10 tips: How to increase your restaurant’s average order value

Welcoming enough customers at your restaurant is one thing, but making sure you make the most of these opportunities is another. When customers are at your restaurant, it’s ideal to optimise this revenue as much as possible by coming up with ways to increase your customer’s average order value.

In your restaurant, it's easy for a waiter to offer a dessert at the end of the meal. Online, for delivery and collection orders, for example, you need to implement new strategies to increase the average value of your customer's transactions.

How do you calculate your average custom basket? How can you increase your customer’s average basket by taking advantage of digital technology? What tips can you apply today to optimise your restaurant's income from online ordering platforms such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo?

In this article, you'll find the answers to all these questions through 10 tips on increasing your average shopping basket.

What is the ‘average customer basket’? 

The average basket is the average value of orders placed by your restaurant's customers. 

Why would you want to increase the average basket in your restaurant? 

Quite simply because it's an effective way of increasing sales without necessarily increasing the number of customers.

In the catering sector, we usually talk about the average ticket, but given that a large proportion of orders are now placed online, talking about the average basket makes more sense.

How do you calculate the average customer basket?

Calculating your customer’s average basket value is very simple. Simply divide your turnover (sale price x quantities sold) excluding tax by the number of orders over a given period.

Average basket = Sales/Number of orders

How can you increase your restaurant's average basket?

To answer this question, we've come up with 10 tips to help you easily increase your average customer basket.

1. Optimising the structure of your restaurant menu

Optimising your restaurant menu can make a difference, and changing a few photos or removing a product can quickly double your sales. 

Reviewing what dishes are working and which are not, replacing the non-performing dishes with new ideas, and reviewing your dish prices are all examples of how adjusting your menu can potentially increase your average basket amount. 

2. Suggest formulas 

To increase the average basket, you can offer packages that increase the customer's perceived value.

With a full three-course starter/main course/dessert menu, for example, you may be pushing customers to order more than they had planned, but they will feel that they are saving money by taking the set menu: it's a win-win situation.

SumUp can help you with all your types of payment! Save time with professional equipment, integrated payment solutions and reliable customer service.

3. Increase your visibility 

It's a fact that consumer habits have changed (and will continue to change). These days, the majority of people discover new restaurants via social networks, so you need to stand out from the crowd by occupying the space in a different way.

That's why it's so important for restaurateurs to respond to all the reviews posted online, and to pass on any positive comments. 

Just like word of mouth, reviews obtained on Google, TripAdvisor or any other place of exchange are taken into account in the choice of potential customers. For example, if a customer searches for "Italian restaurant" on Google, they will rely on the:

• Number of stars you have (rating out of 5)

• Number of reviews (remind your customers to leave a rating)

• Comments that appear the most (highlight the positive ones)

Also remember to respond to negative comments, thanking the customer for highlighting a problem that you can work on to offer the best experience.

To make it easier for new customers to find your restaurant's opening times and menu, you'll need an up-to-date, well-referenced Google My Business account.

Google allows you to keep your customers informed, as well as boost collection and delivery orders. 

4. Offer delivery 

The idea is not to make you lose money by offering delivery to everyone. However, we have noticed that ads such as "free delivery on your first order" or "free delivery on orders of £30 or more" have the effect of rapidly increasing the average order value. 

Why is this? Because customers will often prefer to reach the minimum order rather than pay the cost of delivery from the restaurant to their home.

5. Set up promotions 

On a platform like Uber Eats, there is always a "Promotions" category at the top of the page, and this is what immediately attracts consumers. As with sales, having access to discounts encourages customers to spend more than they would normally (which increases the average basket). 

Like Uber Eats, think about offering promotions on your website: 

• Free dessert for orders over €20

• 2 menus purchased = 1 free

• Referral code

• Promotional code

Depending on what is profitable for your restaurant, you will need to calculate the ideal promotion and the minimum order threshold for offering delivery.

6. Launch offers over a limited period of time 

Offering deals for a limited time is a strategy that creates a sense of urgency among consumers, who won't want to miss out on the opportunity of such a discount in your restaurant.

Type of limited offers:

• Flash sales ( -30% for one week)

• Happy hour (low rates at off-peak times)

• Product available until ... (Launch of a trendy dish over a short period, as long as it matches the identity of the restaurant and its customers)

7. Offer a paperless loyalty programme

Keeping a customer costs you less than recruiting a new one.

You can therefore set up various online loyalty programmes:

• Stamp card 

Customers are sure to come back for more if they know that after 5 courses in your restaurant, the 6th is free. Today, there are dematerialised systems for setting up this loyalty scheme in your restaurant.

• Loyalty points 

The principle of points accumulated throughout the year, which customers can use on an order whenever they wish.

Point of Sale Pro by SumUp is an all-in-one POS solution that takes care of everyday tasks, allowing you to boost and focus on customer loyalty. 

8. Convincing the customer to spend more with up-selling

The principle of up-selling is encouraging customers in a natural and comfortable way to spend more by buying:

• A larger portion (a large pizza instead of a medium one)

• A premium version (a wine of superior quality)

• Additional ingredients/dishes (such as an extra sauce to accompany your dish)

To practice up-selling during an online sale, you can add steps during order validation to suggest that your customer adds to their basket by adding extra drinks, desserts or side dishes.

9. Generate additional sales through cross-selling 

Cross-selling is the act of encouraging a customer to associate a complementary product with a current order. For example, if your customer asks for a dessert and you offer them a coffee on the side, that's cross-selling.

These are additional sales which do not necessarily represent an immediate need for the consumer but which correspond to their desires. 

In the case of an online restaurant, cross-selling is illustrated by a page that appears during the ordering process to offer you related items.

But be careful: too many steps in the checkout process can lead to shopping basket abandonment.

10. Avoid basket abandonment during online sales

Even if you apply all our advice, one problem remains: customers abandoning their shopping baskets. This can happen for many reasons that are beyond your reach: the customer changes their mind at the last minute, forgets their order, or has a connection problem when validating the basket.

How can you ensure that customers don't change their minds? How do you boost online orders?

If you use cookies on your restaurant's website, you can follow up with customers by email or with adverts to make sure they don't forget to validate their order.

You can create a wishlist where customers can select their favourite dishes (even before the restaurant opens) and put them in their basket once they are sure of their choice. 

What are the main reasons for basket abandonment?

• Price: the order is too expensive or the delivery costs are higher than expected.

• The payment method: either the customer can't find their preferred payment method, or the step takes too long (or doesn't seem secure enough).

• The customer experience: if your site's design isn't attractive enough, or the order process isn't intuitive enough, shopping basket abandonment is inevitable.

That's why it's so important to give yourself the best possible chance with:

• A new pricing policy

• Promotions and delivery offers (whenever possible)

• Call in a professional to improve the customer experience on your site 

If your restaurant only uses a delivery platform (Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Glovo) for online orders, you won't be able to modify the interface. You will therefore have to rely more on promotions, upselling and cross-selling to increase the average basket.

With all this advice, you now know how to increase your restaurant's average basket, so best of luck!