What the Best Delivery Brands Do Differently

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We’ve been in the F&B space for over a decade—and we’ve seen delivery evolve from a COVID-era lifeline into one of the most powerful revenue engines for restaurants.

Some brands are still struggling. Others have cracked the code.

The difference? Execution.

At Oddle, we’ve worked with hundreds of restaurants across Asia, and the patterns are clear. The best-performing delivery businesses don’t just “offer delivery”—they engineer growth through three core levers:

If you're serious about scaling your delivery revenue, this is the formula. Let’s break it down.

Step 1: Grow Traffic (Organic + Inorganic)

Most restaurants don’t have a traffic problem. They have a distribution problem. You can’t grow what people can’t find.

Here’s how the best brands consistently drive traffic:

🔍 Organic Traffic

Google Reviews: More reviews = better ranking and discoverability.

Dine-In to Delivery: Your best delivery customers are the ones who’ve dined in. Use reservation, loyalty, or payment data to remarket delivery.

Email Campaigns: Still the most cost-effective way to drive direct traffic and repeat orders.

📈 Inorganic Traffic

Matched Audience Ads: Retarget diners who haven’t tried delivery.

Lookalike Ads: Target users similar to your existing high-value customers.

Marketplace Diversion: Use inserts, packaging, and vouchers to guide platform customers to your direct eShop next time.

🧠 Read our earlier post on designing delivery menus for real-world occasions →

Step 2: Optimise Conversion Rate

You’ve got traffic. But are they converting?

The best brands treat conversion like a science—pairing behavioral psychology with data-backed strategies.

Let’s break it down into three key levers:

🎯 1. Promotions: Targeted, Not Generous

Promotions aren’t about giving away margin—they’re about nudging behavior.

Here’s what we’ve seen work:

💡 Why fixed-dollar promos?

Because direct customers are often planning larger orders. A 10% discount on a $500 order gives away $50 for no reason. That’s why fixed values protect margins without compromising conversion.

And for first-timers, don’t offer “signature item” discounts—they don’t yet know what’s good. Simpler "$ off" incentives work better.

🚚 2. Delivery Fees: Frame the Value

Same net price, very different experience:

$100 bundle + $5 delivery fee → Feels fair.

$80 bundle + $20 delivery fee → Feels like a penalty.

Customers are fine with small, fixed delivery fees—they just don’t want to feel punished. Frame your value through food, not logistics.

🧮 3. Minimum Order Value: Lower the Barrier

From our data:

Direct delivery customers in Singapore spend $100–$120 per order.

But the magic happens when you set your minimum order at $50 (or even $35).

This lowers the mental barrier to checkout—most customers will exceed the threshold anyway. You’re not capping spend, you’re just encouraging starts.

📊 The Power of 1%

Let’s say:

10,000 visits/month

$120 average basket size

3% conversion rate = $36,000/month

Increase conversion to 4% = $48,000/month

That’s $12,000 more revenue a month—or $144,000 a year—from a single percentage point.

Even a 1% lift in conversion can drive six-figure growth annually.

Step 3: Increase Average Basket Size (ABS)

Once you’ve got traffic and conversions humming, Average Basket Size becomes your biggest growth lever.

Most delivery orders are for groups. But most menus are designed for individuals.

Starters → Mains → Desserts

One person at a time. One dish at a time.

That’s not how delivery works.

🧠 Group Ordering Is Painful—Unless You Design Around It

Think like the host. The #1 thing they hate?

Asking every guest, “What do you want to eat?”

It’s a hassle. No one wants to coordinate six orders across a messy menu.

That’s where well-designed bundles shine.

✅ How the Best Brands Design for Higher ABS

Lead With Bundles

“Family Feast for 4”

“Office Lunch for 6”

“Celebration Set for 8”

➤ Include your best dishes. Don't optimize for margin—optimize for experience.

This is your brand’s moment to shine.

Anchor With Signatures

Familiar dishes = trust = easy upsell.

Put À la Carte Last

Guide first. Customize later.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Bundles = Advocacy on Autopilot

When someone orders a bundle, it’s often for a group of 4–6 people.

If the food delights?

The host becomes your advocate

The guests become your next customers

And the best part?

You didn’t need to run a single ad.

📈 ABS = Compounding Growth

Raise your ABS from $80 to $100 with better bundles?

At 500 orders/month, that’s $10,000/month more revenue.

This is growth without acquiring a single new customer.

Final Thought: Don’t Just Offer Delivery. Engineer Growth.

The best delivery brands don’t win with fancy tech or beautiful websites.

They win because they deeply understand how people buy—and they design every part of the experience around that behavior.

✅ Drive traffic from multiple sources

✅ Convert visits with smart pricing and promos

✅ Grow order value with thoughtful, experience-led menu design

At Oddle, we don’t just believe in helping restaurants grow—we have strong opinions on how to do it.

Oddle isn’t just another tool to figure out.

It’s an opinionated, outcome-driven system—built to deliver profitable sales growth right out of the box.

And here’s what sets us apart:

We’re not here to charge you for access.

We’re here to grow with you.

We only win when you win.

We charge when you generate sales.

We’ve built our business to have skin in your game.

Because we don’t just power your delivery.

We take responsibility for helping you grow it.

Book a Free Google Review Strategy Call →

Jonathan Lim

Founder & CEO, Oddle