Cost to Develop Grocery Delivery Service App like Instacart?

The ongoing Coronavirus outbreak is hitting the global economy hard. However, as people remain indoors to protect themselves from getting infected, the demand for online food delivery and grocery delivery has increased substantially. If you have an idea of grocery delivery service app like Instacart and want to know the cost to develop it, then you are at the right place. 

Table of Content

• What is On-demand Grocery Application, and How Does it Work?
• What to Keep in Mind before Developing a Grocery Delivery App?
• Features to include in Grocery Delivery App MVP

1. 1. Customer App:
   2. Delivery App:

• Extended Features to be Included in Grocery Mobile Application

1. 1. Login up with social networks:
   2. Add an alternative option:
   3. Add a chatbot:
   4. Call and chat support:
   5. Voice Recognition:
   6. Ratings and Reviews:

• How do on-demand delivery services make money?
• Cost to Develop Grocery Delivery App like Instacart?

China, where the virus originally broke has experienced a 20% rise in the demand for grocery deliveries during January. Sales on fresh food on JD.com jumped from 215% in February. For the tens of millions of Chinese locked down at home, these deliveries have become an essential part of their daily lives. 

With contact-less delivery becoming the necessity, on demand service apps like Instacart are trending over the world. Grocery providers are taking their business to the next level with grocery delivery app.

Here is your comprehensive guide on how much does it cost to develop Grocery Delivery App like Instacart?

What is On-demand Grocery Application and How Does it Work?

Grocery delivery apps let customers get groceries to be delivered at their doorstep. The service is nothing new; however, the shift to mobile applications has made it affordable and hence widespread. With mobile applications like Instacart, people no longer need to send a domestic worker to get groceries; they can simply order it with few taps.

In a nutshell, a grocery mobile application development is very similar to the apps that offer on-demand services. An online delivery application usually involves two applications, an app for customers and a local app for those who will be making a delivery. 

It is also possible to combine functionality required by customers and delivery applications within the same app, but this could also make your app cumbersome. Hence, it is hardly an efficient approach.

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What to Keep in Mind before Developing a Grocery Delivery App?

Here are two on-demand delivery models for a grocery shop application:

• The delivery service has its store with groceries they deliver.
• The delivery service partners with several different stores and make deliveries for them.

Walmart has its application and the company also offers a delivery service. On the other hand, stores like Costco, partner with services like Instacart to offer delivery to customers. There are several ways to implement this technique.

Features to include in Grocery Delivery App MVP

Before diving into development, evaluate your idea and find a unique value proposition, then plan for Minimum Viable Product.

Grocery delivery apps are not much innovative, yet spending a fortune to launch a complete version without market research and preparation would be wasted.

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Here are the features to be included in the Customer App and Delivery App MVP:

Customer App:

• User profiles
• Menus/items in stock
• List of stores
• Payment gateway
• Cart/order page
• Order status
• Order history
• Notifications

Delivery App:

• Profile
• Map for navigation
• List of orders (showing items and delivery addresses)
• Admin Panel
• Customer data
• Revenue
• Menus/items in stock
• List of stores

Naturally, for the customer and delivery application to function properly, they will need to communicate in real-time so deliveries are done in stipulated time.

The selling of any grocery shopping application is that the service should be delivered on time. For the effective app to app communication, you will need WebSocket APIs on your backend.

Also in grocery delivery applications like Instacart, it is important to display lists of items with the most recent prices.

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Extended Features to be Included in Grocery Mobile Application

In addition to the bare necessities, your app will have a signature feature that makes it stand out from the crowd. Here are a few suggestions of some of the extended features in grocery mobile application:

• Login up with social networks:

Allow your customer to sign up through social channels without having to go through the lengthy registration process. This will make signup easy for customers.

• Add an alternative option:

With an alternative field, customers could choose an alternative possible if any particular item is unavailable. This will enhance the user experience and let to fewer cases of partially completed orders.

• Add a chatbot:

There are numerous ways to implement chatbots. A chatbot shows customers and delivers personnel valuable information about products.

• Call and chat support:

Call and chat support is also a good option to add, which will make users love your application. This will enable them to get support from the technical team or make last-minute changes to the order.

• Voice Recognition:

Voice recognition will let your customers place an order on the go without having them to stop and type the product name, which will again be appreciated by your busy customers.

• Ratings and Reviews:

Allow your customers to add ratings and reviews for each delivery. This will help you track the performance of your delivery workers and your app’s performance. You can also provide this feature to your delivery workers.

How do on-demand delivery services make money?

When you think about the grocery delivery app, the first question that comes to mind is how to make a profit. 

Here are some of the monetization options available for the homeowners of on-demand grocery delivery services:

1. You can set the price of each item a little higher than the actual price of the product. You can be honest and transparent about this. Create a notification that pops up the first time as a customer starts placing an order. You can also include a reminder in your policy.
2. The second option is to charge a delivery fee. This is the most common monetization model, in which customers are charged for the products according to the actual price, but they pay a fee for delivery.
3. Include ads in your app. This is the most commonly used monetization model. Many apps include ads, which cover expenses, thereby enabling companies to charge less to the customers.
4. Once your app gets popular, you can charge a monthly fee from shops to partner with you and get their products displayed on your platform. In return, stores will get exposure and more customers.

You can use a single monetization model or combine several depending upon the popularity of your app.

Cost to Develop Grocery Delivery App like Instacart?

The exact price of developing a grocery app like Instacart depends on multiple factors such as the complexity of the app and choice of developers, but we can give you a rough figure for the basic features.

If you are planning to work with an offshore development company or hire offshore developer, then plan to go for both iOS and Android platforms, this is the team you will need to hire:

• 1 Project Manager
• 1-2 iOS Developers
• 2-3Android Developers
• 1-2 UI/UX Designers
• 1 Backend Developers
• 2 QA Specialists

With two separate apps to build, each with its own design and feature set, how long will it take to build a grocery app depends on the number of members in your team? Here are the estimated hours that will be required to build a grocery delivery app.

With an average piece of around $35 per hour, the cost to develop grocery delivery app like Instacart will be approximately $62,000. This will increase depending upon the features you want to include and the technologies.

Still, have questions about how to create an app like Instacart or want to know a more precise cost estimate? Feel free to get in touch with us, we are ready to assist you with the features that your app should include and cost to develop a grocery development app.