Todays on-demand grocery app market is increasingly competitive; every day the top players change. If you want to enter this space now, be aware of who it will compete against.
Before we introduce you to the basics of running an on-demand food business and give an answer regarding average Cost to Create On Demand App, let us first provide insight into this market from an investment and fund perspective.
Recent Expansion In The Grocery Delivery Industry
Here are a few recent expansions and fundings within the grocery delivery industry.
- Lidl supermarket chain recently expanded their grocery delivery services from Dublin only, to now cover Ireland and Newbridge as well.
- Kurly, a grocery delivery service based out of Korea, secured an investment round valued at $150 Million last year - estimated to be valued at $780 Million.
- Amazon invested in online delivery service Deliveroo to expand their grocery delivery market following the unveiling of Amazon Go. This move allowed Amazon to consolidate their position within this sector.
After reviewing the current funding situation of grocery delivery businesses, we can move onto how an app-on-demand can enter this sector of industry.
Lets begin with features to understand how to develop an online grocery app. Features play an essential role in how an application functions as well as grocery delivery app development cost.
What Does The Grocery Industry Statistics Say?
Since 2019, the grocery app market has experienced steady expansion. By 2024, online grocery apps are projected to account for $187.7 billion; Instacart specifically has seen its downloads rise 200% during that time.
Instacart is not alone when it comes to breaking records in income growth; several grocery delivery apps have also seen remarkable income expansion during this time of pandemics like CVI-19 that has left millions confined indoors, leading to an unprecedented surge in the need for grocery apps and delivery services.
How Grocery App Works?
Apps that deliver groceries online provide customers with access to a selection of grocery stores that deliver right to their door, making shopping for groceries much simpler than before.
These apps make life much simpler when purchasing essential necessities.
Grocery delivery apps such as Instacart enable people to shop without physically visiting stores by providing on-demand deliveries of groceries seamlessly and with just two clicks.
Grocery store app development makes ordering groceries a hassle-free process.
- Users will then enter their location and address manually into the app before it begins displaying a list of groceries for delivery.
- Users can select products from an extensive variety and add them to their cart; make payments and select an ideal date and time of delivery.
- Your supermarket can even arrange to pick up the order for you; just place an order with them and set a convenient pickup time slot.
Why Build An App For Grocery Shopping
An innovative grocery delivery app can be of immense utility, saving time and energy by eliminating the tedious task of shopping in physical stores or malls.
Here are five reasons for developing such an application:
1. Upskill Your Brick-And-Mortar Store
Automating and mobilizing your local supermarket shop is now achievable thanks to our on-demand grocery apps that will enable you to reach more customers with minimal investment required.
Few experts assisted Dominos Pizza Restaurant App (DOS), with global reach, to enhance growth and conversion rates through redesign of UI/UX.
DOMS user retention rate increased 23% as more customers came through its brick-and-mortar outlets as well as increased engagement on its app.
2. Savings On Time And Energy
Grocery delivery apps enable users to easily handle daily chores with just a few simple clicks from home, providing their customers with unparalleled convenience by eliminating long lines or carrying heavy bags themselves.
As an app owner, this also gives you access to manage a much wider customer base within one app.
3. Cost-Effective Business Model
If you want to start an on-demand grocery service but you have a tight budget, an economical business plan might be your solution.
Businesses in an increasingly competitive marketplace seek ways to monetize and increase returns in an ever-more-competitive marketplace.
For developing grocery delivery apps, the top business models for consideration include aggregated (commission-based), advertisement and subscription models.
Choose the one best suited to your company before beginning development work - we will cover this topic further below.
Business Models For On-Demand Grocery Delivery App
Three models can be used to generate good revenue for your on-demand grocery business. These are the best business models, or monetization methods for an on demand grocery delivery app.
1. Commission Model
An age-old yet highly effective method for making money, this model benefits both vendors and business owners. A commission model works simply - for every sale made on an app store or marketplace platform, one seller gets his share of commission, while registration with an app may incur some expenses for both seller and buyer parties.
2. Advertisement Model
This model allows vendors to display their ads on the portal. This monetization model allows vendors to run their own ad campaigns.
3. Subscription Model
As its name suggests, subscription-based business models rely on subscription plans as their core revenue stream.
Subscribers purchase membership for an agreed upon duration to gain access to premium services.
Must-Have Features For Grocery Delivery Apps
Each set of features is geared towards a particular stakeholder. To understand how the app works, look at the four top features on the panel.
Lets look at each feature one by one.
Features Of The Customers Side Of The Application
Customers can sign up for the app and log in using the customer panel. The following is a list of customer panel features.
- Sign in and Sign Up: This is the first screen that the customer interacts with when entering the application. This stage is where social media integration can be used to simplify the process.
- Management of profiles: Users can create and update their profile information, including their contact details, payment options, etc.
- Product browsing and listings: Customers should be able to browse through a variety of products in the on-demand grocery application.
- Search & Filter: This option allows customers to search and filter your application to find what they want to purchase.
- Add-to-Cart and Checkout: These two functionalities must be available in the application for the entire ordering process to be easier.
- Multiple payment options: The payment gateway integration should allow your customers to choose from multiple payment methods. This will make the entire user experience more comfortable for them.
- eWallet Integration: Your customers can keep money in their wallets to streamline the checkout process.
- Discount Coupons and Vouchers: You should make it easy for your customers to see and use the discount codes at the time they pay.
- Tracking of Delivery: The ability to track the delivery in real-time can have a huge impact on the users engagement. Customers will always know where their order is.
- Time slot selection for delivery: Given that the majority of people who order groceries on an on-demand app are working class, you should give them the option to select a time that suits their schedule.
- Order history: The application should allow customers to view their purchase history to help them remember whether they want to place another order.
- Rate and Review: Allow your customers to share their experiences with a specific store or product in the application.
- Customer Support and Help: Your customers should be able to contact your team at any time they have a problem.
- Push notifications: There is no other mechanism that can be as effective in mobile app marketing as a push message. Your app should have a clear push notification strategy.
Read More: What are the Important Features of a Grocery App in 2023?
Features On The Drivers Side
The panel on the drivers side, or delivery partners panel, contains features to help the driver and the delivery personnel manage their tasks easily and deliver orders on time.
- Requests for Delivery: Drivers partnered with your app should have the right to accept or refuse a trip based on any reason.
- Push notifications: The drivers should receive push notifications with all the information about the delivery of the orders - both new and canceled - as well as the information regarding the debiting of the accounts.
- Map integration: The map is a must-have feature to build Grocery App for the Delivery Panel. It helps your drivers to know the exact location of their customers.
- Turn by turn Navigation: Within the map, it is important to include the option of announcing the directions out loud.
- Set availability: Drivers can set their availability by indicating when they will be available to accept and deliver orders.
- Delivery time slots: Share the time slots selected by the customer with the driver to let them know the best times to pick up and deliver the order.
- Total weight of orders: Since drivers must carry the order they need to know the total weight so they can decide the type of vehicle.
- Work history: Drivers should have access to the details of their trip on their app, so they can see their performance at the end of the day.
- Reports and Earnings: In the application, it is important to clearly state their total earnings and invoice.
- Reviews and Ratings: Both parties should have the right to rate and review a trip.
- Customer Service and Help: Your drivers should be able to contact your team with ease, just like your customers.
Features Of The Administrators Side Of Application
The admin panel allows admins to perform all tasks including managing the complete information about the customer, the delivery partner/driver, and the vendors panel.
- User management: The administrator of the application has the ability to remove or add users from the application, or change the active status.
- Product management: Users should be able add new products to the site, remove discontinued items and edit the details of the product.
- Order management: Administrators must be aware of all orders made within the application.
- Manager Management: The admin panel should include a driver management feature. The admin panel should contain complete information on the drivers, including their contact details, trip information, etc.
- Reset passwords: While drivers and customers may choose to reset passwords, administrators should have the database with them.
- Edit, Add and Remove Elements from Apps and Websites: The admin should have no difficulty in making changes within the app. This includes changing the product and user information as well as the appearance of the application.
- Payment management: All payment details made within the application should be easily accessible to admins. This includes the refunds.
- Campaign management for Email, SMS and Social Media: The admins should have the features they need to plan campaigns based on SMS, emails, social media etc. to attract users to their app.
- Promotions and Discounts: Administrators will have full access to all discount and promotional offers on the entire application.
Features Of The Vendor Panel
The vendor panel is a robust tool that allows you to manage all orders, including assigning shipments to delivery agents and managing everything from one place.
- Item management: Store owners can update their prices, add product listings and the minimum order quantity, along with the total amount, and make products available directly for ordering.
- Order management: Vendors can now check their order status and the amount collected for each order. They can then take appropriate action.
- Coupon Management: The vendors will be able to plan and add new discounts, coupons and offers, and increase sales for the business.
- Payment tracking: Store owners can view all their payment details in one place.
- Order alerts: By using real-time push notification, store owners and vendors can be notified about new orders or updates. They can then take action.
- Receiving Orders: Using this feature, vendors can receive orders for different groceries from customers and process them.
- Reject orders: The vendor may reject an order if a particular product is not in stock or unable to be delivered to a specific location for some reason.
Additional Features That Can Be Added To An Online Grocery Delivery App
Your grocery delivery apps three main elements (panel-wise) can be defined by these key features. In order to establish a strong business, it will need advanced features that set itself apart.
Here is an outline of features you should add when developing on-demand grocery delivery apps.
Real-Time Analytics
Accessing data stored in chunks within your grocery mobile application database is key for managing grocery stores effectively and providing administrators with insights into various statistics associated with their business.
Communication Channels
Drivers and users should communicate on an open platform. Both sides need a way of sharing important details regarding location, landmarks nearby, delays in deliveries or any other major concerns with one another.
Offering Multiple Payment Modes
Today we have many payment gateways available, making it easier for users to select their payment method of choice and complete transactions by offering as many different gateways.
For seamless payments, use top payment gateways like Stripe, Braintree and Apple Pay as payment methods. Also consider direct banking through debit/credit/eWallet/UPI banking methods or net banking to provide users with convenient payment solutions that wont create hassle.
It is vitally important that they feel they have easy and hassle-free payment solutions available.
AI Based Delivery System
Current world events indicate an outbreak. Drones equipped with artificial intelligence systems provide convenient ways of having groceries delivered.
AI and ML technologies offer powerful ways to simplify packing and delivering goods directly to customers, helping expand market shares at scale.
Once weve covered the necessary features of grocery app development, its time to move onto the technology stack component of app creation.
A Technology Stack For A Fast Grocery Delivery App
Technology stack used for developing on-demand food apps will depend on both a businesss expertise and budget. Our in-house team has designed and created a grocery app using.
After exploring two factors that significantly contribute to the cost of developing a grocery app, let us address what many have been waiting for: an answer.
How Much Does Grocery App Development Cost?
Once we understand your requirements and expectations, we can give an exact cost of online grocery delivery app development services.
If you want an app developed specifically for grocery shopping, take note of its features and tech stack as we mentioned them earlier - this should give an estimate between $40K to $50K of development cost.
The number of syringes needed can depend on several variables and your evolving requirements, with consideration given to several key considerations:
Size And Composition Of The Development Team
Team size plays a pivotal role in establishing costs associated with developing an app for on-demand grocery deliveries, with online grocery app developers, designers, team leaders, QA testers and project managers all comprising an ideal development team.
In order to craft an efficient grocery delivery app, a team of highly experienced developers is crucial. Their understanding of all aspects related to grocery apps must also be extensive if their success is expected.
Features
Development costs depend heavily upon the features and functionalities of your grocery app; adding more features will lead to greater costs than simply including basic ones in its development process.
While basic features should remain essential components, adding optional extras could become costly over time.
Platform
Android and iOS are two popular mobile operating systems on which apps typically operate, so providing support for both will likely cost more.
Once again, Android dominates iPhone users worldwide in terms of global usage; but cross-platform app development could provide you with access to both audiences.
App Marketing
Once completed, once your app has been built it must be submitted for listing to App Stores for listing. App store experts will evaluate its compliance with App Store standards as well as determine if you paid any one-time fees or one-off payments; you should allocate an adequate marketing budget towards getting reviewed in publications or creating eye-catching ads to promote it further.
Maintenance
Once an app is released for purchase, development expenses dont end there; customers needing new features will require periodic updates requiring maintenance and support costs as well.
As markets and devices evolve, continued expenses will arise for your on-demand groceries application - as maintenance and support become essential components.
In A Nutshell
As previously outlined, we have covered everything you need to know when creating an app for on-demand grocery delivery services.
Now, the challenge lies in assessing its profitability.
Developers.dev is a company specializing in on-demand grocery delivery apps that can give you an understanding of all of the key considerations when translating your vision for an app into reality on mobile platforms.
