You own a business and use food delivery services like Uber Eats, right? In the event that this is not the case, you ought to give it a serious thought. By 2020, the mobile food delivery market is anticipated to be valued at $36 above billion, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world, according to Business Insider (an American financial and business news website). Get in on the action now, or risk getting swept up in it and losing your hard-earned cash.
So, where should you begin? We want to give you a solid sense of what it takes for a company to establish a food delivery service comparable to Uber Eats in this post.
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Why Is There Such A Surge In Food Delivery Apps? UberEats, Deliveroo, and Glovo are just a few examples
It’s no secret that individuals will always choose what is most convenient for them. This is true for almost everything we do in life, including the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the games we play, and, yes, the food we eat. This is likely the most important reason why meal delivery apps like Deliveroo Glovo and Uber Eats have become so popular.
For instance, when was the last time you saw a successful video rental business in your neighborhood? Following the introduction of video streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, the great majority of those enterprises have gone out of business. As harsh as it may sound if you choose to ignore the arrival of mobile meal delivery options, the same might happen to your food business.
A Successful Food Delivery App’s Key Elements
Before we get into the specifics of how to construct an on-demand food delivery service, it’s important to understand the numerous components that go into making one. The following three components make up an UberEats app (or any other functional meal delivery service):
The Client’s Perspective
New users can register an account using their email address or using third-party applications like Google and Facebook. The option of selecting a restaurant or café from a list of merchants near your location. The ability to place orders from a menu rapidly.
Processing payments and confirming promo codes using a payment gate system. Customers should have the ability to pay for their orders as promptly as feasible. You should try to provide as many payment alternatives as possible, such as credit cards, PayPal, COD, Apple/Google Pay, and so on.
The Side of the Restaurant
A restaurant registration website that allows restaurants to join the meal delivery network. This type of page collects all relevant information about the restaurant, such as its name, address, hours of operation, and contact information.
A system for publishing menus and images from restaurants on the meal delivery platform using a content management system. The ability to run promotions and provide clients with discount coupons order monitoring function that allows restaurants to see incoming orders and keep consumers updated on their orders’ status. Both parties should be able to know the full status of orders at any one time, including whether they are canceled, finished, or ready for delivery.
The Courier Side: A signup page for your food delivery service that allows couriers to sign up
A page allowing couriers to manage their orders and schedule delivery in real-time. This feature should include all order data, such as pick-up and delivery locations, order quantity, and client contact information. Before picking up your purchase, you have the option of estimating the delivery time. An account history page allows couriers to keep track of their deliveries to a certain customer.
As you may have guessed, the three factors listed above work together to guarantee that information can be delivered and shared with all parties involved. Consider how integrating the UberEats API into your meal delivery app simplifies the ordering and payment process for your clients. As a result, restaurants may take more orders (and hence increase revenue) while efficiently managing food preparation. Couriers have simple access to all of the data they require to complete deliveries.
How To Create An UberEats-Style App
Unfortunately, few businesses can afford to create their own mobile food delivery service from the ground up, comparable to Uber Eats. The average cost of app development is around $25,000 per project. Should you give up on developing a meal delivery app if you don’t have that type of cash?
Not necessary, and even small businesses may provide a service similar to Uber Eats at a fraction of the price. Using existing APIs to speed up the app development process and save money is a more cost-effective option for food ordering firms. Many popular APIs have all of the components needed to develop a meal delivery app.
To create a working app comparable to Uber Eats, programmers merely need to “assemble” those parts together. Granted, more time and money will be spent on making the app more user-friendly. Existing APIs, on the other hand, will drastically minimize the time and money required to establish a meal delivery service.
API for Google Places
Places API is a Google service that responds to HTTP requests for information about places, such as geographic locations, sites of interest in specific regions, and commercial premises. To use the Google Places API, you’ll need a valid key and a Google Cloud Platform billing account.
Google charges $2 to $14 per 1000 searches, up to a limit of 100,000 per day, for accessing Maps API at the time of writing. They also charge more for utilizing the Routes and Places APIs. However, you will receive a $200 credit each month, thereby making the Places API free for small to medium-sized food enterprises. You will only be charged if your API use exceeds your monthly credit. By that time, your consumer base would have expanded so much that any additional expenditure would be well worth it.
API for Foursquare
The Foursquare API is a toolkit that allows developers to interface with Foursquare, a social networking search-and-discovery software that gives users tailored suggestions on what to do and where to go.
Small and medium-sized enterprises may get access to the Foursquare API for $599. To begin submitting queries to the API, new users must create an account on the Foursquare website and get the relevant credentials (Client ID and Secret key).
API for Uber Eats
The Uber Eats API is perhaps the simplest method for businesses to get into the mobile meal delivery market. The latter may be immediately linked with your business’s POS (Point of Sale) system, making it easier to manage menus and take orders from consumers on the go. Uber Eats also has its own courier network, so business owners won’t have to worry about logistics.
The sole disadvantage of utilizing the Uber Eats API is that it uses a revenue-sharing mechanism with suppliers, which can range from 15 to 40% of each order. However, if the outcome is a large amount of revenue for your restaurant, such an agreement may be well worth it. This is due to the fact that Uber Eats has a considerably larger user base than other APIs.
API for GrubHub
The GrubHub developer API has data on over 115,000 restaurants across the United States. They provide suppliers programmatic access to a certain level (semi-open) in order to update business information such as the menu, operation hours, and address.
GrubHub offers a revenue-sharing model similar to Uber Eats (10 to 30 percent). It’s worth noting that, while the commission costs are reduced, GrubHub does not provide logistics, so businesses will have to rely on a third-party courier.
MapBox has two APIs: a navigation API and a geocoding API
The MapBox API is a web service that gives developers access to MapBox’s toolset, which allows them to create bespoke maps for use in websites and apps. Social networking sites like Facebook and Snapchat, as well as websites like weather stations and even the Financial Times, are among the most popular apps.
Although the MapBox toolkit is open-source and free to use, the platform on which it operates is not. However, there is no fee to utilize this API, to begin with, and it is free for up to 25,000 monthly active users. Businesses will have to pay additional fees based on their use needs (for example, $4 for up to 125,000 monthly active users).
Matrix of Google
The Google Matrix API allows developers to precisely calculate the distance and time between a starting location and a specified destination. It operates in tandem with the Google Maps API, which provides it with route suggestions.
Pricing for Google Matrix is tier-based, similar to Google Places API, and is determined by app activity. Users do, however, receive $200 in free credit each month, which is ample for small and medium-sized enterprises.
LiveChat API
The Freshchat API allows developers to add live chat to a website using Javascript. The functionality is enabled by Freshchat, a live messaging solution built for small companies by Freshworks.
Live chat software can help organizations convert more website traffic into paying customers. With a free starting (Sprout) account and a 21-day trial, the Freschat API can let you achieve precisely that. Free for up to 10 team members and 10,000 website visitors. Beyond that, companies must subscribe to a premium account, which starts at $15 per month (paid annually).
Also Read : Food Delivery App Development Cost in India
one signal
The Onesignal API allows developers to add push alerts to their apps. These alerts might notify users of app-subscribed changes or news.
Onesignal API is $99 per month, with restricted support and subscription count (up to 30,000). This is adequate for most small companies to add push alerts to their first food delivery app.
API for Waze navigation
Waze Navigational API is a free toolkit that gives developers access to Waze, a smartphone software that delivers turn-by-turn directions based on real-time traffic conditions. Waze, unlike Google Maps, is dedicated to automobiles and relies on a community of people for information.
on-demand food deliveryThe Waze API could be the solution if you’re seeking for a viable and free alternative to Google Places and the Matrix API, as long as you’re aware of its restrictions. Will logistics be an issue, as they were with the UberEats API? If the majority of your couriers don’t deliver in automobiles, adopting Waze for your app is probably not a smart choice.
The NavApp and MapLibrary APIs from TomTom
The TomTom API (NavAPP and MapLibrary) is a web-based toolset that allows developers to integrate bespoke mapping functionality into their programs. In comparison to Google Maps, MapBox, and the UberEats API, these maps are in raster graphics format (jpeg or PNG), which implies they’re of a higher quality.
For up to 2,500 queries each day, TomTom’s API is free to use. Users will also need to buy credits, which start at $25 for 50,000 transactions (on top of the daily limit).
Summary
Indeed, the mobile meal ordering industry is a fast-growing trend that no restaurant or café can afford to ignore. The strategic importance of meal delivery apps like UberEats is expected to rise as the technology underlying them (Internet and mobile) continues to improve. That stated, every aspect of designing such an app must be considered, as well as the demands of all parties involved.
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