Reading Time: 9 minutes

The exponential growth of the Food Delivery industry provides a plethora of opportunities to business owners. The increasing services of online food delivery among many audiences also encourage entrepreneurs to leverage the benefits of food delivery apps.  

In this blog, you’ll learn about the food delivery app models, features, types, and estimated cost. All the above factors of food delivery apps let the business owners thrive and stay ahead of the curve.  

Table of Contents:

• Why are Food Delivery Apps Becoming More Popular?
• Types of Food Delivery On-Demand Models
• Features of Food Delivery App
• Types of Food Delivery App
• How Does a Food Delivery App Work?
• Steps to Building Food Delivery Apps?
• How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Food Delivery App?

Why Are Food Delivery Apps Becoming More Popular?

Food delivery apps are popular these days because of accessibility and convenience, and with just a few clicks, you can get your favorite food at your doorstep. And it is no surprise to say that it will generate revenue worth $466,472 million by 2026, a report mentioned by Statitsa. 

Food delivery apps prioritize time and comfort that directly impact the user experience. Alongside, it has a visible menu that lets users search for any food item via simple keyword research, and it also allows them to track their order. 

More features like push notifications, location-based restaurants, and easy payment modes make food delivery apps more famous than ever. Food delivery apps like DoorDash and GrubHub are already leveraging their benefits. 

You (as a business owner) can also consider developing an app from a reputable food delivery app development company to reap huge profits.

Types of On-Demand Food Delivery Models

• The Aggregator Model: 

The aggregator is the primary food delivery model where both restaurants and customers come together on a single platform. 

The intended customer places an order from the available options, and then the aggregator collects the entire order and passes it to the respective restaurants. The restaurant’s couriers then deliver the order. 

The model is broadly classified into two sub-business models:- 

1. Integrated Model
2. The Order and Delivery Model

Integrated Model

Most restaurants own their delivery agents with a need for a platform to bring their business online, and this is when an integrated model enters the picture. It is a flexible model where both the admin and the restaurants manage delivery and bring their exciting offers digital.   

Advantages :

-> Integrated model allows restaurants with or without a delivery supply to be on the food delivery marketplace with effective functioning. 

-> The model creates a wide range of food menus on the respective platform based on the chosen cuisine and restaurants. 

The Order and Delivery Model

In this model type, the owner hires a courier service and assigns all the food deliverable tasks. In other words, the deliveries are managed by third-party logistic services leaving the restaurant owners stress-free. 

Advantage :

->  The model helps in achieving higher revenues as delivery boys are trained for instant delivery, leading to a better user experience.

• The Logistic Support Model:

In this model, an online food delivery business handles all the delivery by itself. It enables them to track the complete order until it gets delivered to the customer’s doorstep. 

In other words, the platform owner controls everything, from launching the food delivery app to taking orders and delivering them on time. 

One of the perks of the logistic model is a great flexibility that lets business owners directly interact with the customer without any external third party. Plus, it allows them to check the food quality. 

The logistic-focused platform charges fixed costs from restaurants and customers that help generate profits. Uber Eats and Postmates are already leveraging the benefits of this model, like no salaries for delivery boys, no additional vehicles, no maintenance, etc.

Features of Food Delivery Apps:

• Customer Module

It is a module where the intended user explores all the restaurants and dishes from search filters and places an order accordingly. 

The primary feature of food delivery app development is the customer module, where you have to think from their point of view in order to expand your sales. Provide an easy interface with informative sections like: 

• Create a customer profile to sign in using Gmail or a phone number. 
• Integrate order placement, request modification, and order cancellation feature. 
• Add digital wallets, like the Mastercard or charge card, and some extra coupons for customer rewards. 
• Introduce an order tracking feature. 
• Add a review and rating section to your app. 

• Restaurant Module

In the restaurant module, the owner gets the notification as soon as the customer places an order. The owner manages the entire order, from dispatching to pickups and the scheduled orders. 

The module lets restaurant owners track real-time delivery. As an app owner, you can even survey to record delivered food’s quality and services. 

Add the following features:

• Create a unique profile for signing in. 
• Launch and display promotions and offers.
• Add the menu photos and manage them by adding or removing the food items. 
• Track the food delivery.
• Use managing tools and track earnings.

• Delivery Agent  App

The module is specially designed for a delivery person, where the manager assigns the order for delivery and tracks the order to ensure its on-time delivery. 

You can integrate the following features:

• Add the registration section.
• Integrate order management to find the order request, pickup area, delivery time, etc.
• Create the delivery status with SoS service.
• Launch a booking history and navigation option from pickup to the delivery route. 
• Add push notification and online support.

• Admin Panel

Admin panel in a food delivery app lets restaurant owners monitor the entire food delivery business activity from the initial stage for a smooth-running. The module manages online payments, restaurant payouts, and commissions. 

The admin dashboard is integrated with features like order management, branch management, in-app chat services, coupon management, food category management, personalized notifications, rich analytics & reports, delivery boy management, etc.   

Types of Food Delivery Apps

• DoorDash

DoorDash is an American-based and the largest online food ordering and delivery app with 56% of the market share. It delivers the food from the restaurant and ensures the food quality and delivery time.  

Key Features:

1. Schedule and no-contact deliveries.
2. Dual rating features.
3. DoorDash uses AI and makes more personalized suggestions. 

• GrubHub

GrubHub is an online food ordering and delivery app founded in 2004. After the app’s installation, you just have to pick your favorite cuisine, and it will later show you a list of different restaurants and the menu. 

Key Features:

1. Pre-order food for the day or week.
2. The app lets you do real-time food tracking.
3. It guarantees no hidden cost.

• Postmates

Postmates is an on-demand delivery app founded on 1st May 2011. It has both pickup and delivery facilities and is accessible on iOS and Android operating systems.

Key Features:

1. Postmates allows customers to customize their orders.
2. All payments are made within the app.
3. It has features, like push notifications, route optimization, in-app chat service, etc.  

• Uber Eats

Uber Eats is a standalone food delivery app founded in August 2014. It allows customers to order food from the local restaurants and ensures quick delivery. You can also get exciting offers or deals after taking the advance membership.

Key Features:

1. Track order in real-time.
2. It enables the taste preferences by suggesting cuisine. 
3. Pay seamlessly with your Uber account.

• ChowNow

ChowNow is a cloud-based online food delivery app founded in 2011, and more than 14000 restaurants and cafes have collaborated with this app. The app is highly secure and provides a dedicated team of customer support available 24*7. 

Key Feature:

1. Social media integration.
2. Offer pickup and curbside.
3. Order and dispatch management.

How Does a Food Delivery App Work?

Here is a step-by-step process explaining how the food delivery app works. 

• Firstly, the user will download the food delivery app on their smartphone, and once the installation is done, the intended user will do the basic steps as follows:
• • Sign up for the account via Gmail or phone number.
  • Enter their details, like name, phone number, and home address.
  • Mark their location in the default map. 

• Once the signup process gets done, the user will move forward to get a list of nearby restaurants with reviews and ratings.

• Afterward, the customer will pick the preferred restaurant, order the dish, and confirm it. Once the order is placed, the customer will pay either digital wallet or cash on delivery. 
• After making the payment, the restaurant will receive an overview of the order via the admin panel and prepare the meal. 
• The order packaging will begin, and later the delivery boy will collect it and note the customer’s details via the driver’s app. At last, the delivery boy will deliver the food to the customer’s doorstep.

4 Monetization Techniques You Must Know for Your Food Delivery App

• Delivery Charges

In case of no delivery services, the app can ask for delivery charges based on the covered distance or the percentage of the order amount.

• Peak Hours

Another monetization technique you can use to earn money is adding extra charges during peak hours, like lunch and dinner. You can limit your menu and location during this hour and charge extra to make the options available. 

• Advertising

The following technique offers to advertise to restaurants at extra charges and make their presence visible in the featured list that lures more customers. 

• Commission Percentage

Another effective monetization technique is commission percentage, where food delivery app owners (like you) can partner with top rating restaurants on the predefined commission charges depending upon the order size.

Steps to Building Food Delivery Apps:

• Define Your App Requirements

Begin the food delivery app development by defining your business requirements. It is advisable to explain your app’s ideas, goals, and vision to let the agency integrate relevant features related to your app. 

You can start defining your business requirements as follows:

• What areas of your business need modifications?
• What is your strategic plan to reach more customers?
• What outcome are you expecting from your food delivery app?
• What technology will you pick for your food delivery app?
• What budget have you set for your food delivery app?

• Conduct Market Research

The next step is conducting in-depth market research to know your targeted audience’s preferences, ongoing trends, and competitors. Market research helps the business strengthen its position in the market and facilitates effective strategic planning. 

One of the salient features of conducting market research is to know your intended users better via conducting surveys, preparing a questionnaire, and more. 

Another crucial reason for market research is to know your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses to stay ahead of the curve. Establishing partnerships with top-rating restaurants is also imperative for generating higher revenues. 

• MVP and Prototype Designing 

After completing the market research, you can focus on the minimum viable product (MVP). 

The sole purpose of MVP is to see what and how the food delivery app will add value to users. MVP integrates core features and functionalities and tests how the targeted audience will respond to your app. 

On the other hand, food delivery app prototyping will validate the app design and give a preliminary app visualization that will help you validate the user interface and UX.  

• App Development Process

The food delivery app development will now begin with a complete set of features. Pick a suitable platform for your food delivery app based on your business requirements and meet your defined goals. 

Food delivery app development focuses on the technical architecture, picks an appropriate technology stack, and so on. 

The app development process includes three crucial factors- back-end, application programming interface (API), and front-end. 

• The back-end server comprises a database and server-side objects that will support the food delivery app functions.
• Application Programming Interface (API) acts as a mediator between the app and the back-end server. 
• Front-end is everything that a user sees on his/her phone screen. To put it simply, the front-end is where the end-user experiences and interacts with the features.  

• The Testing Stage

Once your food delivery app gets developed, ensure to test it thoroughly to eliminate the risk of any bugs, glitches, or other technical issues. 

The quality assurance (QA) team assures the app testing by implementing the best testing strategies that further guarantee the food delivery app’s stability, security, reliability, and usability. 

The app testing includes several parameters, like the region of your intended users, mostly used devices, and other factors to ensure that the app is well-tested in all case scenarios. 

Following are the 5 testing stages of the food delivery app:

1. Functional Testing
2. Usability Testing
3. Compatibility Testing
4. Performance Testing
5. Security Testing

• Launch

Finally, your food delivery app is set to release on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Launching the app on both platforms starts by creating an account. After creating an account on respective accounts, you can add the app’s title with an informative description and keywords. 

Add screenshots to give an overview of your app to the targeted audience. Also, you can generate higher app revenues by providing timely app updates with the latest trend and focusing on your intended user’s feedback. 

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Food Delivery App?

Following are the factors that affect the food delivery app development cost:

• App building platform
• App features and functionalities
• UI/UX design
• App hosting and security
• App testing
• Post app launch maintenance and support

The most crucial factor affecting the food delivery app development cost is the business model, i.e., aggregator and logistics model. 

For more details, get a no-obligation consultation from us. 

Conclusion

Since the pandemic, the food delivery app has skyrocketed, so make this opportunity count. In other words, the increasing demand for food delivery apps signifies that the trend is here to stay in the future. 

Thus, get your hands on a reputable app development agency, develop a high-performing food delivery application and enjoy high revenue generation. 

All the best!

The post How To Develop A Food Delivery App appeared first on AppsChopper Blog.