Channel profitability should compare the contribution and strategic role of website, app, marketplace, telephone, walk-in, collection and delivery. It should not rank channels using gross sales for one and net payout for another.
Build a common channel model
Use the same period, order-status rules, VAT basis and refund treatment. Start with net sales, then subtract food, packaging, payment, channel fees, promotion, delivery and incremental labour. Add failure costs and internal administration where they are material.
Separate financial measures
| Measure | Question |
|---|---|
| Contribution per order | What does a completed order add before shared overhead? |
| Contribution per kitchen minute | Which demand uses scarce capacity well? |
| Contribution after acquisition | Does the channel create profitable demand? |
| Failure-adjusted contribution | What remains after refunds and remakes? |
| Strategic value | Does the channel provide discovery, data, resilience or repeat use? |
Distinguish fulfilment
Collection and delivery should not be merged. Own-driver and third-party delivery also have different economics. Use branch, zone and peak-period views where the burden changes materially.
Avoid false allocation
Do not spread every overhead equally across orders when deciding whether to accept one more order. Conversely, do not ignore support, licences and equipment when deciding whether a channel is viable long term. Label short-term contribution and fully loaded profitability separately.
Use channel decisions carefully
- Keep a lower-margin channel if it provides valuable discovery or resilience.
- Reduce promotions before closing a channel.
- Improve menu, pricing or zone design before assuming the channel itself is weak.
- Protect customer choice and contract obligations during changes.
- Review substitution: customers may move to another channel, not disappear.
Practical next step
Rebuild one month of orders into a common channel table. Include raw counts, contribution, refunds, peak share and customer role. Mark any decision that depends on an unverified allocation.
Build a channel role matrix
Record what each channel is expected to do: acquire new customers, serve regulars, provide collection, cover delivery, support telephone users or protect resilience. A channel should not be judged solely against a role it was never intended to perform. Review whether the role still justifies its fixed and operational cost.
Measure constrained capacity
During busy periods, use contribution per scarce resource such as kitchen minute, delivery slot or packing station. This can reveal that a high-contribution basket is still damaging if it blocks several simpler orders and creates late delivery. Conversely, do not reject complex orders automatically; use actual preparation evidence.
Govern changes
- Approve channel-specific menus and prices.
- Check contract and customer communication.
- Test order routing and refunds.
- Monitor substitution into other channels.
- Review service quality and customer access.
- Keep a rollback route.
Use a recurring review cadence
Review channel economics monthly and after a material fee, menu, delivery or promotion change. Freeze the metric definitions for the reporting period, then version them deliberately. Keep raw order counts beside percentages so small channels are not overinterpreted.
Related guides
- Payments — the main guide for the wider topic.
- Comparing Profitability Across Channels — a detailed next step for putting this guidance into practice.
- How to Calculate Contribution Margin by Ordering Channel — a detailed next step for putting this guidance into practice.
- Refunds and Chargebacks — a closely related operational control to review alongside this page.
- Marketplace Payments and Commission — a closely related operational control to review alongside this page.
Sources and date checked
Guidance checked: 24 July 2026. Recheck official guidance, local requirements and supplier documentation before changing a live operation.
