One of the fastest-growing segments of e-commerce is food delivery, which has gained tremendous momentum in the past few years. Everything from buying clothes to ordering food online to staying fit is just one click away as the trend of online ordering increases. Because of the comfort with which we can use mobile applications, we have become totally reliant on them to complete daily chores.
There are restaurants serving national and international cuisines around every corner of the city that people love to visit. You cannot eat at every restaurant. With the advent of the digital world, anything can be done at the touch of a button. With the aid of the digital revolution, we have a new way to receive our desired goods and food while sitting comfortably on our couches. So, now you can order your favorite scrumptious cuisine at the best price with online deals and discounts with the food delivery app.
Food delivery apps have made their way and made our lives easier and more convenient. Examples of food delivery apps with exclusive features are Swiggy, UberEats, Zomato, Doordash, Seamless, etc., and many others. It is possible to launch your food delivery app and profit vast chunks even after they have already penetrated the food delivery market and are doing well.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, food-delivery apps have seen a dramatic increase in usage. Entrepreneurs have started investing in food delivery app development due to the increased demand for food delivery services during the quarantine period. However, creating an app that can cut through the clutter and end up as a winner is more complicated than it sounds.
While developing a food delivery app, entrepreneurs need to think about several factors. What are those factors? Let’s discuss this in detail.
Why Entrepreneurs Taking Keen Interest in Food Delivery App Development
Mobility solutions have been changing the entire restaurant industry across the globe. Out of which, the doorstep food delivery sector has experienced massive growth in the last decade. And food delivery apps have become popular because they allow customers to order food from their favorite restaurants with tempting discounts and deals.
Looking at the current online food delivery sector scenario, one thing is sure it is here to stay for a long time. Hence, it is no more wondering entrepreneurs want to be a part of this giant industry, and hiring the best food delivery app development company has become a massive trend in recent years. But wait, you don’t need to rush into developing a random app without knowing what you are getting yourself into.
Numerous food delivery applications have been successful, so it appears that the market is crowded. However, there is still a lot of room for new names, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data confirms this. Consider the below statistics as they demonstrate why entrepreneurs should create a food delivery app in 2022.
- In the USA, more than 60% of customers order delivery or takeout at least once a week
- Around 23% of people say they will only order food online for the rest of 2021 rather than visiting restaurants.
- 3 restaurants out of 10 predict that online food delivery will remain high even after the pandemic ends.
- Usage of third-party delivery apps is increasing. Take an example of GrubHub; it saw a 20% hike in average order size as compared to the previous year.
Now you must be interested in developing your own food delivery app in the coming years, but how to do that? What aspects to consider before moving forward? This post will throw some light on some important factors of food delivery app development that will help you rule the market in no time.
Significant Factors to Consider while Getting into Food Delivery App Development
The food delivery business is flourishing with the help of on-demand delivery apps during this quarantine time when all kinds of businesses were suffering loss across the globe. There are many benefits of developing a food delivery app, and businesses and entrepreneurs are interested in setting up food delivery businesses based on these apps.
It is, however, challenging to develop a custom food delivery app that has all the desired features, especially when there are whole chains of restaurants or even single restaurants that are thinking of creating an app.
You need to keep certain points in mind if you are going to launch the next fully functional food delivery app. This article presents several things to consider before you decide to develop an on-demand food delivery app.
Market Research
It’s important to plan, or you’ll fail, and even after researching everything, new information pops up on the web. Your food delivery business’s journey and fate will determine how deep your research goes. Make sure that you gather all the essential information you can regarding your competitors and end-users to allow you to make an informed decision.
The market research will give you information about your target audience if you invest your time and money in it. By contrast, you will save time and money by disregarding market research in the initial stage, but later on, you will find it even more costly. You will not always succeed, but research can certainly increase your chances of success.
Find Out the Ongoing Trends of Your Industry
The food delivery sector is skyrocketing. Amid the pandemic age, people prefer to order food rather than visit restaurants due to safety reasons. As a result of this new lifestyle, many restaurants and startups have already launched dedicated food delivery apps.
Keep up with the latest food delivery trends to stay ahead of your competitors. Consider, for instance, offering your customers an option to order through social media. Domino’s Pizza first introduced this feature, and several other companies followed suit.
Food delivery companies have also begun to use smartwatches to take orders. Another example is GrubHub, Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa, which is integrated with its ordering system. In addition to letting customers place orders, it also provides an estimate of delivery time. Integration of such unique features helps you stay ahead in the competitive curve.
Third, Pick a Perfect Model
Consideration of this factor is crucial. Choosing a business model requires consideration of the delivery network, restaurant infrastructure, ordering capability, and others. Currently, there are three crucial food delivery models including:
- Order-only model
- Order and delivery model
- An integrated model
Food delivery companies such as JustEat work on this model where people only place orders; it does not include the delivery.
Whereas in the order and delivery model, restaurants do not need to worry about delivery providers, as companies have their own fleets and drivers to deliver the food. Zomato, UberEats, and Doordash have implemented this business model.
The term ‘integrated model’ describes, for example, an app that makes it easier for customers to place orders and receive deliveries from your restaurant. However, the integrated model provides ordering and delivery only for a specific restaurant. From here, customers can choose only items available in your restaurant; they have limited choice.
Choose the Right Development Company
This is the foremost important task to perform. Numerous software development companies and entrepreneurs usually find themselves lost and unable to make the right choice since there is tough competition.
As with building a house, finding the right software developer is like finding a crew to do the job; these steps and logic should also apply here. To be sure you are dealing with the right company, you will want to double-check all the different parameters.
When choosing a development company to develop your business product, you should consider the following:
- Company’s skills
- Reviews from previous clients
- Hourly rate and development
- Technology stack
- Communication skill
- Location
- And flexibility
By 2027, global IT service outsourcing is expected to reach $937.6 billion USD, a large and growing market. With such rapid growth, organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to choose between the various options. However, every business leader aspires to grow and deliver a productive customer experience with their food delivery solution.
Choose the Right Set of Features
Features and functionalities are something that makes your food delivery app unique from the crowd. Indeed, there are many food delivery players, but you don’t need to copy their business model in order to thrive; you need to adopt a “unique” concept. When developing a robust food delivery app, consider the below features for the customer app and website,
- Login
- Search
- Smooth checkout
- Secure payment
- Notification
- Real-time tracking
Additionally, we all know the food delivery app consists of four stakeholders: Admin, restaurants, users, and delivery providers. As an entrepreneur, you need to integrate the essential features into each module that ensures smoother ordering and delivery.
In Conclusion
We are only at the beginning of this sector’s growth, and it will be expanding in the years to come. There will still be much room for food delivery apps, and these companies are still expected to be in demand. If you want to be a part of this industry, this is the right time to take a step forward. Initially, these businesses may not provide income, but they will provide you with higher profits and a greater return on investment over time.
