November 21, 2025

How to Increase Online Orders for Your Restaurant in 2025 (The Complete Playbook)

A practical, modern guide for restaurants that want more direct orders, higher margins, and repeat customers — without relying on marketplaces.

Make Your Website Your #1 Ordering Channel
Your website is the highest-margin place a customer can order. The goal is simple: funnel guests away from marketplaces and into your first-party ordering channel.
A high-converting website in 2025 includes:
→ A giant “Order Now” button above the fold
Center it. Bright color. Visible instantly on mobile.
→ Speed + simplicity
Fast load times = more orders.
Clean layout = less friction.
→ Mobile-first design
70–80% of restaurant traffic is mobile. Your site must be built for mobile.
→ Direct ordering you own
First-party ordering = higher margin, more data, more repeat customers.
Optimize Your Online Menu for Maximum Conversion
Your menu is your online salesperson — design it that way.
Quick optimization wins:
- Put best sellers first
- Add photos to every item
- Short, punchy descriptions
- Streamline categories
- Add “Popular” or “Recommended” sections
- Add modifiers (upgrades, extras, combos)
- Run limited-time drops
Just cleaning up your menu can increase AOV by 10–25%.
Remove Friction from Your Ordering Experience
Every unnecessary tap is a lost order.
Customers should be able to:
- checkout on one page
- pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay
- reorder in one tap
- verify via SMS (not email)
The fewer steps, the higher your conversion rate.
Launch a Loyalty Program That Actually Drives Repeat Orders
Most loyalty programs fail because they’re confusing and slow.
The best loyalty programs today are:
- simple
- instant
- SMS-based
- automatic
- personalized
Why we recommend cash-back over points
Points introduce friction: customers don’t know what they’re worth. Cash-back feels real, immediate, and universal. We explain the full strategy here.
Turn One-Time Customers Into Loyal, High-Frequency Regulars
Segmentation is outdated.
The new model is:
Every customer is a segment of one.
AI lets you treat each person differently based on:
- their order frequency
- their favorite items
- their typical reorder window
- their price sensitivity
- whether they respond better to SMS or email
- their individual lifetime value trajectory
1:1 personalization looks like this:
- If someone normally orders every 10 days → win them back on day 11.
- If someone always buys the same item → recommend the perfect upsell.
- If someone is approaching churn → send the highest likelihood offer to reactivate them.
- If someone is high value → give them VIP treatment automatically.
No segments. No buckets. No generalized messaging. Just a personalized, adaptive system for every diner. This is the future of restaurant CRM.
Capture Every Visitor Who Doesn’t Order
80–90% of website visitors do not place an order. Most restaurants never see them again.
High-growth restaurants capture:
- phone numbers
- emails
- SMS opt-ins
Once captured, you can turn anonymous traffic into predictable revenue — through 1:1 outreach, not broad segments.
This is the philosophy behind Open Capture: every visitor is a potential relationship you can personalize.
Use Google Reviews to Increase Ranking & Orders
Google reviews directly influence how many customers choose you.
Weekly checklist:
- ask for reviews after positive experiences
- respond to every review
- refresh your photos
- update your Google Business Profile
- upload your menu
More reviews → higher ranking → more online orders.
Run Targeted Ads on Meta & Google
Paid acquisition works best when your entire ordering engine is optimized.
Meta campaigns that work:
- local radius ads
- food photos with simple CTAs
- weekly specials
- UGC posts
- Lead forms to capture SMS opt-ins
Google campaigns that convert:
- “order [restaurant name]”
- “[food] near me”
- competitor conquesting
- branded keyword protection
The goal is simple: bring demand directly to your site — not the marketplaces.
Run Limited-Time Items & Seasonal Drops
Drops create urgency, excitement, and habit.
Examples:
- weekend-only specials
- seasonal dishes
- LTO sandwiches
- loyalty-exclusive items
- “only available for 72 hours”
Restaurants who run drops grow faster — because customers start checking in regularly.
Track What Works (Then Multiply It)
You don’t need complicated dashboards — just track:
- website → order conversion rate
- AOV
- reorder frequency
- loyalty participation
- SMS click-through rate
- online order GMV
- monthly customer retention
The moment you begin measuring, you start improving.