How to increase average order value in a restaurant or takeaway

How to increase average order value in a restaurant comes down to four levers. Suggest the right extra item at the right moment. Package items so the bigger order is the easier choice. Set delivery minimums that cover your costs. Lay out the menu so the profitable add-ons are seen. Each lever works in the shop, on the phone and online, but the maths differs by channel.

A higher average order value is only useful if profit per order rises with it. A free dessert on orders over €35 lifts the average and can still leave you with less money. Commission on delivery apps takes a share of every extra item. The examples below show the margin, not just the sales figure.

Work from your own numbers. Average order value differs between walk-in, phone, website and each delivery app. Measure each channel for four normal weeks before changing anything, then change one thing at a time.

Average order value in a restaurant: formula and benchmarks

The formula:

Average order value = net sales ÷ number of orders

Use the same period and channel for both figures. Use net sales, excluding VAT, customer delivery fees and refunds, so the figure shows what customers bought. Tips are not sales and should stay out.

Measure each channel separately:

For dine-in, track spend per head too. A table of four and a table of two can have the same bill, and only spend per head shows which one spent more per guest.

Published figures from the delivery apps

No official body publishes average order values for independent restaurants in Ireland or the UK. The two largest apps publish figures for their own platforms:

Neither figure is a target for your shop. Both include customer delivery and service fees, and both mix restaurants with grocery. They do show that app order values rose mainly with prices and fees. Deliveroo’s annual report also says average order frequency in the UK and Ireland reached 3.5 orders a month in 2024, a reminder that frequency and order value both drive sales.

Channel reports, KPIs and a weekly reporting routine are covered in restaurant analytics software.

Order value, margin and profit

Order value tactics fall into two groups. Some add food the customer wants at a healthy margin. Others give something away to push the basket over a line. The first group raises profit. The second often raises the average and lowers profit.

Example: an add-on that raises profit

Example: a pizza takeaway in Ireland sells 1,200 orders a month at an average of €24.00 excluding VAT. Figures exclude VAT to keep the maths clean.

• New add-on: garlic bread at €4.50, food cost €1.10, gross profit €3.40.
• Assumption for the example: 1 order in 5 adds it, so 240 garlic breads a month.
• Extra net sales: 240 × €4.50 = €1,080.
• New average order value: €24.00 + (€1,080 ÷ 1,200) = €24.90.
• Extra gross profit: 240 × €3.40 = €816 a month.

Example: a threshold offer that barely pays

Example: the same takeaway offers a free dessert on orders over €35. The dessert costs €1.40 in food.

• Assumption for the example: 200 orders a month were already over €35. They get the dessert free and spend nothing extra. Cost: 200 × €1.40 = €280.
• Assumption for the example: 150 orders a month grow from €30 to €35 to reach the threshold. Extra sales: 150 × €5 = €750. At 70% gross margin, extra gross profit is €525, less 150 desserts at €1.40, €210. Gain: €315.
• Net gain: €315 − €280 = €35 a month.
• Average order value rises by €750 ÷ 1,200 = €0.63.

The average rose by 63 cents. Profit rose by €35. The garlic bread add-on raised the average by 90 cents and profit by €816. Judge every tactic on gross profit per order, not average order value alone.

Order value and order frequency

Sales depend on three numbers multiplied together: customers × orders per customer × average order value.

Example: 400 regular customers ordering 2.5 times a month at €24.00 give €24,000 a month.

• Raising average order value by 5%, to €25.20, adds €1,200 a month.
• Raising frequency from 2.5 to 2.6 orders a month adds €960.
• Doing both gives 400 × 2.6 × €25.20 = €26,208, an extra €2,208.

A tactic that raises order value but makes customers order less often can lose sales. High minimums and pushy upselling are the usual causes. Track frequency alongside order value for every test.

Spend per head for dine-in

Example: a table of four spends €22 per head, €88 in total. Prices exclude VAT and food costs are assumptions for the example.

• Two shared starters at €8.50 each, food cost €2.40 each: extra gross profit €12.20.
• Two coffees at €3.20 each, cost €0.40 each: extra gross profit €5.60.
• Extra sales: €23.40. Spend per head rises to €27.85. Extra gross profit: €17.80.

Timing matters. Offer starters when drinks arrive and coffee when dessert menus go out. On nights with a queue at the door, an extra course keeps a table longer, and a turned table can be worth more than two coffees.

Restaurant average order value tactics compared

Start with the low-risk rows. Suggesting a specific add-on and adding item-level modifiers cost little and rarely give margin away.

Upselling techniques in restaurants and on the phone

Upselling in restaurants works when it helps the customer finish their meal, not when it feels like a sales pitch. Staff who cook and serve are well placed to do it, because they know the food.

Counter and table service

• Suggest one named item. “Do you want garlic bread with that, it’s fresh out” works better than a vague “anything else”.
• Match the suggestion to the order. A side with a main, a drink with a spicy dish, a dessert with a family order.
• Suggest at the natural pause. After the main is ordered, before payment.
• Offer the upgrade, not a list. “Large for €3 more” is one decision. Reading out six sides is a menu.
• Take no for an answer. One suggestion per order. Pushing twice loses the regular.

Phone orders

Phone orders are a strong upselling channel because the conversation is already happening. Give phone staff a short script per menu section: the side to suggest with each main, the drink with each deal, the dessert to offer on orders for three or more people.

Repeat the order back and add the suggestion at the end: “So that’s two large pepperoni and a chicken wings. Do you want a bottle of Coke with that for the table.” Caller ID on the POS helps staff greet regulars by name and suggest their usual extras.

Dine-in table service

• Offer drinks before food orders, when guests are deciding.
• Offer sides when mains are chosen, naming one that suits the dish.
• Offer dessert or coffee when clearing plates, not with the bill.
• Keep a short specials board with one high-margin starter and one dessert.

Add-ons by restaurant type

Each suggestion completes the meal with a low-cost item. Check the food cost of every add-on before you train staff to push it.

Staff training

Run a ten-minute briefing before service once a week. Pick one item to suggest that week. Tell staff the item, the line, and why it suits the menu. At the end of the week, show them how many were sold. Keep it a team number rather than naming individuals.

Online upselling at checkout

On a website or app, nobody is there to make the suggestion. The menu and the checkout have to do it.

Item-level add-ons and modifiers

The simplest online upsell is an option on the item itself:

• A pizza with extra toppings, a stuffed crust and a garlic dip.
• A burger with cheese, bacon, a size upgrade on fries and a sauce.
• A curry with rice, naan and a side.

Put the most popular add-ons first. Show the price on each. Use a photo for add-ons that change the dish. Keep required choices, such as a size, separate from optional extras, so the customer is not forced through a long form.

Menu modifiers, pricing by channel and allergen information belong in one place for all channels. See restaurant menu management.

Basket suggestions

A short “complete your meal” row before checkout can work for sides, drinks and desserts. Rules that keep it useful:

• Show two or three items, not ten.
• Suggest items the basket does not already contain.
• Suggest a drink when there is no drink, a dessert when the order is for two or more.
• Never add items automatically.

Upgrades that make sense on a phone

• Size ladders. Regular, large, family, with clear prices.
• Meal upgrades. “Make it a meal” on mains, adding a side and drink for a set price.
• Sharing sizes. A larger portion of wings or sides for groups.

Scheduled and group orders

Office lunches, match nights and parties produce the largest baskets many takeaways see. Make them easy to place online:

• Let customers order ahead for a set collection or delivery time.
• Put sharing sizes, platters and family bundles in their own menu section.
• Add a notes field so the customer can label items by person.
• Offer a set menu per head for groups of six or more, priced from food cost.

Mobile speed and clarity

Customers order on phones. Test each add-on flow on a mid-range Android and an iPhone. If adding a side takes more than two taps, simplify it. A slow page loses the whole order, not just the upsell. What a good ordering system should do, from checkout speed to payments, is covered under online ordering system for restaurants.

Meal deals and bundles

Meal deals raise order value when they turn a single item into a meal. They cost margin when they discount a basket the customer would have bought anyway. The price decides which happens more.

Example: pricing a burger meal deal

Example: a burger shop. Prices and food costs exclude VAT and are illustrative.

With a deal price of €12.00, gross profit on the deal is €8.20. Compare that with what each customer would otherwise have bought:

Assumption for the example: of 100 deal buyers, 40 would have bought a burger only, 30 burger and fries, and 30 all three. Result: 40 × €1.90 − 30 × €0.50 − 30 × €2.00 = €76 − €15 − €60 = €1. The deal breaks even.

Raise the deal price to €12.50 and gross profit on the deal becomes €8.70:

Same mix: 40 × €2.40 − 30 × €1.50 = €96 − €45 = €51 for every 100 deals. Fifty cents on the deal price changed the result from break-even to a gain.

Rules for profitable bundles

• Price the deal so it equals the main plus the side, with the drink as the saving.
• Keep a deal’s saving smaller than the gross profit of the item it adds.
• Use deals to introduce a high-margin side, such as a dip or a dessert.
• Build family bundles around sharing sizes, where food cost per portion is lower.
• Review the mix of deal buyers after four weeks using POS item reports.

Family and group bundles

Example: a pizzeria’s family bundle. Prices exclude VAT and food costs are assumptions for the example.

At a bundle price of €38.00, gross profit is €26.90.

• A group that would have ordered two large pizzas only made €23.60 gross profit. The bundle adds €3.30.
• A group that would have ordered everything made €31.30. The bundle costs €4.40.

The bundle breaks even at four upgrading groups for every three full-basket groups. It only pays if upgraders outnumber full-basket buyers by more than that. Name the bundle for the occasion, such as a match-night box, and show the saving against separate prices so the value is clear.

VAT on bundles in Ireland and the UK

A bundle can mix items taxed at different rates, so the VAT on the deal needs care.

• UK. HMRC’s Notice 709/1 says hot takeaway food is standard-rated and cold takeaway food is generally zero-rated. Section 4.7 says that when you sell standard-rated and zero-rated items together for one price to take away, you work out the tax value of each item on a cost or market value basis.
• Ireland. The Department of Finance says the 9% VAT rate applies to food and catering services from 1 July 2026. Revenue lists the current VAT rates as 23%, 13.5% and 9%. Ask your accountant how to split a bundle that contains items at different rates.

Set each bundle up on the POS so VAT is split correctly on every sale, not adjusted at the end of the quarter.

HFSS promotion rules in England

The government’s implementation guidance on restricting promotions of less healthy food, last updated 29 September 2023, says:

• the rules apply to businesses in England with 50 or more employees;
• restaurants, cafés and takeaways are exempt from the location and volume price restrictions, apart from the rules on free refills of sugary soft drinks;
• meal deals, where items are meant to be eaten together as a meal, are outside the volume price restrictions;
• volume price restrictions came into force on 1 October 2025.

Most independents are below the employee threshold. If you are near 50 employees across all sites, read the guidance before offering free refills.

Minimum order value for delivery

A minimum order stops you sending a driver across town for a single portion of chips. Set it from your costs, not from what the shop down the road charges.

Example: setting a delivery minimum

Example: a takeaway in England delivering with its own drivers. All figures exclude VAT and are assumptions for the example.

• Gross margin on food: 70%
• Packaging per order: £0.80
• Card processing: 2% of order value
• Driver cost per delivery: £4.00
• Delivery fee charged to the customer: £1.50

Contribution per delivery = order value × (70% − 2%) − £0.80 − £4.00 + £1.50.

To find the minimum for a target contribution:

Minimum order = (target contribution + packaging + driver cost − delivery fee) ÷ (gross margin − card processing %)

For a target of £6.00 per delivery: (£6.00 + £0.80 + £4.00 − £1.50) ÷ 0.68 = £13.68. Round up to a £14 minimum.

Free delivery thresholds

Free delivery above a set value can raise basket size, but it gives up the delivery fee on every order already above the line.

• Count how many orders already sit above the proposed threshold. Each one costs you the fee.
• Count how many orders sit just below it. Only those are likely to top up.
• Set the threshold a little above your current average order value, not below it.

Cost per delivery, driver pay and dispatch are covered under restaurant delivery management software.

Minimums on delivery apps

The apps handle small orders their own way. Deliveroo’s UK customer FAQ says a small order fee applies when a basket is below the restaurant’s minimum spend, and that customers can remove it by adding items. Its Irish customer FAQ says the same. Deliveroo’s Irish partner terms say Marketplace+ partners set their own minimum order value. Check the minimum set on each of your app listings against your contribution maths.

Menu design for order value

The menu is the silent upseller. Customers choose from what they see first and what is described best.

Layout

• Sides next to mains. Put the sides that suit each main on the same page or screen, not at the end.
• Your best add-on in the first position of each add-on list.
• One premium item per section. A higher-priced pizza or burger at the top makes the next one down look like good value.
• Deals in their own section, near the top, with what is included spelled out.
• Short, specific descriptions. Name the ingredients and how the dish is cooked.

Photos

Photos matter most for add-ons and sides that customers might not picture, such as loaded fries or a dessert. Use real photos of your food. Keep the same photo on your website and app listings so regulars recognise dishes.

Calorie labelling in England

The Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021 apply to businesses with 250 or more employees, for food that is ready to eat and not prepacked. Most independents are below that threshold. If you are in scope, calorie information must sit alongside prices, which affects how add-ons are shown.

Allergens

Every add-on changes the allergen information for the dish. Keep allergen data on each modifier, not only on the main item. The rules for Ireland and the UK are set out under restaurant menu management.

Order value on delivery apps and direct orders

Commission is a percentage of the whole order. Every extra item you sell through an app carries it.

Example: one side, four channels

Example: a £4.50 side, including VAT, sold by a takeaway in England. Hot takeaway food is standard-rated at 20%, so the net price is £3.75. Food cost is £1.10, an assumption for the example. Commission rates are Just Eat UK’s published 14% and 30% and Uber Eats’ published 30%. The restaurant is VAT-registered and reclaims VAT on fees. Direct card processing is assumed at 2%.

The same garlic bread earns about twice as much gross profit direct as it does through app delivery. Upsell effort pays best on your own channels. The full fee structure for each app is in the guide to Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats commission.

App promotions and order value

App offers, such as a discount above a spend level, are funded by you in many cases. Deliveroo’s UK partner terms say you carry the cost of offers run through its Marketer Tools, and the Uber Eats UK merchant terms say offer tools can carry their own fees. Run the threshold maths from earlier in this guide before joining an app promotion. An offer that only rewards orders that already qualify reduces your payout without raising order value.

Pricing by channel

Some agreements limit price differences between channels. Deliveroo’s Irish partner terms for Delivery and Marketplace+ say platform prices should match your in-store menu. Read your agreement before you price bundles or add-ons differently on each app.

Loyalty and repeat-order rewards that raise basket size

Loyalty programmes usually aim at frequency, but they can lift order value too.

• Points per euro or pound spent, rather than per order, reward bigger baskets.
• Bonus points on a featured add-on for a set week.
• A reward that is an add-on, such as a free dessert at a points level, introduces customers to items they then buy again.
• Tier rewards for customers who spend above a monthly level.

Keep rewards on direct channels, where there is no commission on the extra items. Types of programme and their economics are covered under restaurant loyalty programme.

Order value tests step by step

A single busy Saturday proves nothing. Test changes properly.

1. Record a baseline. Four weeks of average order value, order count, attach rate of the item you plan to change, and gross profit per order, by channel.
2. Pick one change. A new add-on, a deal price, a minimum order or a menu layout. Not three at once.
3. Write down the decision rule before you start. For example: keep the change if gross profit per order rises by at least 30 cents and order count does not fall by more than 3%.
4. Brief staff. Tell them what is changing, what to say and when it starts.
5. Run for four weeks. Compare each weekday with the same weekday in the baseline.
6. Note outside events. Match days, bank holidays, weather and roadworks change orders.
7. Check the numbers. Average order value, attach rate, gross profit per order and total orders.
8. Decide. Keep, adjust the price, or remove the change.
9. Record the result in a simple log so the next test starts from what you learned.

Test log template

Reading the results

• Attach rate = orders containing the item ÷ all orders. 240 garlic breads on 1,200 orders is 20%.
• Gross profit per order = (net sales − food and packaging cost) ÷ orders.
• Total gross profit change = (new gross profit per order × new order count) − (old gross profit per order × old order count).

Example: gross profit per order rises from €16.80 to €17.40, but orders fall from 1,200 to 1,150. The old month made €20,160. The new month makes €20,010. The change lost €150, even though each order earns more.

Adjust or remove a change when total gross profit falls, whatever happened to average order value.

Common mistakes when raising order value

• Judging by average order value alone. A free item over a threshold can lift the average and cut profit.
• Deals that discount full baskets. If most deal buyers would have bought every item, the deal loses money.
• Too many prompts online. Three pop-ups before checkout lose orders.
• Automatically adding items. It damages trust and causes refunds.
• Upselling twice in one conversation. Regulars notice.
• Minimums copied from competitors. Your driver cost and margins are your own.
• Ignoring commission on app upsells. The extra side earns far less through app delivery.
• Forgetting VAT on bundles. Mixed-rate bundles need the VAT split correctly on each sale.
• No allergen data on add-ons. Every modifier changes what is in the dish.
• Changing several things at once. You will not know which change worked.
• Running tests for one week. Weekly swings hide the real effect.

Order value checklist

• Average order value measured for four weeks, by channel
• Gross profit per order calculated for each channel
• Top ten items and their best add-ons listed
• One named add-on suggestion per menu section agreed with staff
• Phone script with one suggestion per main written and shared
• Add-ons set up on every main in the POS, website and apps, with prices and photos
• Deals priced with the upgrader and full-basket maths checked
• VAT split on bundles set up on the POS
• Delivery minimum set from contribution per delivery
• Free delivery threshold checked against orders already above it
• App minimums and promotions checked against the same maths
• Allergen information on every modifier
• One test running, with a decision rule written down
• Test log updated at the end of each test

Eclyde and order value

Eclyde is a restaurant growth platform for independent restaurants in Ireland and the UK. Its ordering website is built for conversion, order value and repeat orders rather than endless configuration. Parts of the platform that relate to the tactics above:

• POS with menu modifiers and add-ons, deals and discounts, table service, gift vouchers, caller ID on incoming phone calls and end-of-day reports. The POS runs on Android tablets and SUNMI devices and keeps taking orders offline. More under restaurant POS system.
• Ordering website on your own domain for pickup and delivery, with Apple Pay and Google Pay at checkout, menu import from a photo and menu photo enhancement.
• Loyalty and promotions: points-based loyalty with rewards, referral rewards, discount codes and personalised promotions.
• Analytics: a sales dashboard and AI insights, so you can compare periods and channels.
• Kitchen display with real-time orders, order timers and status updates, which helps keep larger orders on time.

There is no Eclyde commission on direct orders, so add-ons sold on your own website keep their margin. Eclyde costs €499 to launch, then €99 a month, with the launch fee refunded in full within 30 days if Eclyde is not right for the restaurant. Card payments go through your own Stripe account. Moving regulars to that channel is covered in how to get more direct orders.

Your restaurant’s numbers

The examples use assumed costs. Your own margins, driver costs and app mix decide which tactic is worth most. The free Eclyde audit reviews your online ordering, menu presentation and marketplace listings, and points to the add-ons, deals and minimums most likely to raise profit per order. It is useful whether or not you ever use Eclyde. Bring a month of sales by channel and request your free restaurant audit.