Across the 3M+ orders processed on Dots, branded restaurant apps convert up to 35% of visitors into paying customers. A typical listing inside a marketplace converts around 3%; a well-built ordering website reaches 15%. This page explains where the app number comes from — and what it needs from you to hold.
Why an app converts ten times better than a marketplace
Installation is a filter. A person who gives your app space on their home screen has effectively pre-committed to the next order. Inside a marketplace, your menu sits next to dozens of competitors and sponsored placements, and the platform’s job is to keep the customer choosing between restaurants. Inside your app, the only question is what to order — never where. That single difference does most of the work; the full comparison lives in our conversion benchmarks.
The mechanics inside the Dots app
- One-minute checkout. Saved addresses and cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay — no forms on the second visit.
- Two-tap reorder. Order history turns last Friday’s order into this Friday’s in two taps.
- Free re-engagement. Push campaigns reopen the app at zero cost per message — no ad budget spent on bringing a known customer back.
- A reason to return to this channel. Cashback accumulates in the app, so the next order lands there instead of an aggregator.
What “up to” honestly means
35% is a top result, not a promise. It comes from businesses where purchases repeat weekly — pizza, sushi, coffee — and where the app audience is warm: regulars invited from marketplaces, QR cards in bags, a link on the website. Cold ad traffic converts lower and grows with retention work. But the floor matters too: even a mediocre app month beats the ~3% a marketplace card delivers, because the math compounds. On 1,000 visitors, 3% is 30 orders; 35% is 350 — from people you can message again for free.
Who benefits most
Delivery businesses with an existing customer base and repeat-friendly menus. If you already have order volume on aggregators, conversion is the argument for migrating it: same customers, same menu, ten times the yield per visit — and no 30% commission on any of it.
