Introduction
With 81 million users, Uber Eats is the most popular food delivery service internationally. The food delivery app generated $8.3 billion in revenue in 2021, with a 72% increase yearly.
Are you impressed by the massive growth and popularity of Uber Eats? Do you want to build a food delivery app like Uber Eats? Read the blog to get familiar with the step-by-step process of developing an online food delivery application.
Why are food delivery apps like Uber Eats, Swiggy, and Zomato extremely popular?
There are many reasons behind the massive popularity and growth of on-demand food delivery applications like Uber Eats, Glovo, and Swiggy.
One of the biggest reasons is the convenience these apps offer. Users can order food online whenever needed with just a few clicks on their smartphones.
They don’t need to step out of their homes, spend extra on fuel, or stand in queues. They can enjoy their favourite restaurant food sitting at home.
Other reasons include the flexibility to order meals, security of payment, and affordability leads to the popularity and wider audience.
Read: Discovering Advanced Solutions with the Pega Framework
Business Model of Uber Eats
Uber Eats operates as a food delivery aggregator and a delivery agent. The UberEats business model has led many restaurants to the on-demand food delivery economy.
Aggregator Model- UberEats lists the partner restaurants in the app under this model. Customers can browse different restaurants to place a food delivery request. Restaurants manage order fulfilment independently. Uber Eats provides logistics support for partner restaurants enabling them to deliver their food services online. On-demand delivery Apps have revolutionized online food delivery, making it easier than ever to get your favorite meals delivered to your door.
How Uber Eats earn its Revenue?
Delivery/Convenience Fee
UberEats charges a fixed delivery cost for delivery from customers on meals. The delivery cost might range from $1 to $5 per delivery. During peak hours, the delivery cost is high.
Revenue Share from Restaurant Partners
Every restaurant registered on Uber Eats restaurant pays a 15% to 40% commission. The commission rate depends on the market’s age and maturity.
Marketing & Advertising Fee
UberEats enables partner restaurants to promote their products and services through different marketing campaigns and activities. Restaurants charge a specific fee from restaurant partners for marketing and advertising.
Surge Pricing
Uber Eats employs a dynamic pricing algorithm- delivery charges surge during peak seasons. The availability of delivery partners and the number of orders also affect the surge in pricing.
How to Build an Online Food Delivery App like UberEats?
Developing a top-notch food delivery application is challenging and includes many elements. A clear roadmap is necessary to build the application with fewer iterations and desired outcomes.
Research on current trends
The first step in developing a successful food delivery application is to conduct in-depth research on the current market trends in the food industry. First, define your target audience and then find out what they want or their current preferences or food choices.
What sets your food delivery service apart from the rest? Your restaurant’s identity will be shaped by the distinctive qualities and the customers you want to attract.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What audience will you target?
- What will be the age group of your customers?
- Who are your competitors?
- What will be your restaurant’s USP?
The answers to these questions will help you plan your app features, technology, and marketing strategies for the online food delivery app.
Select a Business Model
After a thorough research and analysis of the current market trends and target audience, the next step is to decide a business model for your business.
- Order Only Model
Under this model, restaurants accept orders online, process them, and manage the delivery independently. The food delivery platform does not offer logistics support for delivery.
- Order and delivery model
Just like UberEats, under this model, the food delivery app owners take complete responsibility for order acceptance, processing, and delivering food orders. The app offers logistic support for online deliveries.
Choose the Right Features
Integrating the right set of features in your food delivery application is the key to its success. Today’s smart customers look for trending features in the applications. So, ensure to choose the right set of features while building an app like UberEats. Trends for mobile apps include the rise of same-day delivery, subscription-based services, and eco-friendly packaging. You can also consult your development team to pick the right features.
Here are the must-have features of your food delivery application-
- Easy Sign up & Log in
- User-friendly interface
- Easy search options
- Advanced Filters
- order scheduling & cancellation
- Review & Feedback
- Multiple Payment gateways
- Offers and discounts
- Push Notifications
- Real-time Tracking
- Statistical report
Right technology
Choose the right 5g technology stack to develop your food delivery application like UberEats. The choice of the technology stack will depend on your business model and the business objectives and needs.
Essential technologies are:
- iPhone, Android, React Native App
- Node JS, MongoDB for Backend
- ReactJs for front end
- Stripe, Paypal, Braintree for payment gateway
- Google Maps for location
- Amazon SNS, Firebase Cloud Messaging for push notifications
Choose the right food delivery app development company.
Choosing a reliable food delivery app development agency is crucial to developing the desired application for your business. Look for a development company having enough experience in the industry.
A few other things you can consider while making the right choice:
- The technical knowledge and expertise of the food delivery app developers
- Previous projects & feedback from previous clients.
- Development approach
After developing and deploying the food delivery application, the next step is to promote the application. Think of the ways to let maximum customers know about your food delivery application.
Think of the following while planning the marketing and promotion for your online food delivery business:
- Who would make the best customers at your restaurant?
- Which online mediums would you be using for promotional purposes?
- Do you plan to use free methods only or supplement them with paid ads?
- Do you plan to use influencer marketing in your overall strategy?
- Where can you find your ideal customer? How flexible are your advertising alternatives in these regions?
How Much Does It Cost to Develop an App like Uber Eats?
The cost of developing an online food delivery application like UberEats depends on the following factors-
App Size
Your app size, complexity, and features will decide the cost of developing your food delivery application. The more features, the bigger the app size, and the more complex the features, the higher the cost.
App Design
Another major factor influencing the food delivery app development cost is the app design. After the launch of the app stores, you need an attractive user interface to attract the right eyes to your application. The cost depends on the complexity of the app design. A complex design costs higher.
App Platforms
What platform you have chosen to build the food delivery application will also affect the app development cost. Native applications are more expensive to build than cross-platform applications.
App Development Team
The hourly rate of the food delivery app developers vary based on their experience, expertise, and location. Choose a development team based on your app budget.
App Development Time
Building an online food delivery application from scratch requires three to six months. If the food delivery application is complex and bigger, it will take more time.
A saas-based food delivery application does not require any upfront investment. Food business owners do not need to invest in developing the app from scratch. The white-label food delivery application offers all the essential features to launch the app in the market.
Conclusion
The rapidly increasing demand for online food delivery applications brings multiple opportunities for food business owners to establish and expand their business online. Going online opens up wide opportunities like a wider reach to potential customers, presence on multiple platforms, etc. Ensure to hire the right food delivery app development agency with professional experience to build the right app.
If you are not interested in investing a huge sum in developing a custom food delivery app, a saas-based food delivery app is the ideal option. Get started within an hour with the readymade restaurant online ordering system.
