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Food delivery is a growing business, so now's the time to start an online food app. What makes a good food delivery app? What are the features that you must include to make your app stand out from the crowd of online food delivery apps? Find out more.
Do you want to build an online food ordering application but are unsure if it is worth the investment? Based on market insights there are some findings that will help you get a better understanding of the market:
- By 2024, online food delivery will have generated $69.2 billion, which is a 14.7% increase compared to last year.
- The projected revenue for 2027 is $96.50 billion, with an annual growth rate of 8.90% (CAGR from 2022-2027).
- More than 217.1 million people will use online meal delivery services by 2027.
These stats prove that online food ordering demand apps are in high demand, so there is no reason to miss out. What features should an online food order app have?
You may have thought about building an app for food delivery but got stuck somewhere in the middle. It could have been due to a lack of planning or a lack of market knowledge.
Our guide will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to create a food-delivery app.
On-demand Food Delivery Apps
Food businesses are undergoing rapid changes. Online, you can now order everything from healthy meals to fast food.
Customers prefer to order food online than spend time cooking. Mobile apps are the perfect solution to satisfy their hunger.
These apps focus on customer service and convenience. Users can search for their favorite foods, get special offers, and have food delivered by a local restaurant.
Further, if you own national chains of your restaurant like Domino's, you could build a restaurant-to-customer app and ensure that the audience who does not prefer to dine in can still enjoy your food.
You must create user-friendly apps to make online ordering easy if you plan on entering the food delivery industry.
DoorDash is an excellent example of a food delivery service that offers features such as customization, food choices, local restaurants and more.
You must first understand the market and how consumers think before you can create a plan for the best service.
The Changing Customer Demand And Market
Apps that deliver food on demand are not a new concept. The first online food ordering system, World Wide Waiter (now called waiter.com), was launched in 1995.
This market has grown exponentially since then.
What makes the best apps for food delivery attractive and addictive to users? Its growth is primarily due to convenience.
However, other factors such as discounts, options with unlimited choices, and easy payment methods are also important.
These features have made the food apps so addicting that most users prefer to order food online instead of visiting a restaurant.
By 2029, the food delivery industry is projected to reach $320 Billion. More than 60% of restaurant owners say that food delivery is a great way to increase sales.
Types Of Apps For On-Demand Food Delivery
The models of food delivery apps are divided into two categories based on how many restaurants they offer.
These include restaurant-to-consumer delivery and platform-to-consumer delivery.
Restaurant-To-Consumer Delivery
Restaurants that offer a digital version use this model. The application is designed to provide food from a specific restaurant.
Domino's is a great example. Domino's has a food delivery app that is separate from other platforms such as UberEats.
Customers can place orders directly with Domino's, and they will receive their order straight from Domino's.
Platform-To-Consumer Delivery
The Aggregator model is already a leader in the food delivery industry, as it offers services that are convenient for consumers.
Platform-to-consumer delivery apps allow local restaurants to place their menus and discounts on a single platform. Users can also search for local restaurants, order, and have them delivered quickly.
UberEats is the best example of a food delivery service. It has millions of users. The aggregator is popular because it offers a wide range of choices.
Online Food Ordering Apps Must Have 16 Features
Push Notifications
It is common to have more than one app for food delivery on your phone, as most people order food online. Sending push notifications will help you to stay visible and ahead of the competition.
It allows businesses to remain in touch with their customers. These messages can be used to communicate all sorts of information, such as offers, discounts, location-based messages for order drops, etc.
In your app for ordering food on demand, you should also ensure that the notifications are not just a commercial message but add value to your users.
Manage push notifications so that they can help your app grow. Inform your customers of specials, discounts and loyalty programs. You can easily engage customers by grabbing their attention.
Discount/Rewards Programs, Cashback and Loyalty Programmes
Discounts and special offers will help you attract more customers to your app. You should offer great deals regularly to keep customers engaged.
Reports show that around 40% of customers use food ordering apps to find discounts and cashback. Another 25% use them to earn loyalty points.
Brand awareness is not as crucial as attracting potential customers. This is why large companies are more concerned with their loyalty points.
Starbucks, for example, increased its sales by 80 per cent when it launched its loyalty program.
Real-time GPS Tracking
Food delivery apps with real-time GPS tracking allow customers to track their food's location in real time. GPS has two purposes: to track and function.
It can be used to identify the location of the user to deliver food. Once the location is confirmed, the user can track the progress of the delivery personnel.
Customers get the best service when they use apps that track GPS in real-time. Google Maps MapKit and Waze Navigation are some of the best APIs to use for this feature.
Uber, for example, uses Google Maps across all of its platforms.
Simple Payment Options
Payments are essential to every business. Customers abandon their orders even though it is the final step of the ordering process if there are any problems.
Some customers don't try again. To make the payment process as simple and efficient as possible, the app must list all payment options.
You can integrate all payment gateways and mobile wallet apps available on the market. These include Google Pay, PayPal or Amazon Pay.
Other options are Stripe, Credit/Debit Card Online Banking, Cash On Delivery, Stripe, Apple Wallet, and iOS Wallet. From the same page, you can also offer vouchers or promo code usage.
Social Media Integration
Social media has undoubtedly contributed to online marketing in recent years. It's one of those non-pretentious views that improve customer decisions.
Social media integration allows customers to easily share videos or photos of their favorite meals with family and friends. This would make your food ordering app visible on social media and attract regular customers.
Social media can be used to the fullest by customers. Businesses can link social media to loyalty/discount programmes to encourage existing customers to earn rewards and points by inviting new customers.
It attracts potential customers and encourages a once-off customer to return.
Reviews and Ratings
Each business is concerned about its customers, as it's them who buy the products and services. It's, therefore, important to determine whether or not an on-demand application meets their needs.
Each online food delivery service must include a rating and review feature. This would allow your customers to rate and review different restaurants and their listed dishes in the demand delivery app.
Review and rating are excellent ways for companies to learn how their customers react to their apps. Many people will likely choose to visit your app if it has been rated highly.
A feedback portal will help you to gain instant insights and get quick bites of information to improve your app.
Easy Ordering
The process of placing an order is simple and quick. You can only do this if your app is designed to be easy to use.
A good user interface design is essential for an on-demand food delivery application. The user interface of an app is the main way users interact with it and place orders.
Users should be able to explore and find what they are looking for quickly. The user experience can be negatively affected if the UI is slow to load.
The app's progress is dependent on this component. It should load all elements quickly to provide a better user experience and increase conversion rates.
Schedule Your Order And Pick It Up
The person working at the office is contacted by their wife, who says she wants Chinese food for dinner. The restaurants are all packed, so eating out isn't an option.
They check out an app for food ordering and scroll through the menu to find Chinese cuisine. After scrolling through the menu and calling their wife, they ordered Kung Pao Chicken and Hunan Shrimp.
They don't want it ordered now because they think it will be cold. What do you do?
This feature is very useful in such cases. They can order the food at their convenience and then pick it up when they get home from work.
They can enjoy a romantic, warm dinner with their partner while saving time.
Read More: Top 10 Food Ordering Application for high revenue streams
QR Codes
QR codes are a great addition to apps that allow you to order food online. They can be used by many customers, such as scanning the menu to order their favorite food and making payments seamlessly.
These QR codes can be used to share referral codes with friends and on social media.
The popular food ordering and delivery application Grubhub allows users to pay quickly for their orders using QR codes.
Geofencing
Customers often complain that online food delivery apps don't deliver their orders on time and that the food is cold when it arrives at their door.
Geofencing solves this issue by estimating the delivery time. This ensures that a fresh meal is delivered to customers' doors.
Geofencing allows you to inform your customers when there is a lot of traffic in the restaurant and that you are unable to serve their orders. You can manage expectations in this way and avoid offending customers.
Search Filters
Customers do not want to waste time searching for food. This is especially true when they are hungry. You must therefore integrate smart search filters to allow customers to easily find the right restaurant and place an order.
You can use search filters to help users find the food they want. These include food type, delivery time, preferences, distance and location.
You can also research food preferences to better help users find the food they want.
Don't forget to offer users a variety of options. Many options are appealing to people. Grubhub, UberEats and other food delivery services offer a wide variety of options to their audience.
They don't need to go anywhere else to find a tasty meal.
Order History
Imagine you had a great experience with a pizza you bought from Scarr's. You want to order that same pizza again a few weeks later.
What would you order? You can search for the restaurant's name in the app. What if you forgot the name of the restaurant? In the daily hustle and bustle, we all forget. The order history is a very useful feature.
Users can view their past orders and reorder their favorites. No need to memorize the names of dishes and restaurants that they cannot pronounce.
In-app Messages
In-app messages appear as alerts on the user's screen while the app remains open. It is important to provide targeted, context-sensitive and relevant information.
In scenarios where communication between the restaurant and the customer satisfaction is essential, the in-app message feature can be very useful.
Customers may want to ask questions of the restaurant's administration or notify them that they have delivered the wrong order.
The in-app messaging function also bridges the gap between restaurants and delivery staff. The restaurant will update the status of the order and make sure it gets to customers on time.
The customer can send a message if the order is delayed. The delivery staff can also send a text to confirm an address or update their status.
Every online food ordering application must include a messaging feature.
Favourites
Customers also dislike having to repeatedly search for their favorite words and restaurants in online food ordering applications.
They want an intelligent feature to eliminate this hassle and make sure they only order from one location.
Add a feature to allow customers to mark their favorite restaurants and dishes. These restaurants will be at the top of your feed and easily accessible.
Both UberEats and GrubHub use this feature.
Contactless Delivery
After the COVID outbreak, customers are more cautious of human contact. They fear infection. More and more customers are now opting for a contactless ordering experience.
Many famous online food delivery apps like Doordash, Pizza Hut and UberEats have begun offering contactless deliveries.
The delivery person will knock or ring the doorbell of the customer and then step back 6 feet. The customers can enjoy the best food while ensuring their safety.
Voice Integration
By 2024, the number of digital assistants will exceed the population of the entire world. Smart speakers such as Alexa and Siri are used by most people to play music, make calls, or order food.
It's, therefore, essential that this feature is integrated into apps for online food delivery. This would make ordering online food easy and engage your customers during delivery.
With these options, you can offer food coupons or upsell meals.
Voice integration is used by many online food-ordering apps. GrubHub, for example, offers Alexa integration to allow customers to repurchase past orders or to provide a rough schedule of delivery.
How Do You Build The Best App For Food Delivery?
Before you start a business, it is important to do thorough research on the industry. Here are some of the key KPIs to consider for the success of your app.
Discover The Latest Trends In Market Research
The best apps for food delivery are always familiar because they follow the most recent market trends. Check these trends to ensure that your app has them.
Smartwatch support and virtual assistant are two examples.
After gaining a thorough understanding of the market for food delivery, you can create a plan that is tailored to your target audience, dividing it by location and based on priorities.
Engaging Yet Simple Design
What is the first thing that catches the eye of the user? The UI/UX of the app improves user engagement and experience.
For a successful food delivery app, you must adhere to the UI/UX principles. They should be able to order food with just a few taps.
Apps should be simple, have a plain color scheme, contain only the features that are required, and be intuitive to use.
The more simple the app design is, the easier it will be to use for restaurants, customers and delivery partners.
Set Up The Right Logistic System
First, it is important to accurately map the delivery locations and restaurants to ensure prompt and efficient delivery.
This will also help to determine the appropriate delivery fee. It is important to implement real-time tracking software to track the delivery process. Customers should also be updated.
You need to be able to scale up and down your fleet of delivery staff, whether you do it in-house or with the help of local delivery companies.
Apps should optimize delivery times by taking into account factors like traffic conditions and delivery routes. A reliable and efficient payment system is also needed to allow customers to conduct secure transactions.
By implementing these systems, a food delivery app could provide a seamless experience for customers.
Hire the Right Development Team
The success of a project depends on choosing the right team to develop a food delivery application. It is important to evaluate potential teams based on their previous experience building similar apps as well as their knowledge of the food-delivery industry.
Search for a team of developers that has a track record of producing high-quality applications which are user-friendly and scalable.
You should also assess their technical knowledge and expertise in relevant technologies, such as GPS tracking and real-time updates.
You can make sure that your app meets your needs and offers a seamless user experience by choosing the right team.
App To Get Customers
It's time to attract the right audience for your app. You can build a strong user base quickly by using attractive promotions on social media, advertising and referral programs.
It is important to keep the existing customers and attract new ones who have already downloaded the app. Customer loyalty programs and excellent customer service can keep them here for longer.
They also offer various options, incentives and rewards, such as no delivery fees on the first order, customer feedback, and other incentives.
What Is The Best Way To Earn Money From A Food Delivery App?
You must ask yourself, "How can I profit from this application?". There are three different ways to earn money with food delivery apps.
Earning a delivery fee is the most popular way to make money. These are
Charges For Delivery On Every Order
The most common way for food delivery services to make money is through delivery fees. You can charge a flat delivery fee, or you can charge based on the distance from the restaurant to the customer.
Commissions From Restaurants Per Order
This is a reliable way to make money. You can fix a commission fee based on size and popularity. Still, you can also change it if the restaurant gets more or fewer orders.
Every time a restaurant receives an order online, it can charge a commission.
Cost Of Advertising
Advertising is a great way to monetize. Effective ads can help restaurants to increase their brand recognition in food delivery apps.
Advertising can be charged as a fee to increase the chances of attracting more customers.
What Is The Cost Of Food Delivery Apps?
It can be difficult to estimate the exact cost of food delivery apps, as you have to consider factors such as the complexity, platform, technology, software, and dedicated team that will be hired.
The price can only be determined after the developer has been hired and all factors have been considered. The higher the price, the more complicated the app.
What Can Cyber Infrastructure Do To Help You Create The Best Online Food-Ordering App?
Suppose you are a restaurant owner looking to increase your sales, customer retention, and loyalty rate or a businessman investing in your next online food ordering project.
In that case, these features will improve the user's experience.
But features alone won't make an app for food delivery successful. It should also make ordering easy and provide a good customer experience.
To ensure that your app idea will be successful, you can contact a provider of mobile app development services.
