Mobile technology has earned a ton of traction in the retail sector over the past few years and has made spectacular progress. By using the internet, people are involved more and more in E-commerce mobile apps. From purchasing electronics to Clothes, people are utilizing e-commerce mobile apps. In this pandemic situation, e-commerce apps are springing up at a surprising rate and grocery based apps are also adopting the same footsteps.
Veggies, fruits, milk, bread, etc. are essential for everyone on a daily basis. But due to the scare of Covid-19, people are avoiding going outside to purchase such things. Here such online grocery delivery platforms are playing a vital role in everyone’s life, as it will save their time and money too.
- According to research by Statista, in the year of 2018, the online sales generated about 23.9 billion U.S. dollars, whether it is expected that the sales will reach 59 billion U.S. dollars by the year of 2023.
- In the year 2019, online grocery sales were about 22 billion, and it is expected to cross 29.7 billion by 2021.
- 10% of US consumers every day do their grocery shopping online.
- Invesp statistics claim that 70% of US shoppers could be purchasing groceries online by 2022.
How does an online grocery delivery system work?
The on-demand grocery system will run on the tenet of delivering groceries from vendors to the customer. There are two ways in which this system works:
- The grocery item will display on the website, from where the customers can get desired groceries with just a few taps in the app at his doorstep. In such an app, customers won’t be aware of which stores they got those groceries.
- In the second option, the store owner will get online orders and deliver the groceries to his customers. In such a scenario, the store owner needs to manage from warehousing, logistics to delivery.
As per your convenience & future goal you can select any of the above models to begin with.
Types of Grocery Delivery Model:
If you’re planning to dive in an On-Demand Grocery Delivery business, you have many opportunities to crack the deals and fire out the craze among the users. Some of the most common types of grocery delivery apps are in the following categories
- Inventory Model:
This platform will manage deliveries, stock keeping, and orders for their own and other brands which they keep under their stock in their store. And these stores can have a chain of shops in many places and cities.
D- Mart & Reliance Fresh are a distinctive example of an inventory model.
- Aggregator:
This platform will venture with local stores and supermarkets and collect orders from customers. The user can place an order from a particular nearby store. And make payment with various available payment options.
The app will divert the request to the store owner. Once the order request is confirmed, the user can track his order in real-time until groceries reach his doorstep.
In this case, the responsibility of delivering orders rests only on the store owner; the aggregator only lists the store and its menu on its platform.
Instacart and Flipkart grocery app are one of the successful models of aggregators.
- Market Place:
This platform will add multiple vendors just like the aggregator model, but customers can’t choose the preferred vendor. In the model of the marketplace, the platform will bear the duties of shipping. So your main task would be order placement and delivery of goods to the customers.
The BigBasket online grocery shopping app is one such popular example of a marketplace model.
Essential Features of Grocery Delivery Apps:
When you develop a grocery delivery app, you can’t just create one grocery delivery app for all and to be done with it. There are three sides to the app.
- Customer app
- Administrator app
- Delivery person’s app
Make sure that your app has an attractive UI/UX design and layout as it is the chief function of mobile application which decides the success and the failure of the business. If the UI/UX is not attractive or takes more time to load, the user will not go to use your app again. A beautiful layout & ease to navigate is absolutely necessary to keep user engagement with your app.
- Customer app:
This app is for the user, which will be hosted at the app store for downloading and installing.
User Registration/ login:
Make it as easy and authentic by making consumers easily login with trending social media websites/apps. This will reduce the Signup hassle and make the user experience smooth.
Browse Products:
Users can browse multiple products listed in the application by applying a different filter, sorting, and search criteria.
Recommended products:
This feature will display the recommended products list on the basis of previous search preferences
Add to cart:
It is an obvious feature in any shopping app. Users will easily add chosen products from the list to the cart and once they are done choosing they might buy it right then or perhaps later. But once they add it to the cart they won’t forget to buy it.
Wish list:
This feature will facilitate the user to save an item for future purchases. It will allow them to select the item of their choice and buy it later. The customers can be reminded through push notifications to buy the product placed on the wishlist.
Schedule Delivery:
This feature allows the customers to schedule a specific time period for receiving the orders as per their convenience.
Multiple Payment Method:
Make sure your grocery delivery app provides multiple payment options such as Google Pay, Amazon Pay, IOS Wallets, PayPal, Credit/Debit Card, and cash on delivery payments as users should possess the flexibility to make payment in a convenient and reliable way.
Real-time Order Tracking:
This feature will allow users to track the real-time status of their placed orders and driver’s location with the assistance of GPS
Repeat Orders:
It will help buyers to access the order history anytime and place the same order whenever required.
Emergency Delivery of Products:
In case of emergency, the user can order something to be delivered quickly from the listed source available; this feature can be a lifeguard for your on-demand grocery delivery app.
Customer Loyalty Program:
Create discount coupon codes and appropriate rewards to loyal purchasers; it will assist to make your customers more prone to shopping from your platform.
Push Notifications:
Keep the user updated about your latest product, flash sales, on-going deals, and new app features by sending push notifications to the users.
Customer Feedback:
Customers can share their buying and browsing experience through which you can provide better services and plan the best strategies for further growth. This feature will play a vital role in building trust among customers.
Customer Support:
Provide 24*7 customer support with live chat, call & emails. An instant dispute solving approach is key for a successful grocery delivery solution.
- Administrator App:
The admin app is controlled by the administrator of the delivery app. This is the utmost important side to build a grocery delivery platform as if something goes wrong on the admin panel then the customers won’t receive their deliveries.
Dashboard:
This is the main core of the app from where admin can manage all the phases of grocery trade and the entire software through a single dashboard.
Assign Orders:
The admin can assign the order after order confirmation to the delivery boy to deliver the order at the mentioned date, time, and place.
Manage Listings:
According to the demands of the market, admin can manage and regulate pricing and product inventory.
Store Management :
Admin can manage all the aspects of the store from a single place and coordinate with managers at any time and run a smooth buyer-seller supply chain
Customer Management:
Admin can observe and communicate with all sign-up customers who are looking to fulfill their requirements.
Payment Management:
Admin can manage and view the transaction which was executed in the application.
Also through this feature, admin can manage and audit their tax and commission related data.
Product Management:
From the app backend, an admin would be capable to add products in bulk, enable or disable the product as per the availability of products, remove items whenever it is required.
Reporting and Analytics:
This feature will track loyal grocery shoppers and analyze the complete data that help the business to define a strategy and expand the business faster and smarter.
- Delivery Person’s App:
Simple Registration:
The delivery boy can register himself by filling a few details name, email id, phone number.
Profile Management:
A driver can easily update their profile by adding personal details, adding a profile photo, and adding bank account details.
Push Notifications:
In this feature, the delivery boy will receive the notification of when they will be meeting the new request of orders, along with details of time and location.
Work Status :
The delivery person can set their availability toggle, along with the ability to accept and reject the order.
Geo Location:
It is one of the crucial features through which the delivery guy will get the location of customers through GPS, and can find the best route suggestions to make multiple deliveries easier using route optimization.
Digital Service Delivery Proof:
Offer a digital method to collect service proof with digital signatures.
Earning Status :
Delivery Executive can have his dashboard for knowing his earning as per day, week, or month. And can have access to the total order delivery, through this, the delivery executive can estimate the earnings. Moreover, the delivery guy can transfer their earnings to their bank account.
How Much Does It Cost To Develop An On-demand Delivery App :
The cost of grocery delivery app development depends on numerous factors such as the business model, type of app, number of features and functionality, pricing model, the size of the development team, choice of platform, and business model you prefer to start with.
The timing of the application development process also has a big impact on the app-building process.
- The Customer App: 20-30 days for android and iOS
- The Admin App: 30 days for android and iOS
- The Delivery App: 30-40 days for android and iOS.
- API and synchronization: 30-35 days
However, the time frame can change depending on the kinds of features you desire to include in your app.
To know the exact estimation of your on-demand delivery app, you should opt for the best dedicated developers team.
Benefits of an On-demand Grocery Delivery Apps:
By utilizing a single platform people are obtaining their desired things at their doorsteps, which attracts users a great deal.
- By using the internet, people are bringing things from the comfort of home with just a few taps on their doorsteps, without going outside.
- Customers prefer to purchase groceries from an online platform over a grocery store as it is convenient, time saver as well as a money saver.
- On-demand grocery delivery apps lure customers by dealing with hot offers and special promotions with awesome discounts that lean customers toward the on-demand economy.
- Another major benefit of the grocery delivery solution is that it grants users to shop not only for them but for their loved ones too. Users can easily shop for others by using such an app.
- These types of apps are very convenient and handy which provides instant access to smart search, real-time tracking, and quicker delivery to users.
Conclusion:
In this pandemic situation, people are looking for easy and contactless access to daily needs. While groceries are the topmost need of a day to day life, people are leaning toward on-demand delivery solutions. In the nearby future, we will witness tremendous growth in this business. So if you want to develop a grocery app, then this is the correct time. Your app can become a new favorite among the health-conscious crowd.
You can reach out to the best-dedicated software engineering team out of the market for your on-demand grocery delivery solution.
Mushahid Khatri is a Chief Executive Officer of Yelowsoft which is one of the leading on demand grocery delivery solution. He believes in sharing his strong knowledge base with leaned concentration on entrepreneurship and business.