Grocery Delivery Application Development: Benefits and Costs
We live in a world where people can effortlessly order goods or services simply through their smartphones. So it’s no surprise that grocery delivery apps are currently in high demand. Just consider that the food delivery segment will grow to about $344 billion this year.
The pandemic has also significantly affected the rise of the delivery sector. Before the COVID-19 emergence, approximately 3 to 4% of grocery spending in the United States was done online; now, it is between 10 and 15%. But there’s even more to add.
The global food delivery market will show a steady growth of 8% each year over the forecast period from 2022 to 2026. As a result, it will reach more than $474 billion in 2026.
Are you still thinking about food delivery app development? Given the high demand and the constant growth of this market, investing in such applications is very profitable. So if you want to benefit from creating such apps, keep reading our post.
Today we will talk about what types of food delivery applications exist, what features they should include, and what advantages the owner gets from them. We will also share a step-by-step guide to developing such apps.
Main Types of Grocery Delivery Apps
As the name suggests, the grocery store delivery app is software that allows users to purchase products online with the delivery to their homes or any other convenient location.
Typically, such applications are divided into two types:
- Aggregators
Aggregators are applications that display neighborhood stores to the user, usually showing large grocery chains. The user can choose any available store, select the goods he needs online, pay for them, and wait for the order’s delivery.
- Marketplaces
Marketplaces also show users neighborhood stores, but they serve as intermediaries between customers and merchants. That is, the user enters the marketplace, selects an available store, and then the platform connects the buyer with the seller directly.
Furthermore, apps for grocery delivery can use three different business models. Let’s look at each of them in more detail:
- Person to Person (P2P)
Such applications imply that users will exchange goods and arrange delivery between themselves.
- Business to Consumer (B2C)
Such applications are designed to enable businesses to serve their customers. An example of a B2C app would be a platform for delivering food from a restaurant to its clients.
- Business to Business (B2B)
This software is intended for the cooperation of some companies with others. For example, these applications will come in handy when one business orders a batch of products from another and wants to track the delivery status.
Grocery Delivery Application Development: Essential Features
Before proceeding with grocery delivery app development, you need to determine the functionality of this software. We have collected the integral features of such applications and invite you to study them further.
- Delivery Option
No delivery grocery app will do without the delivery function, as it is at its core. Thanks to this feature, your users will be able to place their orders.
- Real-Time Tracking
After your user has placed an order for groceries, they will most likely want to know where their delivery is. Then your groceries delivery app comes in handy with real-time order tracking.
- Payments and Proof of Delivery
Integrate one or more payment gateways in your grocery delivery software so that the user can pay for the order without leaving your app. It is also good to add a proof of delivery feature.
- Feedback and Ratings
The best app for grocery delivery shows users which stores or sellers are in demand. It would be wise to add a feedback and rating feature so that your users can choose the best suppliers.
These are just the basic features of your application. However, it would help if you looked at your software more comprehensively. Three parties interact with such applications: customers, couriers, and grocery suppliers. Let’s see what features will be useful for each of them:
Features for customers:
- Personal account
- Real-time tracking
- Payment integration
- Planning an order for a specific date and time
- Reviews and ratings
- Built-in messenger for communication with the courier
- Customer support
Features for couriers:
- Accept and decline orders
- Courier’s availability feature
- Earnings tracking
Features for grocery suppliers:
- Order management
- User actions administration
- Courier services management
- Customer satisfaction analytics
All that we have listed above is just an essential functionality. If you feel your app needs more specific features, go for it.
Main Benefits of Grocery App Development
The demand for grocery delivery apps is rapidly growing, and they keep about 30 million regular users just in the United States. You can create such an application to get the following benefits:
- Significant Earnings
As the grocery delivery app developer, you can earn more than just a percentage of each delivery. There are other options. For example, you can integrate advertising into your application to make even more money. You can also introduce membership programs, such as a weekly product delivery subscription, into your software.
- High Customer Retention
A convenient and fast application is a big part of your success. People are growing more demanding of the technology they use. So take care of your delivery apps’ efficiency, and customers will come back to you again and again.
- Convenience for All Parties
Because of all of the features listed above, an app is a practical option for businesses, clients, and couriers. This solution will enable you to smoothly set up every aspect of your company, from order processing to delivery.
- Delivery App Suits Different Types of Businesses
You can own a restaurant, grocery chain, or even a courier service. The delivery application is perfect for all these kinds of businesses. You can develop delivery apps or other types of solutions regardless of the size of your company and its capacity.
How to Create a Grocery Delivery App
You need to take a few significant steps to create a food delivery app. So let’s look at them:
1. Conduct a Market Research
This step is necessary to determine the situation in the market for delivery applications. Here you study your competitors, their strengths, and weaknesses.
2. Learn Your Target Audience
At this stage, you need to study your target audience. It is necessary to determine who will be interested in your application and who is your ideal user.
3. Create Your Customer Journey
At this point, you need to think about the logic of your grocery delivery app. Here you learn how your user will interact with your software and what features are needed for a flawless user experience.
4. Hire a Team
You need to find a reliable grocery app development company in this step. With a responsible team, you can create a truly flawless application. Typically, your team will consist of the following employees:
- Project Manager
- Mobile App Developers (Android / iOS)
- Backend Developers / DevOps
- UX / UI Designers
- QA Specialists
If your goal is to create a web platform for delivery, hire web application developers.
5. Agree on Your Goals with the Team and Start Creating Your App
Once you’ve learned all about your competitors, studied your target audience, identified the application’s features, and set goals for its creation, proceed to the development.
Required Skills of a Senior App Developer
You’ve learned everything about creating grocery delivery business software. Yet, how do you know you have hired a professional worker to handle that task? Here are the skills that an experienced senior app developer should have.
- Technical skills. Knowledge of several programming languages and frameworks is the main skill of a senior app developer. These are languages such as Swift and Objective-C for iOS, Java, and Kotlin for Android, and, for example, Flutter for developing cross-platform applications.
- Analytical skills. A senior developer must have a good understanding of the users, and the market needs to create quality software that will find a response in the target audience.
- Communication skills. It is a mandatory ability of the employee, ensuring easy cooperation and complete understanding.
- Problem-solving skills. An experienced professional must be able to recognize technical problems and respond to them quickly.
Mobilunity Is Your Reliable Vendor in Grocery App Development
You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking for dedicated Ionic web developer or experienced senior app developers. We are a Ukrainian IT company that provides outstaffing services around the world. You can gain access to over 200,000 Ukrainian developers, designers, testers, and other qualified professionals working with us.
Our company has been on the market for over 11 years. We have provided our customers from more than 15 countries with professional teams of dedicated developers. We offer three models of partnership, and you can choose the one that suits you best, namely:
- Team scaling. We can find employees to extend your existing IT staff.
- Building a team from scratch. We will analyze your requirements for candidates and gather an entire team for you.
- Managed services. We can manage your IT team for you as long as you focus on the key goals of your business.
Furthermore, our company adheres to three core principles: relationships, recruitment, and retention. We build close relationships with our clients, recruit a highly qualified team according to their needs, and ensure the retention of the employees.
So, if you are interested in productive cooperation and the development of quality grocery delivery apps, we will be delighted to help you.
