Digital transformation has transformed the lives of many people. Smartphones have dragged the transitory changes in our life as our necessities are now getting fulfilled with this smart device. Whether it’s about a searching job or ordering our favourite delicacies, everything is possible with the smartphone.
By turning the entire process of ordering food into a cakewalk, these food delivery mobile apps have become an immense hit among customers of all demographics. From restaurant owners who are developing their dedicated food ordering apps to services like UberEats and GrubHub which act as a collaboration platform between the restaurants and clients, everyone seems to be joining the bandwagon.
Last year, the food sector has elevated its business enormously as the whole world was under the clutch of pandemic and people were ordering food from their place. Many business entities find this situation as an opportunity to launch their food delivery service.
The fact that these food delivery apps have become such an immediate Play Store and App Store pleaser has catapulted them into a business idea that is ordained to succeed. So, if you have plans to create your very own food delivery app, now is the time!
Why Invest in Food Delivery App Development?
In the fast-moving world, people have barely time to visit restaurants and enjoy their meals, instead, they are comfortable sitting at their homes and relishing their delicacies in their way. This is another reason why the online food industry is in the spotlight.
Many online food delivery platforms including Uber Eats have claimed that they have generated around $4.8 billion in revenue in 2020, and GrubHub had 31.4 million active users in 2020. Whereas DoorDash is associated with 390,000 restaurants.
Hence, due to the rising need for online food delivery as per the statistics, many business entities are getting in touch with IT professional services, for better and efficient food delivery services in the market.
Types of Food Delivery Mobile Apps
Now if you want to create your app for food delivery, you need to understand the basic food delivery start-up models that are dominating the market.
Aggregator Food Delivery Apps
These are primarily second-platform apps that serve as a link between customers and restaurants. These apps accept food orders from the customers and pass them on to the restaurants. However, they are not liable for delivering the order to the customers, which is entirely the restaurant’s responsibility. Due to the absence of logistics support, such apps are only suitable for big restaurants that can leverage their delivery systems.
Apps with Logistics Support
In addition to the previous features, this model offers delivery services as well. It involves third-party delivery personnel who picks up food from the respective restaurants and delivers them to the customer’s doorstep. These types of food delivery apps hold better market potential as they are also suitable for small-scale restaurants that do not have their delivery services.
To sum up, aggregator apps are no longer considered a viable venture. So, if you wish to plunge into the development of a popular food delivery app, you must focus on this model.
Dedicated Restaurant App
This type of food delivery app is an extension of your restaurant business. It is suited to established restaurants that already have a delivery system in place. By launching their exclusive food delivery app, these restaurant owners make it easy for their customers to order their favourite dishes. At the same time, they gain the opportunity to reach a wider base of customers. Apps like Dominos and Pizza Hut fall under this category.
Key Elements of a Successful Food Delivery App
The Client-Side
- Sign up functionality for enabling new users to create an account using their email address or via third-party apps like Google and Facebook.
- The ability to choose a restaurant or cafe from a list of vendors available from your location
- The ability to quickly place orders from a menu
- A payment gate system for processing payments and validating promo codes. Customers should be able to pay for their orders as quickly and efficiently as possible. Ideally, you should add as may payment options as possible — credit cards, PayPal, COD, Apple/Google Pay.
- The ability to track order status, estimated delivery time, and courier location.
- The option to save restaurants, cafes and favorite food items for future reference
- The ability to chat with both the restaurant and the courier for updates and concerns regarding their order.
The Restaurant Side
- A restaurant signup page that would enable food businesses to join the food delivery platform, capturing all pertinent information about the restaurant, including their business name, location, business hours&contact information.
- An integrated content management system that enables restaurants to publish their menu and add photos on the food delivery platform
- The ability to launch promotions and offer promo codes to customers.
- An order tracking feature that enables restaurants to view incoming orders and update customers regarding the status of their orders. Both parties ought to be able to see the exact status of orders at any given time — canceled, completed, for delivery, etc.
- The ability to find the nearest courier available to deliver orders. The app should be able to track the location of the courier from pick-up and up until the order is successfully delivered.
- A cross interface communication feature that allows the restaurant to communicate with the customer and courier seamlessly.
The Courier Side
- An order management page for couriers that enable them to receive delivery jobs in real-time. Such a feature should provide all details of an order, including pick-up and delivery location, order size, and the customer’s contact information.
- An option to estimate the delivery time before picking up the order.
- Cross interface communication features that would enable couriers to chat with both courier and restaurant and send updates concerning delivery.
How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Food Delivery App
A comprehensive project requires a holistic business approach that will help to improve the business’s performance and profitability by providing full-fledged support. The exact cost of developing a food delivery app depends upon a plethora of factors, such as type of app, type, and the number of features and functionalities integrated, cost of labour, etc.
Roughly, the cost of developing a basic food delivery app is somewhere around $10,000 to $18,000. However, a high-end app with leading functionality may cost you as high as $40,000.
One crucial factor that largely regulates the cost of development is the cost of labour. The labour charges vary with different countries and regions.
For instance, US/ UK based developers charge somewhere between $70 to $250 per hour. For Eastern Europe based developers, the rates vary from $50 to $170 per hour.But this hourly rate is highly affordable in India, where you can easily find seasoned mobile app developers working at $20 to $70 per hour. Thus, in terms of labour charges, India is undisputedly the most feasible option.
Conclusion
Indeed, the mobile food ordering business is a fast-growing trend that’s just too valuable for any restaurant/cafe to ignore. As the technology behind it continues to grow (Internet and mobile), the strategic value of food delivery apps is sure to soar even higher. That said, one must consider every element of developing such an app and adequately address the needs of all parties involved.
If you’re unsure as to how to accomplish the latter, then it would be best to discuss the matter with experts that offer mobile app development solutions that are specific to your business.
