48% of diners think it's cheaper to order directly through a restaurant, study finds

More than 110,000 restaurants have closed throughout the past year, which is sparking consumer awareness of the challenges the industry faces and motivating diners to help support operators. Of the consumers motivated to order directly from a restaurant, 28% said it's because they have seen their favorite restaurants struggle and want to help them as much as possible, according to SevenRooms research. 

Third-party delivery platforms take a 30% commission from restaurants on average, according to Seven Rooms. Throughout the past year, several cities launched initiatives to help restaurants protect their margins as they operated under takeout- and delivery-only restrictions, including delivery fee caps in Seattle, New York and Los Angeles. Restaurant groups including the Iowa Restaurant Association also encouraged people in March to order directly from their favorite restaurant instead of third-party services to help in the industry's recovery.

During 2020, many major delivery aggregators temporarily waived or reduced commission fees for delivery or takeout to attract new restaurant partners and deepen loyalty with existing operators in their networks. DoorDash was especially proactive in drumming up diner support for restaurants on its platform, creating app filters highlighting Black-owned businesses, creating free delivery promotions for local restaurants to entice diners and launching a five-year, $200 million "Main Street Strong" pledge to dedicate investments, programs, products, service and benefits to support partner restaurants. 

Still, SevenRooms report suggests that creating a direct ordering solution could have a major financial impact on restaurants. For example, the restaurant reservation system estimates that a direct ordering solution would save roughly $54,000 for a high-end New York Italian restaurant that generates $216,000 in delivery orders in a six-month period.