Determining the Needs and Costs of On-Demand Delivery App Development

We’re living in a world where the Internet and app stores have democratized developers and creatives. Anyone with an idea and a computer can upload their work to the Internet and distribute it to users around the world. One of those ideas is the on-demand delivery app. From Uber Eats to Grab, on-demand delivery apps provide a wealth of value to customers. While the competitors are fierce, your on-demand delivery app may be able to eclipse the competition and grow into a huge company.

That being said, ideas are one thing. Execution is everything. Even if you are a seasoned developer, creating an on-demand delivery app isn’t free. On-demand delivery app development has certain costs that you should recognize before you start developing your app. Therefore, in this post, we are going to take a deep dive into the on-demand delivery apps themselves and the costs that you can expect when creating your on-demand delivery app.

What is On-Demand Delivery?

Just so we are on the same page, on-demand delivery is essentially the idea of pushing a button on your cell phone and having some sort of good or service delivered directly to you. While it may not have been the first on-demand delivery app in the marketplace, Uber was arguably the pioneer. Not only was the app seamless, but its design was sleek and there were plenty of drivers in its system.

Since then, there is nearly a limitless supply of goods that can be delivered straight to you. Users can receive everything from laundry to alcohol. The value proposition of on-demand delivery encompasses many things, but arguably, the main feature is convenience. Users don’t need to talk to a real, live human or go outside of their homes to order goods or services. Instead, they can simply pull out their phone, select a few options, and have the goods or services delivered quickly to their location.

At their core, on-demand delivery apps are matchmakers. They bring buyers and sellers onto one platform so that they can easily transact. On-demand delivery apps also offer features like security for buyers, payment tools for sellers, and detailed analytics for sellers. While these features are important to the overall experience, a platform full of buyers and sellers is the most important part of an on-demand delivery app.

To make your on-demand delivery app successful, you’ll need to do things like grow your user base, collaborate with retailers, build up awareness through advertising, and keep user churn low. The most important thing, however, is liquidity. Without an adequate collection of buyers and sellers, you are going to find it difficult to create and sustain growth.

The Key Features of an On-Demand Delivery App

Liquidity is the most important feature out of any marketplace website or app. But specifically for on-demand delivery apps, several other key features can make or break your app’s success. Some of those key features include:

• The ability to place an order.
• An easy way to schedule delivery of the user’s order.
• The ability for users to track the delivery of their order on a map. They should be able to see the vehicle moving in real-time.
• A seamless way to pay for delivery. Users don’t want to deal with an elaborate or prolonged way to complete a transaction.
• Providing feedback through a five-star rating system or something similar.

As you can see, many of these key features for on-demand delivery apps focus on the transaction itself. After all, the whole point of your app is to help a supplier deliver some type of goods or services to a buyer. If you don’t include these key features, you’re in deep trouble. Even if you include these key features, they need to be seamless and intuitive for your user. If not, you’ll quickly discover that your users are leaving your on-demand delivery app for one of your competitors. For food delivery on-demand delivery apps, you’ll need to include some additional features. They are:

• Product search. There needs to be an easy way for users to scroll through the available products and select those that they’d like to order.
• A wish list. This is a fun feature that can help your users keep track of items they want to purchase in the future.
• A shopping list. This can be a great feature to keep users organized and help them purchase everything that they intend to purchase.
• Real-time messaging or calls. With food delivery, anything can happen so communication is everything. Drivers can get lost or arrive late. With real-time messaging or calls, however, your users can stay up to date on the driver’s status.
  

To be clear, these are prerequisites. You can certainly include other features depending on your app’s value proposition. But you’ll need these basic features to provide a good experience for your users.

How to Retain Customers and Contractors Within Your On-Demand Delivery App

So creating an on-demand delivery app is one thing. Yet another huge part of this process is keeping your customers and contractors on your app. With so many different on-demand delivery apps out there (and more to come in the future), this can seem like a tall task. That being said, there are some general principles to follow here. They can certainly increase your chances of creating an on-demand delivery app that attracts and keeps customers and contractors.

On the customer side, you’ll want to offer things like high-level customer support, an easy-to-use rating system, contractor verification, and loyalty programs. Essentially, stand in your customers’ shoes and think about the features that you’d like to see. Most often, users are looking for a platform that is full of suppliers, fast, and safe. Creating those feelings of speed, security, and liquidity will go a long way in keeping those users on your platform.

Obviously, customers are just one side of the equation. For your contractors, you’ll want to offer things like a flexible work schedule, covered transportation costs, and plenty of sources of motivation. Contractors—particularly restaurants and couriers—are the lifeblood of your on-demand delivery app, so you need to treat them extremely well. Once again, step into their shoes and design products or features that will provide value in your contractors’ lives.

Finally, make sure that you pay attention to KPIs like user acquisition, user retention, and delivery costs. Your KPIs are going to be one of your strongest signals of whether your on-demand delivery app is succeeding. And as you grow, don’t be afraid to change KPIs as your company grows.

How Much Does it Cost to Develop an On-Demand Delivery App?

Now, we have come to the critical question. Development costs for your on-demand delivery app can be surprising at first. But having said that, the costs of on-demand delivery app development are a prerequisite to achieving your goals with your app. First, you’ll have to decide whether you’re going to create your app yourself or hire a development team. If you’re making your app independently, you won’t be spending money on a team, but you will be spending your valuable time working on your app. You’ll at least need to account for those opportunity costs.

If you are hiring a development team, you’ll need to determine how many people are working on your app and whether you are paying an hourly rate or fixed price. The team is critical, as you’ll want experienced developers and designers to make your app fast and intuitive. Everyone from a UI/UX designer to QA engineers and backend developers is key to creating your app. The timeframe of development is also important—especially if you have a predetermined launch date. You’ll want to ensure that your team knows of your deadline and can actually complete the app on time. While nearly every development team will say yes, you’ll want to do some reference checks by contacting prior clients of your targeted development teams.

It is hard to give a precise cost for development, but it can be thousands of dollars (or more). The tricky thing about on-demand delivery apps is that you essentially need to create two apps: one for the customer and one for the contractor. This takes time. Along with this dual nature of on-demand delivery apps, you’ll need to allocate time for more complicated development tasks, like configuring payment processing and creating push notifications for both customers and contractors.

The bottom line? The precise cost for on-demand delivery app development will vary based on the development team. If you are building your app from scratch, however, you can expect the costs to be quite substantial.

Creating Your On-Demand Delivery App as Efficiently as Possible

Ultimately, there is tremendous opportunity out there to develop an on-demand delivery app for your audience. Yet while the opportunity exists, the execution (and cost of that execution) is an entirely different manner.

If you are looking for an experienced and affordable team that can help you create your on-demand delivery app, we encourage you to contact the StarNavi development agency. Our team provides a stellar app development service. No matter your wants or needs with your on-demand delivery app, StarNavi can get the job done. To get a free quote, feel free to click here. We look forward to hearing from you.

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