Push notifications: the cheapest marketing channel restaurants ignore

How it works

When a customer installs your ordering page as an app (the "Install App" prompt on mobile), they grant permission for notifications. From that point, you can send them messages that show up on their phone like a WhatsApp DM — even when your app is closed.

Open rates: SMS ~10%. Email ~20%. Push ~40–60%. The reason is dead simple — push pops on the lock screen the moment it arrives.

What works in practice

• Lunch deals at 11:45 AM. Office workers haven't decided yet. A "20% off pizza if ordered by 12:30" push converts at 8–12%.
• Weather-triggered offers. Raining? Send "Stay home, we deliver hot in 30 min." Conversion spikes.
• Cricket match days. 30 min before kickoff: "Match snacks delivered to your sofa." Very high open + order rate.
• New menu item launch. One push to your installed-app customer base = 50+ orders in the first 2 hours.

What kills it

• More than 1 push per day. Customers uninstall within a week. Treat it like family WhatsApp — don't spam.
• Vague messages. "Visit us today!" is ignored. "🍕 Free Coke with any large pizza, today till 11 PM" converts.
• Sending at the wrong time. No one orders at 3 AM. Schedule for meal times: 11:45 AM, 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM (late-night cravings).

Setup in SmartRestro (2 minutes)

1. Owner console → 📣 Push Marketing
2. Type title (50 chars), message (150 chars), optional image URL, optional action link
3. Live preview shows exactly what the customer sees
4. Send. Within 5 seconds it lands on every installed-app phone.

You don't need to collect phone numbers, ask permission individually, or pay per message. The browser handles consent at install-time.

The compound effect

Most restaurants we onboarded started with 10–20 push subscribers in week 1. By month 3, it's 300–500. By month 6, 1,000+. At that point a single push generates Rs. 30,000–60,000 of revenue in an evening — zero ad spend, zero commission.