Just Eat's Greedy Commissions Should be Taken Away, Say UK Restaurants

Takeaway restaurants in the UK are becoming unhappy with the amount of control wielded by the restaurant selection and ordering website Just Eat, and by the hefty commissions it charges.

According to research from revenue-building consultancy Preoday, 66% of restaurateurs feel that the 10% transaction fee that Just Eat charges is unfair, and that it costs restaurants £725 (€909, $1,230) per month on average.

Slightly over half of the 400 takeaways that were surveyed claim to have lost significant revenue thanks to their regulars using the food website to place orders.

And as a result of the service which revolutionised the takeaway industry, 49% of owners say they are not able to build a relationship with customers, while 42% say that the Danish company's brand and marketing ethics is in stark contrast to their own.

"Just Eat has a classic broker model: it matches customers with restaurants," said Preoday CEO Andrew White.

"It is great for acquiring new customers, but if a restaurant wants to grow and remain profitable, it needs to create a direct relationship with its regular customers, unsaddled by ongoing high commissions which eat into margins. Restaurants are telling us that they know mobile order apps are critical, but they want to take back control of their customers."

Only 29% of restaurants who are forced to pay between £1,000 and £2,000 a month in commission fees to Just Eat feel that what they are paying is fair, whilst 57% of those who pay between £100 and £500 a month are discontent with the fee.