Developing iOS and Android On-Demand Grocery Delivery App

The concept of marketplaces is not new, but with the increase in the use of smartphones and the internet, it has gained more popularity. A marketplace is a platform that gives an easy medium to connect job seekers with employers, customers with service providers, buyers with sellers, etc. So the question arises what benefits do marketplaces get in providing the trade between the two ends? There are several ways from which marketplaces get benefits like they can earn a lot of money with website ads, they can get good traffic on their website, and they can always ask for a cut whenever a trade took place on their platform. On-demand grocery delivery apps are one of the fast-paced marketplaces.

Grocery Delivery App Market Growth in the US

Many grocery mobile apps like Grofers, Instacart, and BigBasket are exploring this business and undoubtedly the future of grocery delivery mobile apps will continue to blossom in the future. Many iOS and Android mobile app development companies in the USA have designed apps using the same concept.

Important Points while Designing On-Demand Grocery Delivery App:

For quick availability and delivery of ordered products, you must depend on local suppliers and service providers. For a successful grocery delivery app, it is important to have a contact/agreement with a number of grocery store owners in every locality where you offer your services. The Android or iOS app development company can ask suppliers for a discount on the selling price or commission over the bill amount. Moreover, while designing an app, you have to search for a local delivery agency which will deliver the products to the delivery address. They charge a fixed amount for each delivery or can ask for a percentage of the bill amount. You can also ask iOS app developers to include delivery charges in the bill to cover charges agency’s charges.

Common Features that Your Grocery Delivery App should have:

While most iOS and Android mobile app development companies are aware of the common features that an ideal app should have, but there are few features that are complex to define in on-demand grocery apps.

Like any other on-demand app, the users of the grocery delivery app have to specify how the delivery agent can follow them, followed by where to deliver. For any app to recognize the user who placed an order for groceries and to contact him/her at any point of time during delivery, the app must have following screens and features:

• Sign up
• Sign in
• Forgot Password
• Facebook Login
• User Profile
• Edit Profile
• Option to verify the phone number and email address

The other set of features required to develop an effective android or iOS app includes the following:

• Product Search
• Order Menu
• Search Suggestions
• Search Filters
• Shopping Cart
• Quantity counter
• Checkout
• Payment Gateway
• Discount Coupon

At the time of Android mobile app development, you should collect the following information to get an idea about the location where the ordered product needs to be delivered:

• Customer’s location
• Option to search address
• Pin address on the map
• Set favorite addresses

Another important element that Android and iOS app developers should include in the app is when the user wants the delivery by giving the following options:

• Express Delivery
• Pick Time Slot
• Contact delivery person
• Track delivery person

Types of Grocery Apps on the Market

If you are hiring an Android or iOS app development company to build an on-demand grocery delivery app, you have multiple options to choose from. Most of the grocery delivery app available in the market belongs to one of the following categories:

Marketplaces

A marketplace is very much similar to a normal grocery store aggregation platform; the only difference is that they have their own team of delivery boys to supply ordered groceries to the users’ homes.

Independent Stores

In independent store app, the grocery owner creates their personal app and carry out all functions on its own, including keeping an updated menu, maintaining the app, delivering the order, collecting money, etc.

Aggregators

This type of grocery delivery apps simply lists nearby stores and facilitate users to choose the nearby stores to make an order. Using the online menu, users can order whatever they want in any quantity. The app places an order to selected store and waits for the confirmation from the store. Once the ordered is confirmed, a user can track their order using the tracking feature on the app.

Grocery Chains

The popular grocery chains such as Walmart tend to have their own on-demand mobility solution that is same as an individual store at micro-level operations.

Developing an on-demand grocery delivery app comes with certain risk, but has their numerous advantages. By keeping the benefits and limitations of all categories (marketplace, independent store, aggregator and grocery chain), you can choose which type of app you want to develop.