There’s hardly any time left for grocery shopping between dropping the kids off at school and dumping dirty clothes in the laundry, grabbing some coffee and making it to work on time, returning to take the kids to soccer practice, keeping the orthodontist appointment, and finally arriving home with just enough time to put together a healthy meal. Who wouldn’t desire a break from the perplexing cereal, fruit, and dairy aisles, as well as the never-ending lineups at the checkout? That is why, when apps appeared promising to deliver fresh goods to your door, often with attractive discounts and same-day delivery, people flocked to them.
Within a short period of time, new startups like InstaCart, as well as well-established large brands like Amazon Groceries and Whole Foods, had entered the game, and the grocery applications ecosystem was expanding. Today, the change is well underway, and the market is open to new entrants as well as innovation. People nowadays are often at ease ordering goods via an app developers San Francisco, indicating that the market is ripe but not overcrowded. According to a Food Marketing Institute poll, 51% of millennials and 35% of all people have used a smartphone app to get groceries online.
So, if you can come up with a better way to distribute groceries that are fresher, faster, better, or cheaper, you have a chance. The goal is to provide a better service than the competition. And in this post, we’ll go over how you can do just that.
First, select an appropriate operational model.
There are several options. You might employ a warehouse model in which you stock goods and handle orders, packing, and shipping. You may also employ the ‘ship from the shop’ strategy, which involves having a well-connected delivery personnel that simply picks up an item from the local store or supermarket and delivers it to the consumer.
Warehouse Model
This concept, also known as the Inventory concept, is employed by companies such as Amazon Fresh and Big Basket. These eGrocers have their own facility that stocks a big variety of commodities, mainly on the outskirts of major cities. They distribute utilizing their own chilled delivery van fleet. This is a high-risk endeavor, but the rewards come in the form of direct sales, no middlemen, and very strong branding. Once established, the ROI in this type of business scales effectively. Big Basket earned more than Rs 2000 crores in the fiscal year ended September 2023. The ability to sell things under your own label is a significant advantage of the warehouse concept and mobile app development company in dallas.
However, there are several drawbacks to the warehouse approach. Because the distribution is on the outskirts of the city, it is a lengthy drive, and chilled and frozen foods must be carefully stored in ice boxes and portable freezers during the long and multi-stop travel. It is costly and may result in product returns. Routes must be very well planned because one van typically delivers to all stops in an area.
Store Pickup Model
The store pickup approach is another popular option. Localized delivery personnel are deployed in all serviceable areas, and partnerships with local retailers and supermarkets are formed. Customers can order from a certain store by using the app, which displays all nearby businesses. A local deliverer receives the order via the app and quickly picks it up from the business to deliver it to the consumer. InstaCart in the United States, Zakaz in Ukraine, and our very own Grofers are all excellent examples of this approach.
Store pickup models are less expensive because there is less stocking, storage, and inventory required. As a result, firms can begin without a large capital outlay and scale up as they go. The main issues in this strategy are managing the delivery network and maintaining a real-time inventory record for each store, tracking stock outages, and making the app reflect these changes in real-time and mobile app development service.
App Specific Aspects of Grocery Delivery
The key difference is that, unlike many other apps that provide platform as a service (PaaS), grocery delivery has a significant physical component. There are genuine products in the picture, as well as a lot of fieldwork, such as fleet management, storage, a driver network, shipping and returns, and so on. This is a full-fledged ecommerce business, with even tighter deadlines because most foods are perishable, with dairy and produce actually putting your management skills to the test.
However, for the purposes of this piece, let us concentrate on the software component of the firm. You must create an app that is flawlessly built to present a massive assortment of products without overwhelming the consumer. Simultaneously, products must be classified into broad and finer groups. The cart value will be strongly influenced by how you design the app and show similar products so that people can buy products by looking at them in the suggested options. You know how it is with food shopping; it is difficult to remember things until you see them. Additional features like as shopping lists, automatic refills, accurate expiry dates, and other facts will set you apart from your competitors.
The app must have an efficient payment system. It must also be able to update changes in inventory and delivery time slots in real time.
Regular features such as social login, user profiles, product search, and filters must work flawlessly. Of course, location and GPS are required. Customers should be able to quickly track their orders and request cancellation/refunds if necessary. It is also worth noting that 82% of customers visit these apps after receiving a discount voucher, so keep that in mind when developing your app.
Conclusion
Customers will only trust you to deliver their groceries if your app provides an excellent user experience. At Linkitsoft, The software must allow consumers to order and get items swiftly. Only then will you be able to entice as many people as possible to use your app instead of someone else’s, such as going to the local store.
