How Much Commission Did UAE Restaurants Pay Last Year? And How Much Was Yours?
Food delivery aggregators are undeniably powerful. They’ve changed consumer habits, given restaurants instant visibility, and fundamentally altered the competitive landscape. For many, they are the necessary cost of staying alive in the digital age.
But behind the seamless user experience lies a massive, hidden financial bill that most restaurant owners rarely pause to calculate.
The Multi-Million Dollar Drain
The sheer scale of the aggregator economy in the UAE is staggering. The online food delivery market generated revenue exceeding $2.5 billion in 2024.
With an average commission rate hovering between 25% and 30%, this translates into a sobering reality: UAE restaurants collectively paid approximately $625 million to $750 million in commissions in just one year.
That is three-quarters of a billion dollars that left restaurant profit margins and went directly into the coffers of third-party platforms. This figure alone should be the catalyst for every smart business owner to rethink their digital strategy.
The Question That Hits Home: What Was Your Share?
The multi-million dollar statistic is shocking, but the true impact is calculated at your cash register.
Take a moment to truly assess your annual contribution to the “aggregator economy”:
- Monthly Volume: How many delivery orders do you receive per month via these apps?
- Order Value: What is your average order value (AOV)?
- Commission Rate: Are you paying 25%? 30%?
Now, multiply your monthly commission payment by 12. For many high-volume establishments in Dubai, this hidden, silent tax easily crosses AED 100,000 to AED 300,000 per year. That money should be funding staff training, menu innovation, or a new marketing campaign—not funding an outside entity.
Aggregators Are a Tool, Not a Strategy
We are not advocating for the complete abandonment of aggregators. They are a powerful traffic channel and should be maintained for new customer acquisition and visibility.
However, relying solely on them is a strategic vulnerability. It’s time to build your own digital fortress—your own channel—for your regular, loyal customers.
With your own branded online ordering system powered by innoQ, you gain:
| Benefit | Impact |
| Direct Order Access | Receive orders directly from your customers, fully bypassing the middleman. |
| Automated Delivery | Offer seamless delivery, handled automatically, extending your reach up to 20 KM. |
| Own Payment Gateway | Accept instant payments directly into your account, securing your cash flow. |
| Massive Savings | Save up to 25–30% commission on every single direct order. |
Even if you convert just 20–30% of your existing customer base to your direct channel, that translates into thousands of dirhams saved every month—money that flows back into your business growth, not an aggregator’s balance sheet.
The Smarter Way Forward: Dual Ecosystem
The most successful and profitable restaurants globally operate using a Dual Ecosystem:
- Visibility: They remain present on aggregators to capture new, discovery-based traffic.
- Loyalty: They strategically direct their regulars and repeat customers to their own branded system to control the experience and retain the profit.
This is precisely the control and capability that innoQ helps you achieve. Stop simply looking at your monthly aggregator invoice and start asking the critical question: “How much of that could I have kept?”
💬 Ready to Save Your Share and Build Your Brand’s Value?
Let’s build your restaurant’s online ordering system today. Visit www.innoq.me or message us to get started.
