The Outsized Importance of Customer Data and Retention in a Delivery Driven World
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Third-party delivery isn’t just a convenience anymore — it’s a fundamental shift in restaurant economics. In this webinar, Thanx CEO Zack Goldstein and Asian Box CEO Mike Speck break down how delivery has reshaped margins, competition, and guest relationships, and why owning customer data has become one of the most critical levers for long-term growth.
Asian Box, a fast-growing Vietnamese street-food brand with 11 California locations, has seen delivery climb to nearly 30% of revenue in some stores. But with fees, limited guest visibility, and inconsistent quality control outside their four walls, Mike shares the real challenges restaurants face when platforms mediate the relationship between brand and guest.
At the same time, the delivery market continues to explode — doubling from $8–9B in 2017 to an estimated $16B+ by 2022. That growth creates opportunity, but also exposes the risks of relying on third-party marketplaces that own discovery, own the customer, and own the communication channel.
Key themes explored
- Margin pressure is real. Even when sales grow, commissions can push profitability to break-even or negative — especially when alcohol (a major margin driver) can’t be delivered.
- Quality control is outside your hands. Delivery timing, packaging issues, and guest experience risks all fall back on the restaurant, even when handled by third-party drivers.
- Competition intensifies on delivery apps. Even if you deliver a great experience, guests are met with dozens of enticing alternatives every time they open the app.
- You lose the customer relationship. No guest profiles, no contact info, no loyalty — meaning you can’t reward, retain, or re-engage high-value customers.
- Operational structure needs a complete re-think. From staging areas to driver experience to aggregator tools that reduce “tablet hell,” restaurants must redesign workflows for delivery realities.
Why customer data matters now more than ever
Mike explains that delivery customers represent a massive and growing revenue stream — but without identity, the restaurant can’t reward loyalty, initiate a thank-you, solve a service issue directly, or build meaningful relationships. “All we’re doing right now is delivering what they expect,” he says. “We’re doing nothing above and beyond because we don’t know who they are.”
With no guest identity tied to delivery orders, restaurants miss:
- Repeat-visit drivers
- High-value customer recognition
- The ability to re-engage lapsed guests
- Data that informs smarter site selection
- Segmented offers that can move behavior
This disconnect leaves brands dependent on third parties — and unable to build long-term retention strategies.
Operational insight from the field
Mike shares real-world lessons from running delivery operations at scale — from hundreds-of-boxes-at-once orders to staffing challenges to adapting layouts for smoother pickup. Treating drivers as partners, improving packaging, and streamlining onboarding through aggregators all make a material impact on guest experience.
He also highlights how delivery realities now influence new-store design. Asian Box has added delivery pickup accessibility as a key factor in site selection — recognizing that convenience isn’t just a guest need, it’s an operational requirement.
The takeaway
Delivery is here to stay. Its growth is undeniable — but so are the risks. To maintain profitability, strengthen loyalty, and protect lifetime value, restaurants need direct access to their customers, their data, and the ability to communicate outside marketplace walls.
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