How to Build an Instant Delivery App Like InstaShop?

Shopping and delivery apps like InstaShop are a trend that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and with the ever-widening advancements in technology, it is possible to create an app like Instashop that meets all requirements.

Do you also want to build an app like Instashop and make a strategic move towards the constantly growing on-demand market? Then you must explore this article to know all about the Instashop-like grocery delivery app business, including its market dynamics, app development process, must-have features and tech tack, and the cost of application development.

Grocery Delivery Apps Market Overview

The grocery delivery market was valued at $38.5 billion in 2022, according to Future Market Insights, and is likely to reach $81.5 billion in a decade at a CAGR of 7.8%.

UAE currently has 18.7 million mobile phone subscriptions, and the demand for instant delivery apps has also risen with the rise in this number. Therefore, with this increasing popularity, the online grocery shopping market has seen a growth rate of 31% between 2016 and 2019, and the numbers continue to increase.

Now, while the market landscape is favorable to invest in InstaShop-like app development, let us quickly look at the business model that has made the InstaShop app a huge success, before actually diving deep into the development process.

InstaShop-like Grocery Delivery Business Models

Founded in 2015, InstaShop is one of the top on-demand online grocery delivery service apps in the UAE. The app offers delivery for groceries, pet supplies, bakeries, pharmaceuticals, and even flowers. It is a one-stop online store. With its credibility, the app has gained 500,000 active users across five countries.

The business model that Instashop follows is a two-sided marketplace – buyers and retailers. The different outlooks that the business focuses on are customers, grocery stores, and delivery service providers. The value proposition that it offers is what makes Instashop such a hit.

• Customers get to choose from an expansive menu with quick deliveries saving them time and money through safer payment gateways.
• Grocery stores leverage the extensive customer base by collaborating with Instashop.
• The delivery service providers get to work at flexible hours and earn tips from customers by providing good service.

Now, while this is the business model that InstaShop banks on, there are some other grocery app business models as well that you must familiarize yourself with to select the most appropriate model for your business.

Inventory-based Model

In this approach, the owner of the online grocery and delivery app purchases, manages, and maintains the inventory for the products. The owner purchases goods from various suppliers, stores them in their warehouse, and takes responsibility for delivering the goods on time for each order.

Multiple Vendors Model

This business model puts numerous customers and sellers together in one place – the shopping and delivery platform. Therefore, in this scenario, either the seller handles packaging and delivery or the platform owner takes up the delivery. Because the owner is not responsible for maintaining an inventory himself/herself, we call this business model the “Zero Inventory Business Model.”

Hyperlocal Groceries Model

When you choose the hyperlocal groceries business model, you will mainly focus on the customers’ needs in a specific geographic area and ensure a high-speed delivery of orders at the customer’s doorstep.

But for this to be possible, your customers’ address and the store from where the delivery person will pick up the order should be in the same zip code. Therefore, to tend to this demand, the platform owner should collaborate with as many regional vendors or suppliers as possible.

The Click-and-Collect Model

The Click and Collect business strategy, also called BOPIC (Buy Online, Pick-Up In-Store), allows customers to place online orders and pick up the order from a store. It aims to give both online and offline shopping experiences to customers.

Based on the infrastructure and the business model you would like to opt for, ensuring error-free and timely delivery can take your idea to the next level.

Now that you have an understanding of the various business models, let’s come straight to the main part of the article – how to make an app like InstaShop?

How to Create an App Like InstaShop?

Now that you plan to have a grocery app like Instashop for your business, you’ll need a solid development team to execute the plan. The team should have a product owner, business analyst, project manager, app developers (for iOS and Android), UI/UX designers, and Quality Assurance engineers.

After the team establishes, you can start the development process, which entails the following steps:

Strategize and Plan

To begin your online grocery shopping app development process, you must have a comprehensive and actionable project roadmap in place.

To do this, your grocery app development company typically holds product discovery workshops where the target audience, competitor analysis, knowledge of the target consumers’ pain points, app specifications, budget, and timeframe are all discussed. After thorough research, a development plan is prepared.

Choose the Right Platform

When creating an app, it can either be hybrid or native. It’s critical to consider which option would be ideal for your company because each offers advantages and downsides of its own. Native apps are expensive and developed for either iOS or Android. On the other hand, cross-platform apps are comparatively cost-effective and can be utilized on various platforms.

UI/UX Design

Your app’s design is crucial because it will be one of the first things your customers will see. You must make sure that it is polished and simple. You must plan a user-friendly layout and instructions that are clear and to the point. Remember your target audience, their pain points, and product specifications while creating the design.

Prototype

Making a prototype is the next critical stage after getting the design right. You can see how the app will appear and function. Additionally, it will enable you to try out the features you intend to add to the app. By doing this, you’ll be able to gauge the app’s viability, gather feedback from potential consumers, and can also approach investors to get funding.

Development Phase

This is the phase where your final product comes together as the custom grocery delivery app development company creates your app’s front-end and back-end using the finalized tech stack.

Test

Before the official launch, Quality Assurance engineers review your grocery app for its usability, security, compatibility, and performance.

Launch

At last, your app is finally ready to be launched on platforms like the Google Play store and the App Store. But the launch does not mean it does not require changes. Keep making edits to enhance and scale your app.

[Also Read: MVP to IPO – How to scale your business?]

Promote and Analyze

You need to market your app to encourage people to use it and you need to develop a solid marketing plan for that. Campaigns in marketing and public relations, social media, etc., can help with this segment.

You must begin to analyze user behavior and conversion rates, which will enable you to enhance your software’s usability and performance.

Maintain

Finally, you must keep supporting and updating your app. This entails ensuring that the team is addressing flaws and incorporating new functionalities and features.

Now, while you are familiar with the steps that go into developing an app like InstaShop, let’s talk about the various features that you must include in the application. Afterall, features are what help you gauge the attention of the audience.

Grocery Delivery App Features that You Must Include

It is the features of an application that makes it relevant and popular in this competitive world of on-demand applications. Let us understand the must-have features that the instant delivery app like Instashop should include.

Push Notification

Push notifications are a great way to keep your customers updated about new offers and products. You can send messages or pop-up notifications to mobile devices informing users about the availability of products, stocks, offers, limits, occasions, etc. However, misuse of this feature could also result in users uninstalling your app as receiving so many messages might upset them. Therefore, it is important to have a well-defined push notification strategy.

Delivery Window

Give customers more control over the delivery window to make their shopping experience more enjoyable and profitable. Customers should be able to choose the time and location for the delivery of the items they have ordered.

Voice Search Option

With an AI-enabled voice search feature, it becomes much more convenient for customers to place an order and navigate through the app. It expedites client requests and greatly aids in finding specific items on the app.

Cart

A grocery shopping app should always allow users to add a variety of items to their virtual shopping cart without having to exit a page. It enhances the user experience as customers are able to stay on the page where they are selecting while adding things to the cart. It allows them to add items from a single page without any interruption.

Loyalty Program

How would it feel if you were rewarded for sticking to an app? These loyalty programs allow customers to access various offers and gifts in their best interests. Additionally, it encourages customers to make more purchases through the app because each transaction helps them get closer to earning some of the other compensation in various forms.

Multilingual Option

One should not restrict themselves to serving only one network. Adding many languages to the app may advance the service and expand it globally.

Advanced features you can include in your Grocery Delivery App

The MVP version of the application can have the basic features mentioned above. However, to stay ahead in the competition, you are required to have smart features that can outperform for better user experience. Some of the features that can be added post the success of the MVP launch are listed below-

Biometric Sign-up

Enabling logging with social media accounts or sign-up pages are the methods that have become old-fashioned. AI-powered fingerprint sensors and face recognition biometric login not only offer ease to customers but are also more authentic ways to earn the trust of the user in your application.

Wishlist & Frequently Ordered products

Creating a wishlist helps the user to save the liked product and put it into a cart whenever they plan to purchase it later. Similarly, the frequently ordered list, fetched automatically based on previous purchases, enhances the user experience as the user will not have to sift through the complete list over and again.

Fast Track Delivery

Grocery is something that you might need urgently, at times. Providing the option of normal delivery and fast track delivery will earn the loyalty of the customer as the customer can rely on your app in urgent situations as well. At the same time, this can be a good way of monetizing your application as the customer can pay extra for such fast deliveries.

Recipe Corner

Personalize your application as it is the best way to provide great customer experience and is advantageous in the long run. Adding a recipe section in the application helps in creating a list of loyal customers who will keep coming back to explore new recipes. By incorporating the recipe corner, you can motivate the users to buy the required groceries from your app.

The Tech Stack You Need for On-Demand Grocery Delivery App Development

To build an app like InstaShop, you need to have the necessary technology stack to build an effective and high-quality app. Here is the list of the tech stack you will need:

How Much does it Cost to Develop a Grocery Delivery Platform like Instashop?

The grocery delivery app development cost is affected by several variables. Some of these factors are:

The Complexity of the App

The total cost of your software rises along with its UI/UX design and feature complexity. Hence, it is advised to create an MVP with only the most important features and then make the final app.

Development Partner

The cost of developing an online grocery delivery app like InstaShop is also influenced by your development team. The price will rise as more tech experts are hired. It also varies with your choice of hiring an in-house team or contracting with a reliable software development partner.

Geographic Location

Another equally important factor is the geographic location of your team. The fees charged by developers differ from one location and one country to another. This happens because developers need to be able to charge according to the cost of living in each area.

Mostly, mobile app developers in a country like India can be hired at an hourly rate of $20 to $40. But the total cost of developing feature-rich apps for just one platform, such as Android or iOS, can range between $30,000 and $150,000. If you want a modern app with more features, the cost could reach up to $300,000.

Ways to Monetize your Instant Grocery Delivery App

Let us assume you have made the best app possible and are ready to kick-start its operation. But you need to ensure that you earn a living from it. How does that happen? You may use the following income generation models in your app, like InstaShop, to get a respectable ROI:

Commission From Store Owners

You may choose to charge store owners a small commission in exchange for their listing on your application and getting them more customers through your platform.

Advertising

This is a very effective way of earning revenue. Allow other retailers and brands to place advertisements on your grocery app and charge them for that space.

Delivery Fee

The delivery fees you charge might be determined based on the location. You might want to provide free delivery if it’s close by and a nominal delivery fee if it’s very far.

Subscription Fee

You may offer premium features like free delivery to customers who choose to subscribe to your app through packages and memberships. For access to the package, you might charge the users a subscription fee.

Boost Your Food & Grocery Delivery App Development With Appinventiv

Appinventiv is an on-demand app development company with almost a decade of experience in creating innovative solutions for startups, enterprises, and Fortune 500 companies.

We take pride in having delivered more than 1,000 successful projects. With multiple accolades under our belt, such as, the Best App Development Company of the Year award by Entrepreneur.com, we know how to take your idea of building an instant grocery delivery app to fruition.

So, don’t wait, schedule a call now as ours is the best team to aid your on-demand grocery and delivery app development process.

THE AUTHOR

Dileep Gupta

DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER