Over the last few years, our tastes have transformed with a rate of 300%. With this, the traffic for dine-in orders, digital shopping, and delivery systems activities has increased too. Restaurants are finding new avenues to keep up with the demands of the consumer. Smartphones can be particularly helpful in tapping this demand. It provides ease and usability for purchasing and delivering eatables in a click. However, quick coordination is key to success for a food delivery service, and your app plays an even important role. So while you are building your food delivery app business, make sure your app uplifts you.

Must-have Features of Food Delivery Apps

In the 21st century, the food industry has witnessed a revolution due to the introduction of distribution technologies that have benefited both customers and restaurants. The development of smartphone applications to quickly order food and receive it on your doorstep has brought a significant boom to the FoodTech industry. Many eateries have joined the bandwagon.
To provide a new experience through such applications, it is necessary first to analyze the industry and understand the customer’s viewpoints while using these services. The food apps must provide convenience to restaurants or hospitality companies and offer attractive deals to their customers. The latter is crucial to success as it will attract more customers regularly and keep them interested.
Other than coupons and discounts, an exclusive experience is what any user desires. This must be offered to every app user as it is the most basic functionality of any application.
A major step in appropriately planning the production process is to distinguish between the essential and additional features. The creation of the food ordering app’s necessary features is given the most important and typically finished in the first few versions. In the subsequent releases, you can introduce other extra functionalities progressively.
When you provide products and services to your clients, offering various payment options in the application itself is very helpful. Besides that, a creative, appealing and interactive UI is very important for staying ahead of the competition and continuously bringing in more users.

Customer’s Standpoint

The most important task is to ensure a clean and compact client-side application. An easy-to-use interface, simple controls and aesthetic designs are necessary features. There are three key actions that a customer will always be using: searching deals, adding orders to the cart and the final review before payment. Ensure a seamless experience in these actions, and the application will be revered.

1. Simple Registration

Registering is the foremost step in establishing a strong relationship with the user. Customers do not appreciate an application if it’s too complicated, time-consuming, and puzzling. Provide multiple sign-up options for the users to ensure convenience and quick turnaround time. Usually, two options are given: using an email address for creating the new account or logging in using Facebook, Google, etc.

2. Ordering

While ordering dishes from restaurants, the most common actions are adding the dishes, using coupons, and editing them. For such actions, confirmatory questions must be included, in addition to the quantity of the dishes and the desired location of delivery. Including the “estimated time of arrival” feature will help the customers make wiser decisions regarding their food requirements.

3. Payment Choices

There will be more regular use of food delivery applications that have in-app purchase and cash choices. 
Apps with a wide variety of payment choices are more comfortable to use. Cash/card should not be the only payment options, as digital wallets have made payments more secure and faster. Meet all the safety requirements, ensure a stable and quick experience. When estimating the final bill, additions and vouchers should be an option. 

4. Estimated Time of Arrival

The time you take in delivering the food to your customer makes all the difference. Determination of the delivery time is convenient in managing the expectations of customers and reducing complaints about delays.

5. Order Tracking

Customers detest waiting for their orders. They prefer to remain aware of their takeaway. People prefer to stay in touch with the order status and track the entire order process with simple notifications like approved, cooked, picked, delivered, and completed.

6. User Interface

The development of food delivery applications includes a good UI plan that must focus on having a smooth UI that is both aesthetic and quick. A clean UI will result in better organization of various lists, like dishes and restaurants. 

7. A Mini-Search Engine

Customers are not going to waste time searching for food on their browser. A typical food app needs to have a “search” option that enables the customers to find their favorite dishes without going through numerous restaurant menus.

Restaurant’s Standpoint

Major food delivery brands provide two resources for their restaurant-users:

  • First is the app, which will run on a handheld device of the employees to provide the necessary information about orders.
  • The second is the company manager’s web page that holds documents to evaluate the total efficiency, consistency, and approval of dishes. It is for adding new food items, posting images, etc. 

Procedure for the Restaurant:

1.Registration

Registration of restaurants must not seem like a tedious process, as a lot of information and subsequent verification is a part of the entire process. Furthermore, the clients must have the ability to overview their supply chain while maintaining orders independently.
Of course, the app version for restaurants should have a very different registration method, including the authentication process for a physical address, legal business records, etc. The standard method of enrollment should be a questionnaire.

2. In-app Content

When you look for the process to create a food app, another piece of advice to take involves all the restaurants’ required services to handle the content. The restaurants must still add general details, including address, operating hours, and the menu offers. The well-prepared UX interface makes it easy to update conveniently: edit or delete menu objects, change prices, upload images, etc.

3. Order Management

Strong leadership starts with getting a complete order request and seeking the right forms to execute it. The restaurant workers should periodically check their status to the order list rundown, explain any information directly to the customers if necessary, and send push alerts to stay in tandem with customers and couriers.
This section of the operation usually resembles a basic tablet program that sends updates and comprehensive new order information. They are typically included in the POS terminals by professionals after the instructions show on the tablet.

4. Dashboard

This section is specially built for the restaurant management where they make menu changes, update the overview, add new features, and manage payment history. To find ways to enhance the services, it tracks records that make it possible to evaluate prices, dish popularity, and consumer tastes.

Procedure for the Courier

1. Registration

The food application platforms provide their courier services or employ freelancers who enlist with the organization and start operating after the necessary verification process. They must be licensed and validated in all cases to complete deliveries. They have to provide all the required details in the profile during the registration process, such as general information, ID pictures, mobile number, etc.

2. Managing Orders

While developing this feature, a lot of things must be kept in mind. Points like order summary, order details, pickup location, shipping time, and customer distance from the eatery must be available. The freedom to approve or deny a specific order must be present.

3. Seamless Status Updates

When the order is selected and completed, couriers must refresh the status a minimum of two times. This will ensure real-time updates and complete transparency between the delivery executive, the restaurant and the consumer. 

Creating a Food Delivery App Requires a lot of Smart and Tactful Work

A food-distribution software-production company will have to create three apps to cover all consumers’ needs and desires. Taking all of the specifics listed into account, we can infer that creating the food ordering app involves a skilled staff, time, and money. A lot of essential cornerstones are explained by diligent preparation and understanding of the needs of the customers.
The most basic fundamental of any food app is to bridge the gap between consumers and the restaurant. A sustainable business plan which provides the best features, quick turnaround, great deals, and covers more restaurants will be the most preferred.

Conclusion

If you are looking to develop a food delivery app or any other application that suits your business needs, share your business idea with Supersourcing. The experts agencies over specific agencies are experienced and skillful at developing the right apps and providing the best IT solutions for your assistance. For the best customer experience and scalable product development, visit the website and browse the range of services.