How to Build On-Demand Grocery App Like Instacart

Did you know? According to a Neilson survey, almost 48%of people around the world are buying groceries from a website or through an app!! Changing economic scenarios, customer tastes, competitive prices, and quality products have all boosted the demand for online grocery sales. 

On-demand delivery apps are very popular among online shoppers. Convenience Is the biggest reason for opting for on-demand apps. Customers can easily browse through tons of items from hundreds of categories within minutes. 

Grocery Stores are betting on Grocery Delivery Apps all over the globe. Grocery delivery apps like Flipp, Instacart, Mealboard, Postmates, Bigoven, Rapi, etc are a few names that are very popular in the on-demand grocery delivery world. 

With these amazingly easy-to-use online grocery shopping apps, you can shop and get all your items delivered to your doorstep without stepping out. The main focus of these grocery delivery apps is on speed, simplicity, and user-friendly interface. 

According to Market Analysis Report 2020, the global online grocery market size was valued at USD 189.81 billion in 2019 and is projected to register a CAGR of 24.8% from 2020 to 2027. 

Online grocery shopping and apps are gaining popularity among customers owing to the growing preference for a hassle-free shopping experience online. 

Furthermore, the outbreak of COVID-19 has led to an increase in the number of customers buying groceries online in order to avoid going to department stores and limit their social contacts. It is expected that it will change the consumers’ buying behavior and will positively impact the market over the long term. 

The shift toward online grocery shopping from traditional shopping methods is fueling market growth. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, global e-commerce sales reached USD 29 trillion in 2017. 

Also, the total number of online shoppers worldwide reached 1.34 billion as compared to 1.20 billion in 2018. This number is bound to rise owing to technological developments and present circumstances.

What is Instacart?

Founded 8 Years ago in 2012, Instacart is a US-based company that operates a grocery delivery and pick-up service in the United States and Canada with headquarters in San Francisco. 

The company provides services via a website and mobile app in 5,500 cities in all 50 U.S. states and Canada in partnership with over 350 retailers that have more than 25,000 grocery stores. 

Orders are fulfilled and delivered by an Instacart personal shopper, who picks, packs, and delivers the order within one hour or up to five days. Retailers set the prices of every individual item on the Instacart app, which is mostly the same price as in-store. 

Instead of delivery, customers using the Instacart Pickup option, can also pick up their packaged orders from the store according to their convenience. 

Instacart was founded by serial entrepreneur Apoorva Mehta, a former Amazon employee. Apoorva was born in India and moved with his family to Canada in 2000 but the app was originally founded in the US. 

Instacart introduced new services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a contactless delivery option, safety kits, and guidelines for shoppers. 

Instacart has raised six rounds of funding from notable investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Comcast Ventures, Thrive Capital, Coatue Management, D1 Capital Partners, Tiger Global and Valiant Capital. The company had a $2-billion valuation by investors as of May 2015. 

In March 2017, Instacart raised $400 million in funding at a valuation of $3.4 billion. In February 2018, the company raised $200 million in a funding round with some new and existing investors. In October 2018, Instacart raised $600 million again and the round valued the company at $7.6 billion. 

In November 2018, Instacart raised an additional $271 million, bringing its latest round of fundraising to $871 million and valuation to $7.87 billion. 

Freshly, in June 2020, Instacart raised $225 million in another financing round and the company was valued at $13.7 billion. A study done in 2019 revealed that Instacart was responsible for more than 23,000 jobs across the 4 states of California, Illinois, Washington, and New York. Due to this instacart was named the "Instacart Effect"

Qualities an app must have to become successful!

• Live tracking is an essential and important element of a food delivery app. While a person waits for his food, he might be keen on checking on the status of the order. Therefore, this is a must-include feature of any on-demand food delivery app.
   
• Payment options in the app should ensure to have multiple options for making payments. With most people going digital, the mode of payment through credit and debit cards has been the widely used option. Digital wallets should also be linked with the on-demand food delivery app.
   
• A timely reward should be given to loyal customers of the apps. This helps in creating retention and earning loyal customers.
   
• Push notifications are a vital part of food delivery apps in the long run. The customers should get notified if anything new is being introduced at the app or any new offer has been launched.
   
• Grocery packs in the app are yet another option that is very important. Customers should be allowed to customize the groceries they are placing an order for like quantities.
   
• The address book should have the feature of adding several addresses for various locations including home, office, etc.
   
• The cumulative bonus feature must be there in the app through which you can reward the customers who have been ordering food with the app for a long and they can be further used in the future.
   
• Offers and discounts are very attractive to customers and may not only bring new clients but also bring back previous customers. These must be provided to increase customer engagement and gain attention.

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How to boost your revenue with an on-demand grocery delivery apps?

What are the benefits of a good app development company?

Security

People using on-demand grocery delivery apps want to ensure their transactions are safe and secure at all times. Supporting security protocols can make you pass on added costs to the services you offer to your customers. 

This can make you lose your competitive edge in the on-demand market. Moreover, the flow of data within the organization also needs to be regulated by implementing strict security standards.

Reliability

Reliability is a major factor that defines the success of your on-demand grocery app. Proper testing of your customized software ensures you have a reliable IT tool that can help you grow your business. 

By building our custom grocery delivery app, we get complete control and don't have to depend on others for anything.

Uniqueness

Each business is unique in its own way. There is no universal solution as far as business processes are concerned. Having software ready-made to suit your unique requirements can benefit your working model. 

Customized software development also helps to support your “unique” identity in the market for your grocery delivery app.

Adaptability

Organizational processes change with time due to the dynamic changes in the market. 

So, it becomes necessary to adapt to new processes and technologies to maintain your hold in the on-demand economy. 

Customized software can be easily changed. New processes and technologies can be integrated into your existing software when marketing trends change. 

This makes your grocery delivery app ahead of the curve in the marketplace.

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Flexibility

This is one of the most beneficial points when it comes to grocery delivery apps. Our business doesn't have to mold our work to suit a particular software. 

Our software can be easily changed to suit our requirements as and when required. This is such a relief when we need to bring changes to our business model.

Optimized process

You don’t have to mold your work to suit a particular software – Your software can be changed easily to suit your requirements as and when required provided it is custom-made. 

Software for our grocery delivery app needs to be designed and developed in a manner such that it can coordinate with the business model and follow the organization’s unique processes. 

Custom software development helps to optimize and grow our business processes rather than replacing them.

Conclusion

Overall, the on-demand app development industry is seeing a bright today and tomorrow since there is no looking back as it comes to online activities and digitalization around the globe. 

Technological advancements like Video portfolio, Barcode scanning, POS, API Integration, etc, are going very well in this digital era. It is a smart move by the clients, individuals, small segment industries, or enterprises. 

An easy interaction of customers with products and services is what is the key highlight of these grocery delivery apps, and that too, instantly, when needed. I

t would be interesting to see how this arena blossoms and what more advancements are observed in the time to come. 

Still, to stand out from the crowd, you should adopt current grocery ordering industry trends. 

For your future on-demand grocery delivery app, you must be well planned due to changing economic trends. 

Also, you can gather insights from your target audience and add other features during the app development stage. The last thing remaining is to hire an on-demand food delivery app development team which is the most essential step towards your success. 

If you are also an entrepreneur and want to establish your on-demand grocery delivery app, then AppsRhino can be your best choice! 

AppsRhino offers the best Tech-driven solutions for Home services, Laundry delivery, Alcohol delivery, Grocery Delivery, On-demand Cannabis, and Taxi Services:

• Food Delivery
• Taxi services
• Alcohol Delivery
• On-demand Cannabis

Contact us today to create your best Grocery Delivery App!