Life in the post-COVID-19 is not the same. To stay safe and healthy, people are reshaping their habits in the new-normal, and shopping is no exception.

According to the research firm Technomic, 52% of consumers are avoiding crowds while 32% are leaving their houses less often because of this global pandemic.

In a market study by First Insight, 30% of respondents, especially millennials, told they are now shopping online more frequently than before.

How people shop is set to change. And it is not limited to purchasing fashion and other goods online, grocery items are also one of the biggest ones of these.

Grocery items are essential commodities that people need regularly. However, as nowadays, people are more conscious than ever, they want to avoid the crowd of grocery supermarkets while buying the required items.

In such a scenario, the grocery delivery app is a holy grail for them. No need to heading out of home, ease of placing the order, contactless delivery at the doorstep, etc. make grocery apps more popular after the pandemic.

And to pay heed to the increasing demand for a competitive grocery app, leading grocery businesses are investing in building grocery apps that make shopping easier and faster for customers.

So, if you haven’t built one yet, it is time to think about this.

Benefits of Building a Grocery Delivery App

A grocery app with excellent functionality and user-friendly features can expand businesses and boost sales. And so, businesses are developing grocery delivery apps to leverage the benefits.

It is time for you to be an early bird to win the competition. But before that, let us discover the various benefits of developing a grocery delivery app for customers and businesses.

For Customers/Users

• Flexibility of Shopping

Flexibility is the key benefit for customers when they use a grocery delivery app. It lets users order the required grocery items at any time from their smart devices and the items will be delivered to their doorsteps.

• Various Categories

Grocery delivery apps provide huge inventories and categories of products from various brands compared to what one can find at brick-and-motor shop. So, irrespective of the grocery needs of the customers, they can find and order it online.

• Refined Search

The app allows users to find the required items with specific keywords without navigating through the entire app by using the filter search option, based on category, specifications, brand, etc. It saves their valuable time and makes shopping easy for them.

• Multiple Payment Options

With grocery shopping applications, customers have the liberty to pay for the chosen products with a range of payment methods such as credit, debit card, online banking, e-wallet, etc. So, users can easily pick the one that will be suitable for them.

• Order Tracking

The GPS real-time tracking in the grocery app allows users to track their order delivery. From the dispatch to the estimated time for delivery, real-time tracking helps customers know the status of their orders.

For Businesses

• Improved Customer Loyalty

Building a grocery delivery app not only helps businesses offer a good user experience but also increase customer loyalty through features, such as reward points, loyalty bonus, offers, promo codes, etc.

• Enhanced Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

With grocery app development, businesses can have the entire CRM system at their fingertips. Customers will create their own profile to use the app.

So, your entire CRM database is created automatically without employing dedicated staff for this. Besides, you can pull the data whenever require right from your mobile app or admin panel.

• Better Inventory & Order Management

By using the admin panel of a grocery delivery app, businesses can easily manage their complete inventory.

Setting alerts for stocks helps know the items running low so that you can order them accordingly. Besides, you can easily manage all the past, present, and future orders, and search them easily.

• Decreasing Overhead

Grocery supermarkets need plenty of good pairs of hands to run the business smoothly. The better the workforce is, the more the business needs to pay in salaries.

However, you can reduce your staff and overhead dramatically with the grocery delivery app. It allows you to perform the tasks with the help of technology and thus, reduces your overhead and increases profits in the long run.

Grocery App Development Best Practices

As there is a huge demand for grocery delivery app and most grocery businesses are investing in it, the competition in the market is severe. So, to find your prospects, you should have a unique selling point.

To that end, some businesses offer tempting fees, other amaze with lots of options and the rest ones count on the tech aspect.

Related: 8 App Development Mistakes You Must Avoid

We will be talking about the best practices for an app to order groceries that users prefer to see on your platform.

• In-app Navigation

It is said that navigation is the conversation between the app and the end-user. When it is not clear and comprehensive, users can’t complete their shopping tasks or find the required information.

For a grocery delivery app, it is important to be exploded even on small screens, enable shoppers to switch between product categories easily and get back to the Home screen.

If you already have a platform for your online grocery delivery services, make sure that the app navigation provides appropriate mobile experiences to the users.

On the flip, don’t risk making the app interface too minimal as mobile shoppers may get puzzled and find it difficult to get the right option.

• Exploring Product Options

There are several ways to incorporate the product search flow in your grocery app, such as:

Search Bar

If a customer is sure exactly what they are looking for, then this method will work best. They can search for products by name, category, or brand.

Categories

Categorizing items by brands or types helps your customers to check related products easily. Just with a click, they can view the same types of products.

Filters

They are good for advanced search. When shoppers want to sort grocery products by quantity, pricing, or brand, they can use this feature.

Special Offers

Featured sections for highlighting special offers help grab the attention of customers and tempt them to make the purchase.

• Ordering in a Few Clicks

Literally speaking, shopping should take a few clicks – the user finds the item, adds it to the cart, confirms the payment method, and place the order.

In order to make ordering efforts nigh to impossible, add Favorites or Order history to users’ accounts. By clicking on the reorder button, users can instantly purchase products they love and save time and energy.

• Easy Checkout & GPS Tracking

Once the customers are done with the checking, it is time to proceed with selecting the delivery option. Generally, grocery delivery applications offer the same day or next day delivery to users.

You can also add a Fast Delivery option. With this, users expect to get the products delivered at their doorsteps within a few hours of ordering the items.

Another vital thing to add is notifications for informing users about the order status or courier location. It would be convenient if you add real-time tracking so that your users can monitor the carrier movement.

With a built-in live chat, you can also allow your customers to talk to the carrier in case of any problems or questions.

The Final Trick on How to Develop a Grocery App During the Pandemic

Already have a grocery delivery app? Add these features to make it more customer-friendly.

• Multiple payment methods to urge users to pay online
• No-contact delivery to meet safety standards
• Food and pharmacy delivery to expand the service range
• Chatbot assistance to guide carriers
• Gift and bonus cards to engage users

Bottom Line

You know exactly what your target audience needs at this moment – it is a starting point to help your business survive after the global pandemic.

You don’t need much. Just develop a robust, agile, and secure grocery delivery application. It helps maximize your ROI, build strong relationships with your customers, and rule the grocery market by beating your competitors.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comment section below.

Want to a develop grocery delivery app for your business with experienced, and proficient developers? We are here to help you!

References:

Technomic’s Take: COVID-19, The Foodservice View

Coronavirus crisis’ consumer impact—new data on purchase decisions and behaviors