How to Get More Orders on Deliveroo

Deliveroo customers behave differently from dine-in guests. They scroll quickly, compare multiple restaurants, and make decisions in under 30 seconds. Your menu needs to be engineered specifically for this context, not simply copied from your physical menu.

Start by accessing Deliveroo’s Restaurant Hub analytics to identify your top-performing items. The Hub’s Sales section shows which dishes generate the most orders and revenue. Place these items in a dedicated "Most Popular" or "Best Sellers" category at the top of your menu—Deliveroo displays categories in the order you set them, and the first category a customer sees drives the majority of conversions.

Limit your delivery menu to 25–40 items. Unlike a dine-in menu where variety signals quality, a sprawling delivery menu overwhelms customers and slows your kitchen. Remove items that don’t travel well, have low margins, or require excessive prep time. Deliveroo’s algorithm penalises slow preparation, so every item on your menu should be achievable within your target prep time.

Write descriptions that sell the experience, not just list ingredients. Instead of "Chicken burger with lettuce, tomato, cheese," write "Crispy buttermilk chicken with aged cheddar, vine tomato, and house-made sriracha mayo on a toasted brioche bun." Descriptive menu labels have been shown to increase sales by up to 28%. On Deliveroo, where customers cannot smell or see your food, descriptions do the selling.

Price strategically for the delivery context. Deliveroo customers expect a slight markup over dine-in prices (typically 10–15%), but excessive markups drive them to competitors. Review your competitors’ pricing directly in the Deliveroo app by searching your postcode. Ensure your prices are competitive while accounting for the 25–35% commission Deliveroo charges.

Use item modifiers and upsells aggressively. Deliveroo’s Menu Manager lets you add modifier groups (e.g., "Add a side," "Make it a meal," "Choose your sauce"). These modifiers increase your average order value without additional menu complexity. Restaurants that implement structured modifier groups typically see a 15–20% increase in average order value because customers opt into extras they would not have thought to order separately.

Finally, review and refresh your menu every 8–12 weeks. Use the Restaurant Hub data to cut underperformers and test new items. Seasonal updates signal to both the algorithm and customers that your restaurant is active and current.

Deliveroo’s own data confirms that restaurants with menu photography see a 20–30% boost in overall orders. Items with photos next to them generate an average 6.5% more sales than unphotographed items. Having food photos on even 10% of your menu can increase online orders by 12%. These are not theoretical numbers—they come directly from Deliveroo’s platform analytics across thousands of UK restaurants.

Deliveroo maintains strict photography requirements that differ from other platforms. Menu item images must be at minimum 1200 x 800 pixels with a 3:2 aspect ratio, allowing space for Deliveroo’s 1:1 crop. Hero images (the banner at the top of your listing) require a minimum of 1920 x 1080 pixels in 16:9 format. Only JPEG files are accepted—Deliveroo rejects PNG, TIFF, and Photoshop files. No stock imagery is permitted; you must own the rights to every image.

Each menu item image should show a single dish centred in the frame, shot from an angle that reveals all components. The entire dish must be visible with sufficient margin on all sides because Deliveroo crops to a 1:1 square. Images cannot include text, watermarks, hands, or faces. Poor-quality images—including basic smartphone shots with poor lighting—actually decrease orders compared to having no image at all.

For your hero image, showcase a curated arrangement of 3–5 of your signature dishes. This image appears in search results and is the first visual impression a customer gets of your restaurant. Invest the most effort here. Use professional lighting, complementary props, and a clean background that matches your brand.

Deliveroo offers an onboarding photography session as part of the sign-up fee, but this typically covers only a limited number of items. For complete menu coverage, consider professional food photography services or AI-powered tools like MenuPhotoAI that can transform basic food photos into professional-quality images that meet Deliveroo’s exact specifications. The ROI calculation is straightforward: if photography increases your orders by even 20% on a restaurant doing £2,000 per week through Deliveroo, that is £400 per week in additional revenue—paying for the photography investment within days.

Prioritise photographing your top 10 sellers first, then work through the rest of your menu. The Restaurant Hub analytics will show you exactly which items generate the most views and orders, so you can photograph high-traffic items before low-traffic ones.

Preparation time is the single most impactful operational metric on Deliveroo. The algorithm directly measures how long couriers wait at your restaurant, and this data feeds into your ranking position for every customer within your delivery radius. Deliveroo’s system timestamps when an order is accepted, when the courier arrives, and when the order is collected—giving the platform precise data on your kitchen efficiency.

The platform’s ideal prep time window is 10–15 minutes. Restaurants consistently hitting this range receive a measurable ranking advantage over competitors averaging 20+ minutes. During peak hours, when demand is highest and ranking competition is fiercest, prep time becomes even more decisive.

Start by auditing your current performance in the Restaurant Hub. Navigate to the performance section to see your average prep time, courier wait time, and the percentage of orders that are delayed. Identify which menu items consistently cause delays—these are candidates for recipe simplification, prep batching, or removal from the delivery menu entirely.

Implement a parallel preparation workflow for delivery orders. Unlike dine-in service where courses are staggered, delivery orders should have all components prepared simultaneously. Station-based preparation—where starters, mains, and sides are prepared at different stations in parallel rather than sequentially—can cut total prep time by 30–40%.

Invest in packaging pre-staging. Have bags, containers, cutlery, and napkins pre-assembled for each order type. The 60–90 seconds spent assembling packaging per order adds up to significant courier wait time across a busy service. Pre-staging reduces this to 15–20 seconds.

Use Deliveroo’s "busy mode" strategically during unexpected rushes. Rather than letting prep times blow out to 30+ minutes (which damages your ranking for days), temporarily increase your listed prep time or pause new orders. A brief pause causes less algorithmic damage than a string of delayed orders with long courier wait times.

Monitor your performance weekly, not monthly. Deliveroo’s algorithm responds to recent trends, so a bad week can undo a month of good performance. Set a team target for average prep time and review it in your weekly kitchen briefing. Restaurants that treat prep time as a key performance indicator—not just an operational afterthought—consistently outrank competitors who only focus on food quality.

Deliveroo Marketer is the platform’s self-service advertising tool, accessible directly from the Restaurant Hub. It is one of the most underutilised growth levers available to restaurant partners. Deliveroo’s own data shows that restaurants running offers through Marketer see an average 25% increase in orders and a 32% boost in menu views during the promotion period.

Marketer lets you create several types of offers: percentage discounts (e.g., 20% off orders over £20), free item promotions (e.g., free starter with any main), free delivery offers, and buy-one-get-one-free deals. Each offer type serves a different strategic purpose, and the most successful restaurants rotate between them to avoid discount fatigue.

Percentage discounts work best for acquiring new customers. Set a minimum order threshold that is 20–30% above your current average order value to ensure the discount drives larger baskets rather than simply subsidising existing order patterns. For example, if your average order is £18, set a "20% off orders over £25" offer—this encourages customers to add extra items to qualify.

Free delivery offers are particularly effective for Deliveroo because the platform’s delivery fee is a primary friction point for non-Plus subscribers. Absorbing the delivery fee (typically £1.49–£3.49) costs you far less than a percentage discount but can significantly increase conversion from browse to order.

Time your promotions to coincide with Deliveroo’s own promotional events. Tasty Thursdays (20% off selected restaurants) and Fridge Filler Mondays (grocery discounts) are platform-wide campaigns that drive increased app traffic. Running your own Marketer offer during these periods compounds the visibility effect—you benefit from both the platform’s marketing spend driving users to the app and your own offer converting those users.

Track every promotion’s performance in the Restaurant Hub’s analytics. Marketer provides data on impressions, click-through rate, orders generated, and cost per acquisition. Use this data to refine your approach: if a 20% discount generates 40 extra orders but a free delivery offer generates 35 extra orders at one-third the cost, the free delivery offer delivers better ROI.

Budget £100–£300 per month for Marketer campaigns to start. Test different offer types across different days and times, then scale spending toward the combinations that deliver the strongest return on investment. The compounding benefit is that increased order volume from paid promotions improves your organic ranking, creating a virtuous cycle where paid and organic visibility reinforce each other.

Deliveroo Plus is the platform’s subscription programme, offering customers free delivery and exclusive discounts for a monthly fee. Plus Silver starts at £3.49/month (free delivery on orders over £25) and Plus Gold at £7.99/month (lower thresholds and 10% credit back on orders over £30). Crucially, Amazon Prime members in the UK receive a complimentary 12-month Plus Silver subscription, which has massively expanded the Plus subscriber base.

Plus subscribers are your most valuable customers on Deliveroo. They order more frequently, spend more per order, and have higher lifetime value than non-subscribers because they have already committed a monthly fee that incentivises repeat ordering. Optimising your menu and operations for Plus subscribers can disproportionately increase your revenue.

First, ensure your minimum order value is set at or below £25—the Plus Silver free delivery threshold. If your minimum order is £30, Plus Silver subscribers still pay a delivery fee, and you lose the primary benefit of their subscription. Many restaurants unknowingly set minimums above this threshold and miss out on the largest subscriber segment.

Structure your menu to make it easy for customers to build a £25+ basket. Create meal deal bundles (main + side + drink for £24.99) that sit just below the threshold. Add a "Perfect for Plus" or "Free Delivery Picks" category that highlights items and combinations that hit the £25 mark. The easier you make it for Plus subscribers to qualify for free delivery, the more likely they are to choose your restaurant over a competitor.

For Plus Gold subscribers, the 10% credit-back kicks in at £30. Create premium bundles or sharing platters priced at £29.99–£34.99 to capture this segment. These customers are actively looking to spend above £30 because they earn credits, so give them a compelling reason to do it at your restaurant.

Monitor your Deliveroo Plus performance in the Restaurant Hub. The analytics section shows what percentage of your orders come from Plus subscribers. If this percentage is below the platform average for your area, your pricing or minimum order value may be creating friction. Adjusting these levers can unlock a significant pool of high-value, repeat customers who are already predisposed to order frequently.

Plus subscribers also tend to leave more reviews and have higher expectations. Meeting those expectations consistently builds a loyal base of repeat customers who order weekly rather than monthly.

On Deliveroo, your star rating is displayed prominently on your listing tile—the first thing customers see when browsing. Many customers filter by rating, and Deliveroo’s algorithm uses your rating as a primary ranking factor. A drop from 4.5 to 4.2 stars can reduce your order volume by 20–30% because you lose both algorithmic visibility and customer trust simultaneously.

Deliveroo’s review system allows customers to rate their experience from 1 to 5 stars and leave written feedback. The platform displays your average rating, total review count, and recent reviews publicly. Unlike some platforms, Deliveroo does not let restaurants delete negative reviews—your only options are to respond publicly and to prevent negative experiences from occurring in the first place.

The most common sources of negative ratings on Deliveroo are missing items, incorrect orders, cold food, and poor packaging. Address each systematically. Implement a double-check station where every order is verified against the receipt before sealing. Use tamper-evident stickers or sealed bags so customers know their order has not been interfered with during delivery. Invest in insulated packaging for hot items and separate containers for items that should not touch (e.g., sauces, salads).

Respond to every negative review in the Restaurant Hub within 24 hours. Deliveroo’s review response feature allows you to acknowledge issues publicly, which demonstrates accountability to future customers reading your reviews. A thoughtful response to a 2-star review can actually build trust—customers recognise that mistakes happen, but they want to see that you care enough to respond.

Proactively encourage reviews from satisfied customers. Include a small thank-you card in every order with a message like "Enjoying your meal? We’d love a review on Deliveroo!" Customers who have a positive experience rarely leave reviews unless prompted, while dissatisfied customers almost always do. Actively soliciting positive reviews rebalances your rating toward an accurate reflection of your overall quality.

Track your rating trend weekly in the Restaurant Hub. If you notice a dip, investigate immediately by reading recent negative reviews for patterns. Often, a rating decline traces back to a specific operational issue—a new staff member making errors, a supplier change affecting ingredient quality, or a packaging failure—that can be fixed quickly once identified.

Deliveroo offers two unique expansion programmes that no other UK delivery platform provides at the same scale: Editions (delivery-only kitchen spaces) and Virtual Brands (additional brand identities from your existing kitchen). Both represent revenue opportunities that go far beyond simply optimising your existing listing.

Deliveroo Editions are purpose-built dark kitchen facilities operated by Deliveroo in strategic locations across the UK, including London, Leeds, Manchester, and other major cities. Deliveroo provides the kitchen space, cleaning, site management, waste disposal, and centralised services—you provide your chefs, ingredients, and recipes. Each Editions site accommodates up to six restaurant operators, and the commission covers rent and operational overhead. This model lets you expand into new delivery zones without the capital expenditure of a full restaurant fit-out, which can easily exceed £100,000 for a high-street location.

Editions is particularly valuable for restaurants that have strong brand recognition but limited geographic reach. If your restaurant in Soho is fully utilised but you are not reaching customers in Canary Wharf, an Editions kitchen lets you serve that market at a fraction of the cost of a second premises. Deliveroo’s data analysis helps identify which locations have unmet demand for your cuisine type, reducing the risk of expansion.

Virtual Brands take a different approach: rather than expanding geographically, you expand your cuisine offering from your existing kitchen. Deliveroo partners with you to analyse local market data, identify cuisine gaps in your area, and develop a new brand and menu that your existing team can prepare using your current equipment. The virtual brand appears as a separate restaurant listing on the platform with its own branding, menu, and customer base.

The results are compelling: participating restaurants have seen a 75% increase in order volume, with 84% of virtual brand customers having never ordered from the original restaurant. This means virtual brands generate genuinely incremental revenue rather than cannibalising existing orders.

To explore either programme, contact your Deliveroo account manager or apply through the Restaurant Hub. Editions requires a minimum track record on the platform and consistent quality metrics. Virtual Brands are available to a broader range of partners but require the kitchen capacity to handle additional order volume without compromising prep time on your primary brand.

Deliveroo’s order volume follows a sharp weekly cycle. Friday and Saturday evenings between 6pm and 9pm typically generate 35–45% of a restaurant’s total weekly Deliveroo revenue. Sunday lunch (12pm–2pm) is the third-highest peak. Deliveroo’s algorithm gives extra ranking weight to restaurants that perform well during these high-demand windows, meaning peak-hour excellence compounds into better off-peak visibility too.

The most common peak-hour failure is accepting more orders than your kitchen can handle, leading to ballooning prep times and courier wait times. Deliveroo’s system does allow you to adjust your listed preparation time upward during busy periods, but a better strategy is to prepare your kitchen specifically for peak throughput.

Create a peak-hour preparation plan. Identify which items are ordered most frequently during Friday and Saturday evenings (the Restaurant Hub analytics show this by time slot) and pre-prep components for those items before service begins. Batch-prepare sauces, pre-portion proteins, par-cook sides, and stage packaging. The goal is to reduce per-order prep time during peak from an average of 15 minutes to 8–10 minutes.

Staff specifically for delivery during peak hours. Many restaurants make the mistake of sharing kitchen staff between dine-in and delivery, leading to both channels suffering. If your Deliveroo revenue justifies it, dedicate one or two staff members exclusively to delivery order preparation during Friday and Saturday peaks. This separation prevents delivery orders from disrupting dine-in service and vice versa.

Use Deliveroo’s busy mode controls strategically. If orders spike beyond your capacity, briefly increase your listed prep time to 25–30 minutes rather than letting actual delivery times blow out. Customers who order knowing the wait is longer give better ratings than customers who expect 15 minutes and receive their food in 35. The algorithm also responds better to accurate time estimates than to consistently missed ones.

Monitor your peak-hour rejection and cancellation rates closely. Rejecting orders during peak hours damages your ranking disproportionately because the algorithm interprets it as an inability to handle demand when it matters most. If you find yourself regularly rejecting orders, it is time to expand kitchen capacity for delivery rather than continuing to cap your growth.

Deliveroo for Business (also called Deliveroo for Work) is the platform’s corporate ordering channel, and it represents a revenue stream that most independent restaurants completely overlook. Companies use Deliveroo for Work to provide meal allowances to employees, cater meetings, and order for corporate events. The orders tend to be larger (often £50–£200+ for group orders), more frequent (daily lunch orders for offices), and more predictable than individual consumer orders.

To position your restaurant for corporate orders, you need to understand what business customers prioritise: variety (to accommodate dietary requirements), reliability (orders arriving on time for meetings), and professional presentation (food that looks good in a boardroom setting). These priorities are different from individual consumer orders where speed and value dominate.

Create a specific "Corporate" or "Office Catering" category in your Deliveroo menu. Include sharing platters, sandwich selections, boxed lunches, and group meal deals that are easy to order for 5–20 people. Price these as per-person packages (£8.99 per person for a lunch box, £12.99 per person for a premium selection) to make budgeting simple for office managers.

Label dietary options clearly—vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal—because corporate orders almost always need to accommodate multiple dietary requirements. Deliveroo’s Menu Manager supports dietary tags, and using them increases your visibility in filtered searches that corporate users frequently employ.

Ensure your packaging is appropriate for corporate settings. Individual portions in branded, professional containers make a significantly better impression than foil trays. Include napkins, cutlery, and serving utensils for sharing platters. This attention to detail drives repeat corporate orders, which are far more valuable than one-off consumer orders.

The Deliveroo for Work platform also provides companies with account management tools, monthly invoicing, and spending controls. Restaurants that appear prominently in the corporate channel benefit from recurring, high-value orders that smooth out the peaks and troughs of individual consumer demand. Contact your Deliveroo account manager to discuss how to optimise your listing for corporate visibility, as there may be additional promotional opportunities available specifically for the business channel.

Deliveroo’s Restaurant Hub is more than an order management dashboard—it is a comprehensive analytics platform that provides the data you need to continuously improve your performance. Most restaurant owners only use the Hub to accept orders and check payments, but the analytics sections contain insights that can directly increase your revenue.

The Sales section breaks down your revenue by day, week, and month, and shows which items generate the most orders and revenue. Use this to identify your true best-sellers on Deliveroo, which may differ from your dine-in best-sellers. A dish that is popular in-house may not photograph well or travel well, while a simpler item might be a Deliveroo hit. Let the data, not intuition, guide your menu decisions.

The performance metrics section shows your average prep time, courier wait time, order acceptance rate, and delayed order percentage. These are the exact metrics that feed into Deliveroo’s ranking algorithm, so monitoring them is equivalent to monitoring your visibility. Set weekly targets for each metric and review them in your team briefing.

The customer feedback section aggregates ratings and reviews with the ability to respond publicly. Beyond individual review management, look for patterns in feedback. If multiple customers mention cold food, your packaging needs upgrading. If accuracy complaints are rising, your order-checking process has gaps. Treating review analysis as a diagnostic tool rather than just a reputation management exercise is what separates top-performing restaurants from the rest.

The invoicing section provides detailed financial breakdowns including commission charged, adjustments, and net payments. Review this monthly to understand your true cost per order on Deliveroo. If your commission-adjusted margin on a specific item is below 10%, consider repricing, reformulating, or removing it. The Hub data lets you calculate exact profitability per menu item when combined with your food cost data.

Create a weekly 15-minute ritual of reviewing your Restaurant Hub analytics. Track your key metrics on a simple spreadsheet: weekly orders, average order value, prep time, rating, and acceptance rate. Over time, this data reveals trends that are invisible on a day-to-day basis—seasonal patterns, the impact of menu changes, and the true ROI of promotional campaigns.