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When buying groceries— would you rather take a trip to a local store and wait in checkout lines for hours? Or use a grocery app on your phone that effortlessly delivers everything right to your home? It is no surprise that the majority of people would prefer the latter choice.
The rising demand for same-day delivery services and eCommerce platforms has fueled the market growth of grocery delivery app development. With approximately 10 million active monthly users, the popular grocery delivery app Instacart has already made its name in this market. The online delivery services market is expected to reach USD 652.45 billion in 2027, with a CAGR of 19.43% from 2022 to 2027. Therefore, it is well-established that this market has a high potential for growth.
If you have decided to leverage the increasing demand of this market, you must be wondering how much a grocery delivery app development costs. The cost to develop an app like Instacart is influenced by many factors, including business model, team required, various features, development process, technology used, etc.
Business Model for On-demand App Development Like Instacart
With grocery apps, you can part ways with the traditional shopping method for your household needs. Instacart is a well-known grocery delivery app that delivers goods within 5 hours of placing the order.
There are 3 key players in the Instacart business model.
- End-users: They are the users who place the order using the app and make the payment as per the preferred mode. They can place orders from the store in their area or from various locations. Also, they get the option to schedule the delivery date and time.
- Shoppers: Delivery executives, or Shoppers on Instacart, are responsible for picking up the order from the store and delivering it to the customers at their homes. The details of the order, delivery instructions, and complete address information will be received by them.
- Instacart Partners: These are the retail stores where users place orders. Instacart has retail partners across various store locations. Grocery delivery apps help these retail businesses to increase their revenue by allowing them to serve their customers via online sales.
The model works in 4 steps:
- Customers place orders on the app and complete the online payment process.
- The online retailer receives the order and packs the customer’s order accordingly.
- The shopper then picks up the order from the store.
- The shopper delivers the grocery to the customer at the address mentioned.
Since Instacart has no inventory, the app showcases various alternatives to the searched products. You can build a robust grocery delivery app model by considering this guide to mobile app development.
Are you struggling with queries like how to start a grocery app, how long it takes to develop, and what is the total cost estimation? In that case, you can develop an MVP first. This way, you will know the critical factors influencing the mobile app development cost and how to improve your services.
Factors Affecting the Grocery App Development Cost
Grocery app development involves various steps influencing its development costs, such as planning, budgeting, and requirement gathering. With a grocery delivery app development company, you can perform all these tasks effortlessly within budget and time.
The average cost of developing a grocery delivery app like Instacart depends on the following parameters.
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Discovery and Ideation
With the discovery and ideation phase, you can understand the target audience, market trends, and competitors. Also, identify the feasibility of the app idea and its requirements. In this phase, you will get to know the app’s market demand to ensure it fulfills the needs and expectations of the users.
Investing in mobile app consulting services helps you identify the grocery app’s unique selling point. At the same time, you can define the features and functionalities to integrate into the app. Hence, you will be able to create a clear roadmap and accurately estimate the budget for the project.
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Unique Features to Set You Apart
Integrating unique features will allow you to create a personalized shopping experience for customers. You can provide various functions to your users, like creating customized shopping lists or receiving personalized recommendations.
Therefore, having the experience and expertise of a mobile app designing company is crucial to create an app that excels in the market.
The features of a grocery delivery app like Instacart can be divided into three panels: customers, delivery, and admin.
Customer Panel
- User Profile & Registration: Provide users with simple, secure login and sign-up options. Easy login with email or social media offers a seamless experience to users.
- Customer Feedback & Review: With customer feedback and reviews, shoppers can learn about the authenticity of the products before shopping. It helps your business become more reliable and makes customers feel secure while shopping.
- Search Panel: Ensure your app provides users with relevant search results and filter them according to the price range, brands, and other factors.
- Delivery Tracking: Allows users to track their grocery orders in real time. Also, integrate push notifications and messages to update them with accurate order status, including packed, dispatched, and out-for-delivery.
- Order Management: Provide users with a feature to manage their orders, such as easy replacement, addition, etc. It will facilitate easy navigation through the app without needing to review the list again.
- Multiple Payment Options: As the demand for digital payment is rising, it will be a wise choice to integrate various payment options like COD, debit or credit card, Paypal, etc. This will enable your app users to shop conveniently without looking for cash in their wallets.
- Schedule Delivery: Allow users to schedule the delivery date and time as per their preference.
Delivery Panel
- Geo-Location Service: Integrate Google Maps and GPS in your grocery app to enable the delivery boy to track the customer’s exact location. Also, provide them with information like time to reach, optimized route, etc.
- Accept or Reject Delivery Request: Allow the store manager to accept or reject the order request based on the customer’s location and time required to deliver the grocery.
- Delivery Request Notification: This feature enables your grocery app to send notifications to store managers about the order request.
- In-app Calling/In-app Chat: With this feature, the delivery boy can talk to the customer on their preferred mode of communication.
- Get Delivery Confirmation: Real-time status update of the order delivery will keep everyone updated with the delivery confirmation.
Admin Panel
- Dashboard: This is the main screen to manage all the orders placed by the customers.
- Allocation of Orders: This feature involves allocating the order to the grocery stores and tracking whether the order is executed safely or not.
- Manage Payments: Seamlessly manage the payments in one place, including additional charges, tax, etc.
- Assign Managers: Facilitate a smooth grocery delivery operation by assigning store managers to handle the order.
- Inventory Management: Real-time inventory status updates prevail the customer order request management.
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Tech Stack to Build Instacart App
Selecting a platform, whether iOS or Android, is necessary for cost estimation because both platforms’ development processes, technologies, and market demands vary. You can hire experts to develop an app for both platforms separately, which will affect the overall app development cost.
iOS and Android platforms also differ in terms of programming languages and development frameworks. For instance, an iOS app development company will use tools and technologies suitable for an iOS platform, making iOS app development costs different from the Android app.
Programming Languages | JavaScript, Java, Kotlin |
Front-end Development Frameworks | React Native, Angular, Vue.js |
Back-end Development Frameworks | Node.js, Ruby on Rails, PHP |
Database Management System | MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL |
Payment Gateway Integration | Stripe, PayPal, Braintree |
Location-based Services | Google Maps, Mapbox |
Push notification services | Firebase Cloud Messaging, Apple Push Notification Service |
Cloud hosting services | Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) |
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Team Composition
Consumers today opt for ordering groceries at the convenience of their homes, which is growing the online grocery services market. You must embrace a more efficient and time-saving mobile app development process to excel in this competitive market. Therefore, hire a reliable grocery app development company as your technology partner.
To hire grocery app developers, define the specialties you need. You can select an Android or iOS app development company as per your preferred platform. The team structure of a mobile app designing company will look something like this:
Team Composition | Average of Hiring ($/hour) |
Project Manager | $75 and $150 |
Front-end Developer | $50 to $150 |
Back-end Developer | $60 to $160 |
Quality Assurance Tester | $60 to $120 |
UI/UX Designer | $50 to $125 |
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UI/UX Designing
How creatively your mobile app designing company creates the UI/UX design will affect how users perceive your application. An interactive app will enhance the app’s user-friendliness and make your users revisit your app.
There are many things a designer needs to consider in creating a seamless app design, such as
- Easy app navigation,
- Quick and easy processes,
- Avoiding unnecessary lengthy procedures,
- Highlighting products,
- Delivering detailed information,
- Appealing visuals.
Considering all the factors, UI/UX design costs will range from $1,500 to $3,700.
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Front-end and Back-end Development
Front-end app developers design and code the layout, navigation, and interactivity. Front-end is the part where users interact with the app. Therefore, it has to be highly user-friendly, enhancing the overall customer experience.
Back-end mobile app development includes database management, server configuration, and integration of third-party systems. Back-end developers should focus on various aspects of the app, including scalability, implementing robust security measures, optimizing the database, etc.
Creating a well-designed and high-performing app requires skilled developers and designers, which affects the overall grocery delivery app development cost.
Hiring front-end and back-end developers can cost you between $15,000 to $30,000.
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Testing and Maintenance Phase
The app testing and maintenance phase involves testing apps for bugs and glitches. Also, it ensures the app’s compatibility, addresses user feedback, and identifies performance issues and security vulnerabilities.
Testing is done to ensure the app provides a smooth user experience and performs its functions as expected. The cost of testing is influenced by the app’s complexity, number of features, compatible operating systems, and types of testing.
Testing is a crucial mobile app development process and must be performed thoroughly. Therefore, 15% – 20% of the development budget should go for testing. On average, app testing costs around $2,500 to $4,000.
How to Generate Revenue from Grocery Delivery Apps Like Instacart?
Whether you are a grocery store owner, a chain of stores owner, or an entrepreneur, you can leverage the enormous market potential of grocery delivery app development. However, if you want to gain a loyal customer base, generate revenue, and exceed your business, developing a robust monetization model is necessary.
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Charging Delivery Fees
Charging a delivery fee from customers is one of the most common monetization models used in grocery delivery app development. You can decide on the delivery fee of the product as per the order size, total distance, weather conditions, and transportation used.
Ask your mobile app designing company to incorporate a delivery fare calculator feature. Additionally, you can include surge pricing in it when delivery charges increase during peak hours or under non-optimal weather conditions like rain.
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In-app Advertisements
Including ads in the apps allow you to cover expenses and charge less for your service, much to customer delight. Therefore, advertisements are a widely excepted revenue-generation source for grocery delivery app development companies.
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Vendor On-boarding Charges
You can charge retail stores a vendor on-boarding fee to partner with you. This way, you can earn revenue, and stores can reach more customers online, gaining brand recognition.
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End-user Membership
You can provide your end-users with a monthly or annual membership for a fixed price. Provide these members with discounts, free deliveries, coupons, etc. This will entice the users to buy your grocery delivery app membership for additional privileges.
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Commissions
Deduct a small commission to store owners for every order placed. This charge can be a fixed percentage of the total order value. The commission fee can also vary as per the specific agreement between the app developer and the retailer.
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Charging Businesses to Advertise Products
Provide store owners with ad features where they can advertise their products to their target audiences and relevant search results.
Why Hire AppsChopper For Grocery Delivery App Development?
We offer reliable grocery app development and mobile app testing services to build a distinctive and high-performing app. With the right technology, knowledge, and expertise, we develop a customer-oriented grocery delivery app to help your business succeed.
Our experts in native and cross-platform app development create a seamless app providing a consistent user experience. With our customized app development services, we help your business reach more customers and generate ROI.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to develop a grocery delivery app like Instacart?
The total development cost of a grocery app like Instacart will depend on the complexity of the app, integrated features, developer’s charges, platform selection, etc. If you choose React Native app development, it can cost you between $15,000 to $30,000.
How long does it take to build a same-day grocery app like Instacart?
The time taken for on-demand app development like Instacart depends on various factors, including features, app complexity, project scope, and modifications. If you want to develop an app from scratch, a simple app with standard functionality can take 1 to 3 months. In contrast, a complex app with more advanced features can take 4 to 6 months.
Is the online grocery delivery business profitable?
Mobile app development can make your online grocery delivery business fruitful in various ways. You can select an effective monetization model, such as charging delivery fees, in-app advertisements, commissions on orders, membership fees, etc. You can also use a combination of these models depending on the popularity of your grocery delivery app.