How to move delivery-app customers to direct ordering (and what DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub allow)
Updated October 20, 2026
To move delivery-app customers to direct ordering, give every bag a reason to come back to you next time: a card with a QR code to your own ordering page and a code that only works there. DoorDash's and Uber Eats' published US merchant terms don't ban a card in your own bag, but they do limit what's on it and what you do with customer data. Read the rules below, then run the 30-day plan.
In short
- The bag card is the channel. The app owns the customer's contact details; your packaging is the one thing you control.
- Never use the app's name, logo or customer data for the card or a follow-up. Uber's US terms forbid all three without permission.
- Make the direct order better, not just cheaper: a code that works only on your site, and a faster way to reorder.
- Do the math on delivery orders. On a US$30 DoorDash Plus order the app keeps US$7.50; a direct card payment costs about US$1.17.
- Count it. A code printed only on the bag card tells you exactly how many app customers came across.
What the apps' terms say about cards in the bag
We read each app's own US merchant terms and help pages on October 20, 2026. Your own contract or sign-up sheet can add rules, so check it too.
| What its published terms say | What that means for a bag card | |
|---|---|---|
| DoorDash | The US Marketplace Addendum (effective November 3, 2025) asks you to pack DoorDash orders with "the same utensils, napkins, bags, and other materials" you'd use for a standard takeout order. Its Merchant Terms of Service (sections 1–11) don't mention inserts or flyers. | Nothing we found bans a card that's already part of your normal takeout packaging. Keep DoorDash's name and logo off it. |
| Uber Eats | The U.S. Merchant Terms (last modified June 2, 2026) say neither side uses the other's brand without written consent (s.19.a), you can't advertise an Uber Eats Offer outside the apps without approval (s.12.f.v), and you can't merge data from the agreement for targeted marketing (s.13.c). Customer details on orders your own staff deliver are only for that delivery (s.2.b.i). | A card about your website and your code is a different thing from an Uber Eats offer. Don't print "Uber Eats" on it, don't promise an Uber Eats discount, and don't text or email customers using details from the order. |
| Grubhub | Its restaurant agreement isn't published. Its policies page sets refunds and adjustments; its own Direct Order Toolkit gives you a free link, button and QR code to your Grubhub menu, with no marketing fee on those orders. | Ask your Account Advisor before adding an insert. The Toolkit QR is still a Grubhub order, not your own customer. |
| New York City | Since Local Law 79 of 2025, the Administrative Code (s.20-563, subdivision j) says a delivery service "shall allow" a restaurant to include menus, coupons or other physical marketing materials with any online order. | In NYC, the right to include a menu or coupon is in the law. |
The terms don't stop a customer choosing to order from you directly. What they police is using the app's brand, its offers and its data. For other countries, see can I ask delivery-app customers to order directly next time? and who owns the customer data from delivery-app orders.
Is it worth it? The math per order
Commission is charged on the app order; on your own page you pay only card processing (and delivery, if you deliver). A US$30 order, at each company's published US rates:
| Per US$30 order | DoorDash Plus | Uber Eats Plus | Grubhub Plus, Grubhub delivers | Direct on your own page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commission | US$7.50 (25%) | US$7.50 (25%) | US$4.50 marketing (15%) + delivery from US$3.00 (10%) | US$0 |
| Card processing | Included | Included | Extra | About US$1.17 (Stripe 2.9% + 30¢) |
| You keep (before food and labor) | US$22.50 | US$22.50 | US$22.50 or less, minus processing | About US$28.83 |
| Who delivers | Dasher | Uber courier | Grubhub driver | You, or a courier you book |
Worked example. A pizzeria gets 300 DoorDash Plus orders a month at US$30. Commission is US$2,250 a month. It puts a card in every bag with the code BAG10 (10% off, one use per customer) that only works on its own page. Say 30 of those customers come back direct each month. Each direct order brings in US$27 after the discount and costs about US$1.08 in Stripe fees, so the restaurant keeps about US$25.92 instead of US$22.50: about US$103 more a month on those 30 orders, before delivery. If those are delivery orders, the cost of your own driver or a courier comes off that. If they're pickup orders, it doesn't, but DoorDash charges only 6% on pickup, so the gain per order is smaller. "30 customers" is an assumption to show the math, not a benchmark; your code's usage count gives you the real number.
Run your own numbers with the delivery app loss calculator. Rates: DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub.
The 30-day plan
- Week 1: set up the direct order. Put your menu on your own ordering page (Menuthere builds it from a photo or PDF of your menu). Create a discount code that appears nowhere else, such as BAG10, with a one-use-per-customer limit.
- Week 1: make the card. One side: "Order direct next time" and the code. Other side: a QR code to your ordering page and your web address in plain text for people who don't scan. No app names or logos. See what to print on a reorder QR card.
- Week 2: put it in every bag you pack. Takeout, phone and app orders alike, so it's part of your standard packaging.
- Week 2: give the direct order a real edge. A dish or size you only sell direct, a lower delivery fee, or faster pickup slots. Check what your app contracts say about price differences first: can I charge higher prices on delivery apps?
- Week 3: capture the customer. Direct customers sign in with their phone number, so each direct order adds them to your own customer list. Only send offers to people who agreed to hear from you.
- Week 4: count. Check how many times BAG10 has been used. That's your conversion. Keep the card, change the offer, or stop.
Make the direct order worth switching for. or.
How Menuthere fits
- Your own ordering page and QR code on every plan, including Free (50 orders a month, 0% commission). See commission-free online ordering.
- Discount codes with usage counts (Lite, US$17 a month): set total uses and uses per customer, and the Discounts list shows how many times each code was used.
- Your customer list (Lite): everyone who orders direct, with their order count, spend and last order, and an export. See customers and reviews.
- Card payments go to your own Stripe account from Lite. Online payments aren't on Free; customers pay at pickup or on delivery.
- Own drivers with live tracking are on Pro (US$39 a month). In the US, WhatsApp order updates are utility messages (about US$0.0034 each, billed by Meta); Meta doesn't deliver WhatsApp marketing messages to +1 numbers, so use email for offers.
What Menuthere doesn't do: it doesn't import customers or orders from DoorDash, Uber Eats or Grubhub, and it doesn't send SMS.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put a flyer for my website in a DoorDash or Uber Eats bag?
DoorDash's and Uber's published US merchant terms don't ban an insert in your own packaging. Uber's terms forbid using its brand without consent and advertising an Uber Eats Offer outside the apps, so keep app names, logos and app discounts off the card. Check your own contract, and ask Grubhub's Account Advisor, because Grubhub's restaurant agreement isn't published.
Can I email or text customers from my delivery-app orders?
Not with details taken from the app order. Uber's US terms limit customer details on self-delivered orders to that delivery and forbid merging agreement data for targeted marketing. Collect contact details yourself when customers order direct, and only market to people who agreed.
Is it legal to include a coupon with a delivery-app order in New York City?
Yes. New York City's Administrative Code, as amended by Local Law 79 of 2025, says a third-party delivery service shall allow a restaurant to include menus, coupons or other physical marketing materials with any online order.
How much do I save when an app customer orders direct?
On a US$30 delivery order on DoorDash Plus or Uber Eats Plus, the app keeps US$7.50 in commission. On your own page with Stripe, card processing is about US$1.17, so you keep about US$6.33 more before the cost of delivering it yourself.
How do I know if the bag card works?
Print a discount code that appears only on the card, with one use per customer. On Menuthere the Discounts list shows how many times each code has been used, so that number is your count of app customers who came across.
Does Grubhub's Direct Order Toolkit count as direct ordering?
It sends customers to your Grubhub menu without a marketing fee, but the order is still placed on Grubhub. If you want the customer's details and your own checkout, use your own ordering page instead.
Sources (9)
- DoorDash, Merchant Terms of Service – US – English (Section 1–11), effective January 20, 2023: https://help.doordash.com/en-us/merchants/article/merchant-terms-of-service-us-english-section-1-11 (read 20 Oct 2026 in a browser): s.6.2 merchant may terminate on 7 days' written notice; no clause on inserts, flyers or solicitation found by text search ("insert", "flyer", "solicit", "packag" only in food-labeling).
- DoorDash, Product Addendum – Marketplace – United States, effective November 3, 2025: https://help.doordash.com/merchants/s/us-addendum-marketplace (read 20 Oct 2026): merchant will "provide the same utensils, napkins, bags, and other materials that Merchant typically would provide in a standard take-out or delivery order".
- Uber, Uber Eats U.S. Merchant Terms and Conditions, last modified 6/2/2026: https://www.uber.com/us/en/legal/uber-eats-merchant-terms-and-conditions/ (read 20 Oct 2026): s.19.a brand use needs prior written consent; s.12.f.v "Merchant may not market or otherwise advertise an Offer outside the Apps" without approval; s.13.c no merging data "for the purpose of re-identification, targeted marketing" (carve-out for data obtained directly from data subjects); s.2.b.i MMDS customer data only for fulfilling that order.
- Grubhub, Direct Order Toolkit: https://get.grubhub.com/help-center/direct-order-toolkit/ (read 20 Oct 2026): free Direct Order Link, Button and QR Code to the Grubhub menu; "we won't charge a marketing fee". Grubhub for Restaurants policies: https://get.grubhub.com/help-center/grubhub-restaurant-policies/ (read 20 Oct 2026). No public restaurant agreement found (WebSearch 20 Oct 2026).
- New York City Local Law 79 of 2025 (Int. 762-2024), PDF via https://intro.nyc/local-laws/2025-79 (read 20 Oct 2026): Admin Code s.20-563 subdivision j: "A third-party food delivery service shall allow a food service establishment to include menus, coupons or other physical marketing materials with any online order."
- Uber Eats US pricing: Lite 20%, Plus 25%, Premium 30%; pickup 7% (10% without validated in-store pricing): https://merchants.ubereats.com/us/en/pricing/ (read 20 Oct 2026).
- Grubhub pricing: marketing commission 5% / 15% / 20%; Grubhub Delivery "starting at 10%"; plan prices exclude payment processing: https://get.grubhub.com/grubhub-pricing-and-fees/ (dateModified 7 Apr 2026, read 20 Oct 2026).
- Stripe US: 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction (https://stripe.com/pricing, read 30 Sep 2026; repo
docs/guides/research/facts/facts-payments.mdF7). - US WhatsApp: utility ≈ US$0.0034; Meta doesn't deliver marketing templates to +1 numbers (KC/seo/differentiators/WHATSAPP-RIDER-STRATEGY.md §6–7).