What is a promotion profit gate?

A read of a discount before it runs: what each redeemed order contributes after the platform fee and the variable cost, how much margin is given away to guests who would have paid full price anyway, and whether the incremental orders cover both. Most promotions are judged on redemptions; this judges them on contribution.

How do I estimate cannibalisation?

From your own history: take a past promotion week and compare its redemptions against that week’s normal baseline for the same daypart. The share of redeemers who were already coming is your cannibalisation. Read the result at 30% and at 60% before deciding — the honest range is wide, and the gate shows you which side of it the promotion survives.

Why does the platform fee apply to the discounted ticket?

Because in the usual contract the aggregator takes its commission on what the guest actually pays — that is the gate’s default, and it is a contract assumption, not a law. Some contracts charge commission on the full menu price even on a discounted order; the gate has a switch for that, and the read gets tougher. Either way a 30% discount with a 25% fee leaves a contribution that has to clear the full variable cost of the dish — which is why aggregator promotions fail the gate more often than dine-in ones.

What does "below cost" mean?

That the discounted ticket, after the fee, no longer covers the variable cost of the order. Every redemption loses money and no volume repairs it. The discount has to shrink, or the variable cost has to fall, before the promotion is worth reading again.

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Does this discount pay for itself?

Seven numbers answer it: the ticket, the variable cost, the discount, the platform fee, the orders that will redeem, the share that would have come anyway, and what the promotion costs to run. The gate reads the promotion on contribution — the margin given away is the number most owners never see.

Promotion questions, answered straight

What is a promotion profit gate?: A read of a discount before it runs: what each redeemed order contributes after the platform fee and the variable cost, how much margin is given away to guests who would have paid full price anyway, and whether the incremental orders cover both. Most promotions are judged on redemptions; this judges them on contribution.
How do I estimate cannibalisation?: From your own history: take a past promotion week and compare its redemptions against that week’s normal baseline for the same daypart. The share of redeemers who were already coming is your cannibalisation. Read the result at 30% and at 60% before deciding — the honest range is wide, and the gate shows you which side of it the promotion survives.
Why does the platform fee apply to the discounted ticket?: Because in the usual contract the aggregator takes its commission on what the guest actually pays — that is the gate’s default, and it is a contract assumption, not a law. Some contracts charge commission on the full menu price even on a discounted order; the gate has a switch for that, and the read gets tougher. Either way a 30% discount with a 25% fee leaves a contribution that has to clear the full variable cost of the dish — which is why aggregator promotions fail the gate more often than dine-in ones.
What does "below cost" mean?: That the discounted ticket, after the fee, no longer covers the variable cost of the order. Every redemption loses money and no volume repairs it. The discount has to shrink, or the variable cost has to fall, before the promotion is worth reading again.