The demand for food delivery app development is rising. Digital orders and deliveries have grown 300% faster than traditional dine-in sales since 2014. According to Statista, the ‘platform-to-consumer’ delivery segment is expected to reach US$96.8 million worldwide by 2024. Considering the consequences of COVID-19, this growth will remain steady for the foreseeable future.
The need for food delivery app development is increasing. Delivery and online orders have increased by 300% than traditional dine-in restaurant sales in the last year. According to Statista, the ‘platform-to-consumer’ delivery segment is expected to reach US$96.8 million worldwide by 2024. In light of the implications of COVID-19, this rate of expansion will remain constant in the foreseeable future.
COVID-19 triggered a greater need for food delivery due to social-distancing guidelines and the fear of getting sick. This is why 2020 may have been the start of a new time for food delivery, particularly for aggregators like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and DoorDash. The food delivery service Instacart has announced that it had met its goals for 2022 in only three weeks of the lockdown in 2020.
There’s a lot of competition. may be intense and newcomers to the food delivery industry should not be put off by competition. If you’re equipped with an original concept d a robust software that has sophisticated features, you stand a good possibility of success. Looking at competitors and looking for areas of improvement in their offerings can assist you in coming up with a unique solution.
Artoon Solutions has more than a decade of experience developing on-demand service applications for a variety of industries, such as food delivery. Our apps, such as the Tayble app are utilized by customers from all around the globe.
We’ve put together this article to assist you in getting started developing apps for food delivery. Before we get into detail, let’s go over the impact of COVID-19 on the food delivery industry and how food delivery evolved in reaction to the pandemic.
Market overview for food delivery and the challenges in 2023
In 2021 the food delivery business continues to grow. “Food delivery app use has increased, but not significantly when consumers are returning to in-person eating more often,” says Alisha Kapur who is an industry consultant with Similarweb (a service for analyzing the traffic on websites and downloads of apps). The future of apps for food delivery looks promising for the coming years, however, there are two challenges for established companies as well as small-scale startups to tackle:
Rivalry
The giants of the industry may dominate the market, however, that’s not necessarily the case. Food delivery companies around the world have risen during the outbreak and are continuing to gain influence. For instance, Gousto, a UK meal-kit service was able to secure $41m during lockdown. Gorillas is an on-demand food startup aiming to get products in 10 minutes, has raised $290 million, and exceeded its original one billion dollar estimation.
However, there’s a lack of distinction. Many apps look similar, and users tend to pick services they’ve already used, for example, Uber Eats. This is why your app for food delivery should offer an original service or features that will attract attention from the people you want to attract. As an example, the start-up ConverseNow was a hit thanks to its AI-powered order-taking assistants. Its unique product assists restaurants in automatizing the taking and processing of orders using various channels, allowing staff members to focus on other duties.
Convenience for restaurants
Another way to draw in customers and grow a base of restaurants is by cutting down on fees. Third-party delivery services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Seamless are exorbitantly expensive with prices that can reach 30 percent per transaction. These charges are significant financial burdens for businesses struggling to meet the difficulties brought on by the pandemic.
Free or minimal charges is an appealing proposition for restaurant owners, and it is likely to help make your app popular with the providers. However, this poses another issue If you don’t charge restaurants what can you ensure that your app is profitable? A monetization model based on an ads model or cross-selling could be able to come in useful. It is possible to follow an idea from the model of Owner.com which is a Palo Alto-based company. Owner.com is completely free to restaurants however customers are charged the convenience fee of 5.
What features are customers searching for in applications for food delivery?
No matter what business strategy you decide to go with, it’s obvious that you should offer clear pricing and quality service. Beyond the basic attributes that your app provides, it should be aware of the latest trends in the industry to satisfy your customers’ demands and requirements. Let’s look at the elements that should comprise your app for a food delivery development plan, from basics to the latest solutions.
Key features of food delivery apps
If you plan to establish an online food delivery service that connects diners with local restaurants and also offers deliveries (like GrubHub and DoorDash) it is necessary to create three distinct applications for couriers, customers as well as restaurants. Each application should have fundamental features to ensure that your ordering process and delivery are easy and efficient for all parties. We’ve listed the most important attributes of each app below.
Customers App
In this app, the users should be able to browse nearby restaurants as well as their menus with ease. To make it easier for users the app should incorporate search filters as well as functionality for tracking orders. Think about implementing these options:
- Create profiles and logins through social media channels
- Filters for search (by price, cuisine delivery times, and so on)
- The menu is available for ordering.
- Many payment options
- Real-time delivery tracking
- Push notifications
- Order history
- Rate and read
- 24/7 customer support
Courier (delivery) app
The app for delivery is like the customer’s application. It should offer delivery employees the ability to access orders that are available and should include a built-in GPS to help with pick-ups and drop-offs. Other important delivery app features are:
- Registering and profile editing
- Management of orders (including the verification of order details as well as deciding whether or not to accept the delivery request and so on.)
- Status Update (accepted/picked up/delivered)
- Push notifications
- The history of orders that were delivered
Restaurant (merchant) app
The main function of the app is to notify partners about orders that are coming in. If an order is completed, the restaurant manager can utilize the app to allocate the delivery to a nearby courier.
Certain platforms offer analytics tools that allow restaurants can draw up statistics to aid in retaining customers. In addition, it is recommended that you add the following features to your mobile app for the restaurant development roadmap:
- Management of content (adding photos and updating menus)
- Create loyalty campaign (create sale vouchers as well as sales to as well as promotions of special offers)
- Financial Accounting
- Push notifications
- Cross-interface communication (with both customers and couriers)
To develop these features, you’ll need strong Software Development Kits (SDKs) along with tools. In the next section, we will discuss the technology employed in the development of apps for food delivery. Before that let’s look at the latest trends that can assist you in winning the marketplace:
Food delivery app trends for 2023
To be competitive in the market for food delivery A basic application doesn’t suffice. It’s important to add sophisticated and cutting-edge features to your application. For ideas for ideas, here are some examples of the latest solutions that food delivery apps are employing:
Social media orders
Social media users spend a lot of time browsing media, and delivery companies have identified a potential market in food delivery through social media. ChowNow integrated its order service with platforms on social media and developed an order feature that is available on Instagram. In the meantime, more than 13,000 of its restaurants that are partners can accept orders by clicking”Order Food” or the “Order Food” link on their Instagram page, or by placing the use of stickers in their posts. The company claims that this feature will aid restaurants in generating revenues and increase the volume of orders.
Smartwatch
Smartwatches are the most loved devices, second only to smartphones; no reason to wonder that the recent growth in the market for smartwatches is enormous. Some companies have considered this trend and created apps for smartwatches.
Domino’s launched its Android smartwatch app, a simplified version of its website mobile and mobile apps to make ordering easier and to cover a wider range of potential customer areas. “Easy Order” is the “Easy Order” feature that lets users take orders for pizza on their wrists in only a few clicks. After that, the smartwatch shows information regarding the status of their order and the order’s status. There’s no necessity for a phone.
Virtual Assistant
Technology like Alexa and Siri quickly become our digital companions helping us with a variety of everyday tasks. So why not involve them in the food ordering online process? Caviar recently announced a Siri shortcut that lets customers review order status or make a reorder of items they have previously ordered using voice commands, for example, “Hey Siri, order my regular pizza” or “Hey Siri, Caviar order status.”
Another instance is Grubhub which has also introduced an Alexa capability that allows users to change their order for any of their recent three purchases by saying: “Alexa, open GrubHub.” Alexa is then able to recite the previous order that the user can choose from. After processing the order Alexa will announce the expected time of delivery.
To maximize your chances of success with your delivery software study the major trends in the industry closely. Implementing cutting-edge technology is advantageous for businesses in the long run however it will require significant investment and therefore is not the priority for start-ups with limited budgets.
Defining the technology stack
The key features of your app define the range of technology required. Since food delivery apps process a lot of information and information, they should be supported by an effective and robust backend. Integrated payment systems are essential because customers pay for their orders through the app. Restaurant listing API Programming interfaces (APIs) give detailed details about restaurants and GPS tracking systems allow for orders and movements to be recorded.
What SDKs or tools can be utilized in on-demand food app development? This is the technology stack that’s required to build an application for food delivery.
Backend
To save all the data associated with food delivery safely it is necessary to have a strong backend system. For our Tayble project -an order processing application that caters to restaurant customers — we moved between Firebase (used in the app’s prototype) to MongoDB, a much more secure document database that is known for its high performance and outstanding security. With MongoDB, we could build an extremely scalable database, with the ability to load balance. We also could build regional replicas.
Payment system
There are many online payment solutions and each is available in distinct formats. It is recommended to incorporate a payment platform that is efficient and reliable. Braintree, as well as Stripe Braintree SDKs are easy to use, reliable, and work effectively in applications in which online payment is needed.
As part of the Tayble project we were able to connect eight point-of-sale (POS) systems in one go in partnership with Doshii which is a cloud-based platform that connects multiple POS systems in one API. This solution made it easier to make manual entries and decreased operating costs, which meant that the final cost was only half the cost of a traditional system that uses a tablet as well as the use of an external printer.
Restaurant listing
If you are launching a food delivery platform that has several restaurants, the primary objective is to make sure that you have access to all the vital details, including restaurants’ addresses, working hours menus, operating hours, and more. There are numerous API options like GrubHub, Zomato, and FourSquare Places, are available. Third-party APIs can provide users with the most current menus and pricing. Zomato API, for example, has information on more than 1.5 million eateries in 10,000 cities across the world.
GPS tracking
Technology that determines an individual’s location is essential for any food delivery application. To pinpoint the user’s location and track the movement of food orders, think about options like Google’s Geolocation API for Android and the CoreLocation framework for iOS. Utilizing MapKit as well as Google Directions APIs, you can offer couriers directions. Google Maps can be integrated into each of the Android and iOS versions.
System for messaging
To speedily and smoothly deliver your order efficient communication is essential. In-app messaging lets couriers, restaurants, and customers remain in contact and keep the channels of communication open. Twilio is the most popular tool for communication but there are good alternatives like Plivo, MessageBird, Nexmo, and many others. To figure out which is the best fit for your app the best take a look at our study on how to integrate calls and messages into mobile apps.
Cost of food delivery app development
In the case of restaurant mobile app development costs, finding the cost of a food delivery application includes a variety of factors, such as the scale of the project and the platform it is launched on as well as the number of features and their complexity, the number of integrations with third parties needed; and the developer’s fees. Therefore, the total cost is anywhere from $US30,000 up to $US500,000, depending on the size and complexity of your app.
We understand how crucial it is to be on time and within budget, here at Artoon Solutions we rely on the concept of sprint planning. Sprints are brief, predictable periods during which a team of developers completes a certain timeframe of work. In the case of most of our projects like Tayble, the approach has allowed us to better plan the costs as well as better control over what number of features are needed for the minimum viable product (MVP) and also get the final product out faster.
Bottom line
Food delivery via mobile is one of the previous decade’s rapidly growing trends. With an increase in demand due to the COVID-19 crisis, the service instantly became a vital service. Opportunities for investment in the field are abundant like is competitive. If you’ve got a smart business strategy and a quick strategy for product design the odds for success are high.
If you are starting an enterprise that delivers food an efficient, elegantly created application is essential. The best method to create the applications is you hire an expert software development firm like Artoon Solutions. If you choose to work with Artoon Solutions you can get a high-quality end product as well as an experienced partner who is willing to help and share knowledge.
Drop us a note with a short description of the project you’re interested in then we’ll be in contact to discuss the specifics.
