customer hasn't visited in 14 days
• Message: "We miss you! Here's 15% off your next order."
• Result: Re-engages at-risk customers before they forget about you

The Birthday Campaign

• Trigger: Customer's birthday month
• Message: "Happy Birthday! Your free drink is waiting."
• Result: Creates emotional connection, drives guaranteed visit

The New Customer Sequence

• Trigger: First purchase
• Day 1: "Thanks for trying us! Here's what to order next time."
• Day 3: "Did you know we have a loyalty program?"
• Day 7: "Your favorite drink is waiting—order ahead and skip the line."
• Result: Converts first-timers into regulars

The Weather-Based Promotion

• Trigger: Rainy day forecast
• Message: "☔ Rainy day? Hot drinks are $1 off today."
• Result: Drives traffic on slow weather days

SMS vs. Email

Both work, but SMS is particularly powerful for restaurants:

• Open rates: SMS (98%) vs. Email (20%)
• Response time: SMS (90 seconds) vs. Email (90 minutes)
• Best for: Time-sensitive promos, order updates, loyalty alerts

The key is not to abuse it. One or two SMS messages per week is helpful. Daily messages will get you blocked.

4. Optimize Your Pickup & Online Ordering Experience

Here's a counterintuitive truth: you don't need delivery to grow online orders.

Delivery is expensive (whether you're paying DoorDash or hiring drivers). Pickup is almost pure profit. The trick is making your pickup experience so convenient that customers prefer it to delivery.

Make Pickup Frictionless

1. Dedicated pickup area: Customers shouldn't wait in the same line as walk-ins. Ideally, they should be in and out in under 30 seconds.
2. Order-ahead with time selection: Let customers choose their pickup time. They feel in control, and you can manage kitchen flow.
3. Push notifications: "Your order is ready!" beats customers awkwardly asking if their latte is done.
4. One-tap reorder: Your regular who gets the same thing every day should be able to reorder in literally one tap.

Geofencing: The Secret Weapon

Geofencing sends push notifications when customers enter a geographic area. This is incredibly powerful for coffee shops:

• Customer is 2 blocks away → "Your usual is waiting—tap to order ahead"
• Customer drives past during morning commute → "Skip the line: order now for pickup"

Starbucks has done this for years. Now platforms like GoTasty make it accessible to independent shops.

Upselling Done Right

Your online ordering platform should help you increase average order value without being annoying:

• Smart modifiers: "Add an extra shot? (+$0.75)"
• Suggested pairings: "Goes great with our almond croissant"
• Bundling: "Make it a breakfast combo and save $2"

Customers actually like helpful suggestions. They just don't like pressure.

5. Convert DoorDash Customers to Direct Customers

Here's the painful reality: if you're on DoorDash, you've already paid to acquire those customers. Now you need to get them to order direct.

The "Card in the Bag" Strategy

Include a card with every DoorDash/UberEats order:

Love our food? Order direct and save!

📱 Download our app: [Your App Store Link] 🎁 Use code DIRECT15 for 15% off ⭐ Plus earn loyalty points on every order

Same food. Faster service. Better prices.

This is 100% allowed (it's your customer after all), and it works. Even a 10% conversion rate adds up fast.

Make Direct Ordering Obviously Better

Customers need a reason to change their behavior. Give them several:

The Gradual Migration

You don't have to quit DoorDash cold turkey (though eventually you might want to). The smart play:

1. Stay on delivery apps for discovery (new customers finding you)
2. Aggressively convert those customers to direct ordering
3. Make direct customers your VIPs with better deals and service
4. Reduce reliance on delivery apps as your direct channel grows

Over 12-18 months, many restaurants reduce delivery app orders from 50%+ of revenue to under 20%—and they're more profitable because they're keeping 99% of each direct order instead of 70%.

The Math That Changes Everything

Let's revisit those numbers from the beginning:

Scenario A: Heavy DoorDash Reliance

• $20,000/month in DoorDash orders
• 30% commission = $6,000 gone
• You keep: $14,000
• Customer data: None

Scenario B: Direct Ordering Platform

• $20,000/month in direct orders (via your app)
• 1% platform fee = $200
• You keep: $19,800
• Customer data: All of it

The difference: $5,800/month = $69,600/year

That's not "savings"—that's your marketing budget, your staff bonuses, your expansion fund. And you get customer data that lets you grow even faster.

Getting Started: The 90-Day Transition Plan

Month 1: Foundation

• Choose and launch your direct ordering platform
• Set up a basic loyalty program (points-based)
• Create your "card in the bag" for delivery orders
• Train staff on promoting direct ordering

Month 2: Activation

• Launch email/SMS campaigns to existing customers
• Promote your app on social media
• Set up basic automation (welcome series, win-back)
• Start tracking direct vs. delivery app orders

Month 3: Optimization

• Analyze what's working, double down
• Add advanced features (geofencing, tiers)
• Test incentives for delivery-to-direct conversion
• Plan gradual reduction of delivery app reliance

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The Bottom Line

Third-party delivery apps solved a real problem—they made it easy for restaurants to offer delivery. But the solution came with a poison pill: 30% commissions and zero customer ownership.

You have alternatives now. Platforms exist that give you Starbucks-level tech (ordering apps, loyalty, marketing automation) at a fraction of the cost of delivery app commissions.

The restaurants thriving today aren't the ones paying $72,000/year to DoorDash. They're the ones who own their customer relationships and keep their margins.

You cook. You should keep the profits.

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Ready to Break Free?

GoTasty helps independent coffee shops and restaurants escape the commission economy with:

• 🍽️ White-label ordering app (your brand, your customers)
• ⭐ Built-in loyalty program (points, tiers, social rewards)
• 📱 Marketing automation (set it and forget it)
• 💰 Just 1% commission (vs. 30% from DoorDash)

See how much you're really paying in delivery app fees—and what you could be keeping instead.

Calculate Your Savings | Get a Free Demo