As proven by the success of popular companies such as Uber Eats and Grubhub, the food delivery market appears to be promising for startup owners and entrepreneurs.
The benefits of using a food delivery app are obvious from the customer's perspective:
- It's fast.
- It involves less human interaction (yeah, introverts! ).
- It requires less distraction from whatever you're currently doing.
- It even allows you to eat in the comfort of your bed.
But why would you create one? What is the benefit to you? From an economic standpoint, the meal delivery app company is getting traction. According to eMarketer, by 2023, up to 23% of US cellphones will use some food-delivery applications. That's around 60 million individuals — a sizable market share! If you own a restaurant, you can benefit from offering delivery services to improve sales.
Consider these points before developing a meal delivery app
SensorTower's best meal delivery apps include DoorDash, Uber Eats, Yelp, Postmates, and Grubhub. You might want to look at them to see how they work. Take note that Grubhub has varied delivery fees depending on the individual restaurant, DoorDash delivers alcoholic beverages, and Postmates has an Unlimited feature with which you may obtain a $0 delivery fee on all purchases over $20 for $9.99 a month. It would also be useful to also have a search feature that allows you to save your tracking details as well as your order history.
In terms of geographical distribution, here's a detailed table that shows which food delivery services are most popular in key US cities. You may have noticed that New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia are synonymous with Grubhub. Still, Postmates is the major food delivery service in Los Angeles, and DoorDash is quite popular in San Jose and Fort Worth.
Price comparison analysis
It is vital to understand your budget. The cost of establishing a food delivery app is decided by a number of criteria, including the specifications, the expertise of a development team, as well as the app's location, platforms, and other technical features. It would help if you also considered the costs of project management and testing.
Developers' hourly rates vary greatly depending on the country they work, ranging from $10–50 per hour in Asia and Africa to $50–100 per hour in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Australia. As an example, consider Eastern Europe. It has an hourly wage somewhere in the center and gives developers outstanding abilities.
A meal delivery app takes 500–850 hours to create, so with an hourly rate of around $40, the total cost would be around $20,000–34,000. Bear in mind that it is just a rough estimate. If you have an idea, don't hesitate to get in touch with us and we will provide you with a more accurate quotation.
Choose technical specifics
It would be best to determine whether your software will be a hybrid or a native app for iOS or Android alone. Which one to choose is determined by criteria such as cost, time, quality, the technology used by your target audience, and so on. Remember that while native apps are more scalable, safe, speedy, and user-friendly than hybrid apps, the total cost of development is more.
Essentially, when choosing a development company, be sure they provide a broad spectrum of services. Identity design and branding, UI, development, and post-launch support are all provided by digital agencies.
Speaking of platforms, there appears to be a disparity in the median salaries of iPhone and Android app users, with the average iPhone app user earning 40% more than the average Android user. Furthermore, in the United States, iOS continues to outperform Android.
The Most Difficult Challenges
Customers who are displeased. For example, in 2016, Postmates dealt with hundreds of complaints regarding rates on the app not matching the actual prices on delivery.
We have a lot of concerns these days about data security. DoorDash acknowledged that hackers took the information of its 4.9 million consumers, delivery drivers, and merchants.
People mostly complain about slow delivery (there's a reason why Uber Eats gives its customers vouchers for free food if their meal is late), cold food, wrong orders, and establishments that ignore their instructions.
Restaurants that are unhappy. Some restaurant owners are unhappy with how delivery services portray their companies. Outdated menus, incorrect pricing, and improperly handled food, to name a few issues. As if that wasn't enough, there were even instances of unlawful delivery service!
Couriers who are dissatisfied. Andy Newman discovered he was making less than $10 per hour as a courier for numerous delivery apps while reporting for The New York Times. And this work is a slog.
Millennials vs. previous generations
Conduct detailed research on your target audience's age, nationality, lifestyle, income, and location ahead of time. Your entire business plan is dependent on it.
For example, millennials (those between the ages of 18 and 30) are actively altering the food sector as we know it. They are three times more likely than their parents to order take-out food merely to save time and make life easier. Food delivery apps are one of the top 40 most downloaded apps, and it's possible that most of the meals we cook at home will just be purchased online instead of in 10 years.
It is critical to be distinctive
A task to establish a food delivery app may appear difficult, as you will be competing with big businesses such as Grubhub, Uber Eats, or DoorDash, who have more resources than a small firm. At the same time, if you have decided to enter this industry, you must have a distinctive concept to set your product apart from the competition.
What features should a lucrative food delivery app have?
After you've settled on the critical factors outlined above, you may pick what features to include in your app. This is what would be extremely effective.
Content that is educational
Without useful content, any program is worthless. Provide a diverse range of restaurants, cuisines, and foods so that people would want to use them. Customers should be able to browse all of the eateries nearby or simply get their Basil Delight or anything they want. A desire list would be a good addition to help folks remember what food they wanted to try next.
Also, make certain that each item in your app includes a photo. A tantalizing image to entice them and show them exactly what to expect. You'd be amazed how many apps ignore this basic requirement.
Fast and simple UI It's critical to provide clients with an easy-to-use interface that has clean and simple functionality and an intuitive feel, with the desired meal just a few taps on the screen away.
Take a look at the sample below for a simple and user-friendly layout. In just a few steps, a user can place an order for food. Tempting food photos elicit feelings of hunger, and a good color scheme is eye-catching and appealing.
Payment Security
One of the reasons consumers prefer delivery apps to the time-consuming procedure of placing a phone order is the ability to keep their personal information confidential. As a result, it really is your obligation to ensure that all business statements are quick as well as secure.
According to Statista, global mobile-payment revenues increased from $450 billion in 2015 to more than $1 trillion in 2019.
Try to include as many payment alternatives as you can. Credit/debit cards (2Checkout, Braintree, Simplify Commerce, Stripe, Authorize.Net, WorldPay, SagePay, Optimal Payments) or PayPal have preferred payment methods in the United States.
In terms of features, most payment processors are relatively similar. PayPal, Stripe, and Braintree charge approximately 2.9 percent +30 cents for each successful transmission and provide split buy transactions, reporting capabilities, simplified invoicing, and payment procedures.
It should be highlighted that developers choose Braintree because it supports six programming languages and requires the least amount of time to integrate.
Order tracking in real-time
This is the best feature. It's incredibly useful to know where your meal is and when it'll arrive so you can plan your activities accordingly. To make your software truly advanced, include a GPS tracking system. In response, delivery employees will be grateful for improved driving directions and the ability to forecast delivery time.
To track a meal, for example, through the DoorDash app, go to the “Orders” page and tap on your order to see its status. Once a driver has accepted to deliver your order, a map with their position will appear.
Customer service
People, without a doubt, adore discounts and special offers. I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you if I told you that many people use this or that food delivery app because of coupons they get for past purchases, delivery employees screwing up in some way, or simply as gifts. Exclusive in-app offers are an excellent method to preserve customer loyalty while also attracting new customers.
Give them unique offers and make them earn points to spend on their next meal.
Push notifications When it comes to special deals, it's a good idea to include a push notification option in your app to keep customers interested and updated on the status of their orders. That will demonstrate to them that you care.
Recommendations
We live in the age of recommendation engines. I'm not sure about you, but I'm really delighted with the numerous recommendations I get from Spotify or Netflix, not to mention clothing retailers like H&M, which has a wonderful “Style with” area to assist you to find some matching sweaters for your skirt. It's easy to use, convenient and saves a lot of time. So, wouldn't it be amazing if you could give your clients the option of following your advice and selecting something completely fresh and interesting? It may even be a portion of food they've never had before!
Filtration System
Many consumers only use food delivery services for a specific type of food. So, if you offer a variety of meals, include a complicated filter system that allows consumers to sort by restaurant name and location, cuisine, diet, food type, and so on. Allow them to select from new or fashionable offers or propositions that include free delivery. Users will spend less time looking for what they need as a result.
For example, if your client wants something Japanese at a medium price and with a delivery time of less than 30 minutes, provide them that. What about something a little more complicated? Add to this the availability of customer feedback and soybeans as a meal item to this query. Voila! Perfect.
Appealing to the Eye
A good design communicates the concept of a product. Ensure that your app's design conveys the pleasant sense of tasting a well-prepared dish. Make customers enjoy your app's design as much as they would a hot burger or a tongue-tingling fizzy soda. Yummy!
Use a white or black background with bright warm colors, engaging photographs and illustrations, and hidden sidebars, buttons, and elements.
Feedback, ratings, and reviews
People enjoy rating and scanning comments to sort things because word of mouth is still one of the most trustworthy sources of information. Why else would some people pay for bogus reviews? And imagine yourself in front of an overwhelming array of dishes to choose from. What would your reaction be? I'm not sure, but I'd definitely arrange them by popularity to see which propositions are the most popular.
To Summarize Everything,
If you've been considering launching a food delivery app, now is the moment. Food delivery apps are on the rise, but the market is far from saturated.
According to McKinsey, the food-delivery sector is expanding and has significant future potential. It's very understandable.
I have a buddy who fantasizes about a future in which taking a small pill labeled “Chicken Salad” or “Baked Beans” will instantaneously make you feel full and carefree for the next few hours. But, in contrast to my buddy, for the vast majority of people, eating is not just a source of sustenance but also one of life's greatest pleasures, as well as an opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family. If you're wondering how to make a meal delivery app, why not share the joy with your potential consumers and do it together? Send us an email, and we'll collaborate with you just to make your dream a reality.
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