Item substitutions let you swap a missing item for a suitable replacement, giving your customers a better order experience.
Important: Some stores have the option to select more expensive substitutes. If you select more expensive items as substitutes, you will need to cover the price difference. To avoid this, you can set a store policy to only select cheaper substitutes.
What are Item Substitutions?
The Item Substitutions feature lets customers decide what to do if any items they order are out of stock. They have three options:
Replace the item with an alternative product (default option)
Remove the unavailable item
Cancel the order
When customers place an order, you’ll be able to see their chosen preferences. You can then search for a suitable item substitute on your device.
The substitution process
Here’s the process to follow your customers’ preferences for each item:
Review Order: Check if any items are marked as ‘Reject if out of stock’. If any one of these items is out of stock, click ‘Reject order’.
Substitute item: If you see the ‘Substitute’ button, tap the button to search for a suitable replacement.
Search for a substitute: Search for a suitable substitute item. When you find one, tap to confirm. If there aren’t any substitutes available, or you don’t have enough quantity in stock, tap ‘Remove and Refund'.
Remove items if needed: If the ‘Substitute’ button isn’t displayed, then remove the item from the order by reducing the quantity to zero.
Made a mistake? Click ‘Undo’ and repeat the process with the correct item or quantity.
Guidelines for choosing the right substitute
Price: Some stores have the option to select more expensive substitutes. If you have this option, you can select a more expensive replacement item, up to a price threshold set by Deliveroo. Note: If you pick a more expensive substitute, you'll need to cover the price difference. To avoid this, you can set a store-wide policy to only select cheaper substitutes.
Size: Pick a substitute item that’s the same size, or larger, than the unavailable item. For example, a pack of 6 biscuits must be replaced by a pack of 6 biscuits or more.
Quantity: Make sure the substitute replaces the whole quantity of the unavailable item. So 3 apples should be replaced with 3 equivalent apples, not 2 apples and 1 pear.
Dietary category: Replace the unavailable item with a substitute item that’s in the same dietary category. So a gluten-free item should be replaced with an equivalent gluten-free item, a dairy-free item should be replaced with an equivalent dairy-free item, and so on.
Premium products: If the unavailable item is a premium product, make sure the substitute item is a reasonable equivalent, e.g. replace premium sea salt with a similar premium sea salt, not table salt.
If you’re unsure whether a substitute item meets the guidelines above, then remove the item from the order instead.