After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Instacart, a popular online grocery platform, hired 300,000 workers to meet the demands of the people. In addition, they are planning to hire 250,000 more. Such is the demand for online grocery platforms nowadays. People are in self-isolation with restricted outdoor movements. The fear of contracting the disease is so high that people are looking for alternative ways even to access essential services. As a result, smartphone applications are gaining increased attention from people all over the world.

In the wake of panic buying, people are piling up their inventory. People in need stare at the empty shelves of grocery stores and return home empty-handed. To solve this issue, grocery delivery apps are reaching out to millions of people all across the world. If you are an entrepreneur looking to venture into this vastly expanding market with a grocery delivery app development, this blog is for you. In this blog, let’s discuss how to launch an online grocery app.

Select a business model that suits you

Before developing the app, you need to select a business model that suits your style of work. Let’s discuss some of the popular business models here.

Aggregator model: This type is the most common and cost-effective model. Here, entrepreneurs join hands with existing grocery stores and supermarkets. The app bridges the gap between users and grocery stores. Moreover, with a separate delivery chain, you can offer doorstep services to your users.

Store-pick model: In this type, people needn’t wait in long queues in front of the supermarket. Instead, they can shop via the app and pick them up whenever intended. This type is similar to the aggregator model, except for the fact that there is no delivery chain required. The type of business model is commonly known as the ‘click and collect’ model, as well.

Warehouse model: Here, you need to have a separate inventory to stock up groceries. Instead of connecting to grocery stores, you provide services to users from your own warehouse. This type of model is common when an already established grocery store is looking to take its business online with an app for its own.

Hybrid model: This type is a combination of warehouse and aggregator models. Users can avail of services from both the grocery stores as well as your warehouse. This type of model can add to increased revenue as it houses multiple stores in one place.

It entirely depends on the business owners to choose the business model assessing their inputs and requirements.

Provide a seamless workflow to users

There shouldn’t be any hindrances to user experience offered by your app. As a result, you must know the workflow of a grocery app,

• Users register in the app after downloading. They can register via different social media handles, including Facebook, Instagram, etc.
• By enabling their locations, users can access nearby grocery stores in their locality.
• Users can add different groceries based on different categories like type, price, etc., to their cart. They can review the cart finally before checkout.
• Users pay for their orders via any one of the payment options, including credit, debit cards, digital wallets, etc.
• After the payment, grocery stores receive order requests. They pick up different groceries before the arrival of the delivery professionals.
• Once the order is out for delivery, users can track their orders with the real-time tracking facility available in the app.
• Users, after receiving doorstep groceries, can rate their experience and share their feedback with the ratings and reviews feature available in the app.

A seamless workflow of a grocery delivery app can increase users’ reliability towards the app.

It is the features that make your app unique

A comprehensive grocery delivery app development solution includes,

• User app
• Delivery professional app
• Grocery store app
• Admin panel

Integrating key features into the app can scale your app in the market. A majority of users are attracted to the app only because of their features. Let’s discuss in brief about the different features of the app,

Features of User App:

• User registration
• Search and filter options
• Add to cart
• Multiple payment gateways
• Scheduling delivery
• In-app navigation
• Ratings and reviews
• Reorder options

Features of Delivery professional App:

• Document verification
• Availability toggle
• Accept/Reject requests
• Push notifications
• Earnings report

Features of the Grocery store App:

• Manage products
• Inventory management
• Manage orders
• Payment tracking
• Manage categories
• Customer support

Features of Admin panel:

• Verify delivery professionals
• Manage stores
• Assign orders
• Track orders
• God’s eye view
• Heat map

These strategies can come in handy amid COVID-19

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, coping up with the demands of the people is a matter of concern for these online platforms. Let’s discuss certain strategies that can help in managing the app effectively,

Maintaining the supply chain: For efficient functioning of the app, every network of the app, including grocery stores, delivery professionals, and the app site, must work in harmony. Any disruption to this network leads to loss of services to users. As a result, holding the supply chain intact is essential in this quarantine situation.

Joining hands with local businesses: Amid this pandemic, there are a number of grocery stores that are losing their daily business and do not have the capacity to take their business online. By joining hands with these businesses, it is a win-win situation for both your app as well as the local grocery stores.

Adopting zero-contact deliveries: Delivery professionals form an integral part of the supply chain. As a result, to ensure the safety of these professionals, you can adopt zero-contact deliveries. Delivery workers can place grocery orders at a confined place in front of users’ homes. This way, there is no contact between users and delivery professionals.

Wrapping up

The grocery delivery market is flourishing more than ever in this quarantine season. There is no better than this to venture into the market. Choosing the right business model is essential to scale your app. Moreover, extensive care must be given to integrating features into the app. The strategies mentioned above can help you sustain in the market, thereby leading to increased customer engagements towards the app. What are you waiting for? Initiate your grocery delivery app development today!