Are you hungry for business growth? If so, investing in the food delivery app department could be the best recipe for success!

As you can see, mostly customers are shifting towards online ordering for convenience. As a result, demand for the food delivery services is growing, and there is no sign of slowing it down.

A study estimates that the global online food delivery market will expand by 9.04% between 2024 and 2029, reaching a market value of US$1.85 trillion in 2029. According to this data, food delivery app development presents businesses with a golden opportunity to reach a larger audience, build customer loyalty, and increase revenue.

So, if you also want to create a food delivery app, read this blog till the end. This will cover everything to help you bring your app development idea into reality. Learn about the food delivery app development stages, features, cost involved, and business benefits.

Current Market Statistics of Online Food Delivery Business

• Revenue in the Online Food Delivery segment is projected to reach US $339,257 million in 2023.
• Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2026) of 8.29%, resulting in a projected market volume of US $466,472 million by 2026.
• The market’s largest segment is Platform-to-Consumer Delivery with a projected market volume of US $215,955 million in 2023.
• In global comparison, most revenue will be generated in China (US$158,137m in 2023).

• The average revenue per user (ARPU) in the Online Food Delivery segment is projected to amount to US $175.81 in 2023.
• In the Online Food Delivery segment, the number of users is expected to amount to 2,655.9 million users by 2026.
• User penetration in the Online Food Delivery segment will be at 25.3% in 2023.

What Is A Food Delivery App?

A food delivery app is a type of mobile app that allows foodies to order delicious food online from the comfort of their homes. With everything becoming accessible online, the food delivery app development business is gaining immense popularity, and more businesses are stepping into it. Overall, a food delivery app enables users to search for nearby restaurants and experience eating delicious dishes in just a few taps.

5 Benefits of Developing the Food Delivery  Apps

It’s not a secret that the food industry is undergoing major transformation. Hence, if businesses invest in on demand food ordering app development, they can enjoy a range of benefits, some of which are mentioned below:

1. Increased Revenue Streams

Beyond just the in-house dining, food delivery apps facilitate several revenue channels that allow businesses to cater to a large audience. If a business creates a food delivery app with multiple promotional offers and payment options, it can significantly boost its sales.

2. Customer Convenience

The food delivery app’s convenience and ease of ordering food from the comfort of home attract more and more customers. If you develop an app like Jahez, with features like easy navigation, personalized menus, and real-time tracking, you can enhance user experience. Hence, this leads to enhanced user satisfaction and retention.

3. Wider Customer Reach

With a well-crafted food delivery app, businesses can reach a wide audience, even those who might not visit the physical location. Gone are the days when geographical limitations hindered business success. Nowadays, businesses can expand their market by offering services in different locations using the app.

4. Brand Visibility

Having food delivery applications increases brand visibility on different digital platforms, enabling the business to engage customers with loyalty programs, special offers, and push notifications. Hence, this engagement helps businesses build a strong brand presence.

5. Data-driven Insights

If you create a food delivery app, you can collect value data based on customer preferences, order patterns, and feedback. Afterward, you can examine this data to optimize menus, marketing efforts, and pricing strategies that allow you for better decision-making and targeted promotions.

5 Key Steps to Create a Food Delivery App

You might be searching for information on how to build a food ordering app. If so, your wait is over, as this blog section will provide you with all the critical app development stages that will take your app toward success. So let’s study all the points carefully to develop an app like Ocado, and bring your idea to life.

1. Extensive Market Research

First of all, gain market knowledge by conducting research. Market research aims to understand the target users, competitors, and market trends. Hence, it will enable you to identify the market gaps that your food-offering app can fill, whether it’s healthier options, faster delivery, or eco-friendly packaging; your food delivery app needs a unique edge to establish its niche.

2. Make UI/UX Design

You must understand how significant the app design is. A user-friendly app design is important for a successful food delivery app. You are advised to focus on attractive visuals, intuitive navigation, and seamless user experience. Whether it’s browsing menus or checking out, all interactions must be smooth. If required, you can get assistance from a food delivery app development company to create a visually appealing app that keeps users engaged and encourages repeat users.

3. Application Development

Now that you have the app design, you can start developing your food delivery app. For better outcomes, prioritize significant features like payment gateways, order notifications, and real-time tracking. Hire dedicated food delivery app developers to integrate APIs for delivery partners, restaurant listings, and location-based services to enhance your app’s functionality and reliability.

4. Testing and Quality Assurance

It’s the stage where your app’s future shines or waves. Conduct testing, including unit testing, user acceptance testing, and functional testing, to ensure your food delivery app works seamlessly across different devices, network conditions, and user loads. Additionally, the full stack development company identifies and fixes bugs, glitches, and technical issues to ensure a smooth user experience from starting.

5. Deployment and Maintenance

Once your app is tested, you can deploy it to app stores. However, it’s not mean your work has been done. You are responsible for updating your food delivery service app for its long-term success. Regular updates based on user feedback, security improvements, and feature enhancements will keep your app competitive in today’s ever-evolving market.

What Features Should A Food Delivery App Have?

Here is a list of significant features that help you to develop a successful food delivery app:

1. Meals’ and Restaurants’ Detailed Descriptions

It is important to offer the customers clear and concise information about all the dishes and their entire composition, along with the restaurant’s information.

2. Placement of Order

This particular process needs to be simple and quick. The food delivery app needs to offer an option to specify the entire content of the meal, particularly. Many people have different types of food preferences, and that should be taken care of. 

3. Custom Search Tool

It is a vital part of any type of food ordering app. There should be an entire list of search categories along with the options to customize that make the entire ordering process a comfortable affair for the customers.

4. Geolocation

The food delivery app development should include developing a location tracker or in-built Geolocation feature for both the customers and the delivery staff.

5. Location Tracker

Each customer wishes to control the entire delivery process. Hence, it is pertinent to offer this option. Also, location information is quite useful for restaurants as it assists them to analyze the preparation process.

6. Different Payment Methods

People have various preferences when it comes down to payment. Hence, the food delivery app must have different options like online payment options, along with cash, payment wallet, etc.

7. Reviews

People need to be able to write a review about the dishes or the restaurants they have tried. It assists the other users to know the quality of the food of any given restaurant. It also helps the restaurants to find their faults. 

8. Notifications

It is another key aspect of a food delivery app. You should notify your customers about their order’s status, the payment received, etc. You can also send them messages about discounts and even remind them of meals to order when they are busy.

9. Social Media Integration

People always like to share their different experiences with each other. Hence, when it comes down to the on-demand app development of any app like the food delivery app, a mobile app development company should provide this ability. 

10. Referral and Reward programs

Customers should be provided with incentives like discounts, loyalty systems, and coupons that will bring more customers to the business. Customers should get added advantage when they refer your app to their friends.

11. Analytics

The customers should be provided with the ability to check all of the previous orders. The reorder option can be quite convenient for the user. Simultaneously, restaurants need to have access to the entire order history as it is crucial data for analytics. You can hire dedicated developers to build an analytics section of the app.

Cost Analysis to Create a Food Delivery App

It’s the most important blog section that you can not skip. When developing a food delivery app, a question that comes into every entrepreneur’s mind is, what is the mobile app development cost? If you are also at the same stage, first, you must know that there is no fixed cost for mobile app development. The app’s features, design, development team, and tech stack are some factors that majorly impact the cost of food ordering app development.

Apart from these, if your app has unique requirements, then it will increase the complexity. As a result, the cost to develop food ordering application will also fluctuate as per the table below:

Cost to Create a Food Delivery App

Apart from the cost to develop food delivery application, also consider its maintenance cost. On average, the cost to maintain an app lies between 15 to 20% of overall food delivery app development cost. 

1. Size and Features

Besides design and development, the size of your application also affects the cost of mobile app development. The more features you will include in your application, the more complex it will be and the bigger its size will be. So yes, the application’s size can also be one of the major factors of the rise in food delivery app development costs.

2. Platform Choice

A different application is suitable for different platforms. But, if you are planning to target a large audience , you need to be available on multiple platforms, which is definitely another cost addition factor. Regarding the platform selection factor, you can consult the food delivery app development company professionals to help you with the same.

3. Complexity

Another factor affecting the cost of app development is the project’s complexity itself. The more complex the project is, the more time it will take, and the higher will be the cost. So, food businesses with a low budget are advised to keep the application simple.

4. Design

An attractive app design is a must to grab the users’ attention at first glance. So, you can play with your food delivery app design depending upon your budget. If you have a low budget, go for a basic design; otherwise, you can spend enough amount on food delivery app design.

5. Development Approach

The type of development approaches you to opt for will greatly influence your application cost. For instance, hiring dedicated developers for full-time will completely vary from the cost to hiring part-time developers or freelancers. So, the development approach plays a major role in defining your food delivery app development cost.

How to Make Money With the Food Delivery App Development?

Now that you have developed a food delivery app successfully, you must be aware of the significant app monetization strategies, as these will help you earn revenue. Hence, here, we mentioned one of the best app monetization techniques: 

1. Subscription Model

You can offer a subscription plan in which users pay a yearly or monthly fee for perks like exclusive discounts, free delivery, or priority customer service. This ensures recurring revenue along with increased customer loyalty.

2. Commission from Restaurants

If you develop an app like OpenTable, you can collaborate with restaurants and charge them a commission for orders placed through your app. Hence, this incentivizes restaurants to utilize your food delivery app while allowing you to earn a specific percentage from all transactions.

3. In-app Advertising

You can allow food brands and restaurants to run targeted ads through your food delivery app. This can be sponsored listings, banner ads, or promotions that create extra revenue stream food brands that want to boost their visibility.

Tech Stack for Food Delivery App Development

The tech stack contributes significantly to the food delivery app development. Various types of tech stacks are used to create a mobile app for different platforms (iOS, Android, or both).

However, you must carefully choose the technologies that can align with your app requirements. This will ensure success while ensuring meeting user’s expectations. So please have a look at the table below to understand different tech stacks for different components:

Wrapping Up!

This blog has concluded how on demand food delivery app development offers several business opportunities, and growing business. By leveraging the right combination of features, your food delivery app can stand out in today’s competitive market. You are advised to focus on a user-friendly interface and seamless integration with delivery personnel and restaurants to ensure a smooth user experience. As the demand for the food delivery apps is rising, it’s the perfect time to invest in its development.

So what are you waiting for? Share all your food delivery app’s requirements with Dev Technosys, and let us show you what makes us different from the others. As a leading custom app development company, we ensure you meet all your business goals and exceed users’ expectations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How Much Does It Cost to Create a Food Delivery App?

The cost to build food ordering app can be different based on the app’s design, features, complexity, development team, platform selection, and tech stack. However, for a rough idea, you can estimate $8000 to $27000 as on-average development cost for your food delivery app.

Q2. How Long Does It Take to Create Food Delivery App?

Building a simple food delivery app with significant features might take 4 to 7 months. On the other hand, if you want to incorporate advanced features into your app, you might extend the item by 10 months. This is because advanced features require complexity that requires much time.

Q3. How can I Ensure User Data Security in a Food Delivery Platform?

If you create a food delivery app, you can ensure user data security by adopting the following ways:

•  SSL certificates
• Regular security audits
• Multi-factor authentication
• Secure payment gateways
• Comply with data production regulations

Q4. How can I Promote My Food Delivery App?

If you create food ordering app, you can promote it with the following strategies:

• Collaborate with food bloggers and local influencers
• Optimize the app stores to improve visibility
• Offer referral programs or discounts for first-time users
• Use Google Ads to reach a broader audience.
• Email marketing campaigns targeting potential customers.

Q5. How AI is Impacting the Food Delivery Industry?

AI in food delivery industry is playing major role as mentioned below:

• Enhanced route optimization
• Inventory management
• Personalized recommendations
• Automated customer support
• Dynamic pricing