Grocery Delivery App Development 101: An End-to-End Guide To Build And Launch An Ultra-Modern Grocery Delivery App

There’s a simple gadget with which, hopefully, you are reading this blog on. If not, check your pockets or desks, and there lies an electronic device, named smartphones, capable of encompassing the entire world in them. When you look back in time, the introduction of the Internet and the massive reception of smartphone apps happened synonymously. Enter apps like Uber that provided the ultimate convenience of availing services at doorsteps anytime. And it did not take long for other businesses to adapt to this wildfire. Uberisation happened, and the grocery delivery market was no exception. 

‘Second fiddle’ can be an appropriate term to describe the status of grocery delivery apps. Until recently (read COVID-19), brick and mortar stores were people’s first choice to shop groceries. With the COVID-19 pandemic propelling people to hibernate in their homes, the search for an alternate medium to avail of groceries was on. You could have, probably by now, guessed the ultimate winner in this regard – on-demand grocery delivery apps! 

Following the success of on-demand grocery delivery apps like Instacart, Walmart Grocery, etc., a sea of entrepreneurs is parading into the sector. Do not worry if you are the one with the same intention because you have company. However, sharing the room with elite grocery delivery apps is no easy feat. One needs to hit the bull’s eye with different aspects of developing & launching a grocery delivery app to stand a chance of doing so. 

This blog is curated with such an intent in mind. Explore more to unravel some of the fundamental and critical aspects of grocery delivery app development. 

Highlights of this blog 

• The Booming Market of Grocery Delivery Apps – A Glance 
• Market Research – Better Clarity in Approach
• The Best-suited Business Model – Efficient Operations 
• Essential Features – Crucial for Engagement rates 
• Cutting-edge Features – Your USPs 
• Revenue streams – Unrestricted income 
• The Latest Tech-stack – A class apart
• Exclusive benefits – Key to sustainability 
• The Total Cost – Varies with the Need
• Conclusion 

The Booming Market of Grocery Delivery Apps – A Glance 

Before venturing into any market, it is ideal to analyze market projections and arrive at a reasonable conclusion. Some stats that signify the exponential growth of the grocery delivery market include, 

It is to be duly noted that the grocery delivery market forecasted a positive turnaround of events even in the pre-COVID-19 era. 

According to a report by Cushman & Wakefield, 

• Online grocery sales in the US amounted to $28.6 billion in 2019. 
• The market forecasted a healthy, double-digit CAGR of 20% for the past four years. 
• e-Grocery sales accounted for 2.3% of the total grocery sales in 2019. 

However, COVID-19 appears to be a potential game-changer in every aspect. Online grocery delivery sales took off since the lockdown phase in March. 

According to Statista, 

• Daily download rates of top grocery delivery apps like Instacart, Walmart Grocery, and Shipt surged by 218%, 160%, and 124% in 2020. 
• Walmart Grocery experienced a maximum rate of 54,000 downloads per day, and Instacart followed closely with 38,500 downloads per day. 

According to the Market Intelligence firm, Bricks Meets Click, 

• 35% of US consumers utilized online grocery delivery services by June 2020 – the number leapfrogged by 3X since August 2019. 

Market Research – Better Clarity in Approach 

After having identified the vastness and the exponential growth of the grocery delivery segment, it is time for you to set foot into action. However, numerous grocery delivery apps are being launched every day, and only a handful of those are becoming successful. If you can identify one common thread among every successful grocery delivery app, you’ll inevitably find a feasible & sustainable action plan. Having profound knowledge on some of the fundamental questions like, 

• Who are my target audiences? 
• Why should people opt for my grocery delivery app? 
• What is my platform’s USPs?
• Who are my top rivals in the sectors? 
• What are customers expecting from a grocery delivery app? 

If you have answers to these questions, proceed to the next section. If not, here’s a collective term that can help you find answers to these questions – ‘Market Research.’ 

By conducting extensive market research, you can identify top competitors in your locality and lend your ears to analyze customer expectations as well. Clarity is crucial for any entrepreneur who aspires to venture into the segment where there’s a neck-to-neck competition. 

The Best-suited Business Model – Efficient Operations 

You may as well initiate your app development by now, but here’s a final touch that can help to scale your business instantly. 

Business models lay the foundation for efficient business proceedings based on your resources. (Emphasis on ‘resources’). Just because Instacart & Walmart succeeded, you cannot follow the herd abruptly without analyzing your in-hand resources. Here are some top business models worth-considering, 

• Single grocery store model: For a retail store owner who aspires to take his/her grocery business online, this model can do the trick. 
• Grocery chain model: If the retail store has branches spread across the region, this grocery chain model can come in handy. Walmart Grocery falls under the umbrella of this model. 
• Aggregator model: If you’re an entrepreneur capable of aggregating multiple grocery stores under one roof & have the resources for in-house delivery, go for the aggregator model. Instacart comes under this model. 
• Warehouse model: Display a wide range of products instead of grocery stores and process grocery orders with an inventory/warehouse using the warehouse model. Bigbasket is a typical example of this type. 

It all comes down to identifying your resources before settling for a particular model. 

Essential Features – Crucial for Engagement Rates 

And now comes the main picture – it’s time to initiate the development of your grocery delivery app. Following app design, front-end development is one of the most crucial stages of developing the app. You need to load a specific set of features into different stakeholders apps for the efficient functioning of the entire system. Here, stakeholders include, 

• Customers
• Grocery store executives
• Delivery drivers
• The admin 

Features of Customer app: 

• Registration 
• Search & Filter options 
• Add to cart 
• Multiple payment modes
• Real-time navigation 
• Push notifications
• Ratings & Reviews 
• Order history 

Features of the Delivery executive app: 

• Registration with verification 
• Availability toggle 
• In-app navigation 
• Accept/reject orders
• Manage multiple orders 
• Earnings profile 

Features of Grocery store executives app: 

• Registration 
• Availability toggle 
• Geolocation 
• Accept/reject orders
• Order management dashboard 
• Order history 
• Earnings profile 

Features of the Admin panel: 

• Bird’s eye view
• Intuitive dashboard 
• CRM dashboard
• Manage transactions 
• Manage promo codes/discounts 

Cutting-edge Features – Your USPs 

Besides basic features & functionalities, the need to stand apart from the rest has propelled entrepreneurs to integrate cutting-edge features that have the capability of acting as your platform’s USPs (Unique Selling Propositions). 

• Advanced search bar: Enable users the ability to storm past a wide range of products effortlessly. With multiple sorting options, users can add their desired products to the cart effortlessly. 
• In-app wallet: Users needn’t pay via cash or enter their account details every time during payments. With an e-wallet option, they can pay for their orders instantly with just a few taps on their smartphones. 
• Reorder: Users needn’t search and add groceries to their cart once again. They can reorder from their order history with just a few taps, eliminating excessive time. 
• Multilingual support: Users can access the app in the language of their choice. This way, establishing a global presence becomes a piece of cake. 
• In-app chat/call: Users can communicate with delivery executives either via chat or call to know the status of their orders and provide special instructions. 

Revenue Streams – Unrestricted Income 

An entrepreneur has three ultimate responsibilities in any business – benefiting people, generating revenue, and, in the process of doing so, build a positive brand value. With a grocery delivery app like Instacart, one can generate revenue from a variety of sources, including 

• Commissions: Retail grocery stores boost profits by signing up with the platform. As a result, they give up a percentage of their payments as paid commissions to the platform owner. 
• Delivery charges: To enjoy doorstep grocery deliveries, customers pay delivery charges during the final checkout. A percentage of this payment reaches the delivery team, and a substantial amount ends up in the entrepreneur’s pockets. 
• Subscription charges: Users who avail subscriptions can enjoy premium benefits like exclusive discounts, instant delivery options, etc. These subscription charges add to your income tally as well. 
• The in-app ad charges: You can collaborate with third-party brand owners and display their ads on your app site. This way, you can levy ad charges from these owners based on ad impressions or a CPC basis. 

The Latest Tech-stack – A Class Apart 

Apps with outdated technology fail to create a positive impact on the audience. Hence, tech-stack plays a crucial role in ensuring app sustainability. Here’s a list of the latest tech-stack that can propel you to have a competitive advantage. 

• Android – Kotlin, Java 
• iOS – Swift, Objective C 
• Database – MySQL, MongoDB 
• Servers – Azure, AWS 
• Payment integration – Braintree, PayPal, Stripe 
• In-app alerts, SMS – Twilio 
• Real-time analytics – Hadoop, Cisco 

Exclusive benefits – Key to Sustainability 

A highly beneficial grocery delivery platform creates an everlasting impact on the audience. Here are some crucial benefits of an on-demand grocery delivery app to the entire ecosystem. 

• Convenience & Accessibility: Users can enjoy an unparalleled shopping experience with just a few taps on their smartphones. Besides, they have access to a wide range of grocery stores from a single place. 
• Time, Energy, & Cost-conserving: Users needn’t spend time or energy reaching grocery stores. Besides, they can compare and analyze different products and add them to the cart based on their budget. 

The Total Cost – Varies With the Need 

Now, there are two prominent ways to develop a grocery delivery app. You can either opt for the conventional method of building an app from scratch or prefer the emerging clone app development technique. 

Either way, you cannot quote a fixed price as there are a few factors that impact the total cost significantly. They include, 

• The features you integrate into the application 
• The size of your development team
• The complexity in app design
• The region of app development 
• The tech-stack 

Conclusion 

In today’s technologically-driven world, where people are inclining towards on-demand apps, do not hesitate to venture into the online grocery delivery sector. At Appdupe, we help entrepreneurs comprehensively with our state-of-the-art app development solutions. Reach out to us, and scale your business in the shortest possible time.

Author

Marketing is my soul mate and writing is my side kick. Using my writing skills to share the knowledge of app development and upcoming technologies.