The art and science of making a profit in any business lie in achieving a fine point between a business evolving to meet the demands of a customer and a customer evolving to stay in line with what the business offers. Right now, a trend that meets both the edges of this business requirement is the landscape of on-demand UberEats clone food delivery services.
The on-demand phenomenon has impacted almost every business area including but not limited to transportation, food, grocery delivery, handyman services, babysitting, pet-walking, and even dating services.
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What is an on-demand service?
Business pundits would go by the notion that a good business is about marking a presence to the right audience in the right location with the right message at the right time. Mobile applications and mobile technology make it easy for businesses to identify the audience, the location, and the time of demand – resulting in the birth of on-demand applications. Users, therefore, can ‘command’ the service they need in the convenience of their homes.
Today, millennials are not ready to go beyond utility when it comes to most services, and it has been a massive contribution to the success of on-demand businesses like UberEats clone. Since they are at work most of the time and if they don’t, they’re binge-watching on Netflix, they don’t intend on waiting in long queues and shopping for hours together. In addition, the demand for ‘utility’ and that too, at the comfort and convenience of their homes – thanks to digital payments – makes on-demand the business idea of the future that is already here!
On top of the service, they expect gratifying experience from the brand with which they deal. Therefore, a lot more is required than just fitting into the framework of on-demand applications. It is quite evident that if a brand ventures into providing on-demand services for some of the most basic needs of humans, it is bound to succeed… And the first on the list is obviously, food!
Food delivery on-demand:
Food delivery on demand for customers explores the possibility of looking at restaurants as a mere utility again as they were intended to be in the first place. It finds its success because users do not want the ‘dining experience’ in restaurants but just the food. This comes true in the case of restaurants that just specialize in their food and their dining experience is nothing more than the usual.
Some of the most prominent names in this industry include UberEats, Deliveroo, Zomato, Swiggy, and Postmates. In addition to these big players, there are quite a lot of small players sprouting in markets worldwide.
The two major classifications:
Food delivery applications are far from being monotonous. There are different types of food delivery business ecosystems, but two of those steal the limelight:
The aggregator model:
The aggregator model, as the name implies, just ‘aggregates’ the information about restaurants in a certain locality. The customer can download the UberEats clone app, check the menu, and even place the order using the app. Once the customer places the order, the restaurant is notified of the customer requirement. The responsibility of the app, however, stops at this level. It is the responsibility of the restaurant to deliver the food to the customer.
The limitation of this model:
It has to be accepted that this business model did a commendable job of gathering data about restaurants, and it did cover the ordering mechanism for multiple restaurants into a single app. However, this business model mandates that restaurants should have their own delivery/logistics support. The core job of a restaurant is the preparation and packing of food, and not managing delivery fleets. Restaurants were looking for an option that gave them relief from this responsibility, and the need to create a new business model that precisely addressed this concern.
Aggregator model with logistics support:
As the name implies, the business model not only provides the application but also the delivery solution. Well… It is not the responsibility of a technology company to handle logistics either, right? The answer was invented by Uber in 2009 – the gig economy model. Instead of employing people who handle delivery, these aggregator models that provide logistics support take the help of gig workers who are more like freelancers with their own vehicles to take care of the delivery.
This breakthrough is considered a major milestone when it comes to food delivery. Restaurants do not have a need to maintain a delivery fleet and that too when they do not have any need for deliveries for a major part of the day. It also gave additional revenue-generating opportunities for gig workers.
The features of a complete food delivery app:
There are certain features that are inevitable for a food delivery app to function properly and flawlessly. Incorporating these features ensures a top-notch user experience for all the entities involved in the ecosystem.
Data about customers:
In order to deliver an order, the delivery executive should know ‘who’ placed the order. It is for this purpose that customer data is vital. The customer data include details like the identity of the customer, the delivery addresses, and some extra information that can be actively or passively collected like their tastes in food and their favorite restaurants.
It is for this purpose that the customer profile creation and registration process is in place. This process should be made as smooth and simple as possible. The login should be made easy in the UberEats clone app by providing customers with a feature to login using legacy credentials like Google or Facebook.
Data about restaurants:
This data can be considered the epicenter of the ecosystem! The restaurant needs to update information about its brand name, the address, the locations that they serve, the menu items, the prices, and if need be, the details about each item.
For this purpose again, the restaurants’ onboarding should be simple and easy. However, unlike the customer app, the restaurant app should also have facilities for giving details on their GST and other similar tax identities. They should also furnish information about their bank accounts, so the payments made online can reach the restaurant.
The ordering:
Now that the customer data and the restaurant data is in place, the customer should be able to execute an order without any hassle. They should be able to select a restaurant, add the food items to their shopping cart, and immediately check out for delivery.
The checkout option can include a choice for making payments either through digital methods or by using the cash on delivery option. Starting right from the opening of the app to the placing of the order, the entire process should be linear and should be completed in less than five steps.
Payment integration:
Digital payments, as a blanket term, might be the order of the day, but there are different digital payment instruments that a user might consider using – like credit cards, debit cards, internet banking, and wallets. In some places like India, cash is still one of the most prominent payment methods.
Your app should be integrated with a versatile payment service provider like Braintree or PayPal. This will ensure that your users do not face any hassle in making payments for the services that they availed.
The delivery executive data:
It was seen earlier that the entire process of delivery is based on gig workers. These gig workers should be able to easily sign up for the opportunity by using a simple process. At the same time, there should also be an identity verification mechanism in place to avoid possible instances of fraud.
The delivery process:
Perhaps one of the greatest contributors to the success of on-demand applications is the GPS technology coupled with navigation and mapping. This helps delivery executives reach the intended location without any hassle and difficulty.
The GPS assists delivery executives in all the processes involved… Right from reaching the restaurant from their location and then, to reach the destination of the customer.
The GPS also helps the customer in tracking the progress of their order. They can know precisely where the delivery executive is at any given point in time right from the commencement of the order to the delivery.
The review and rating system:
The review and rating system is what makes the food delivery ecosystem democratic. Based on the experience, users can rate both the restaurant and the delivery executive. The users should be allowed to also write their own reviews about the food and the delivery experience.
Customer support:
Customer support is vital for any business and it only increases in terms of magnitude for a business that relies on third parties for its functioning – like restaurants and delivery executives. Your app should have multiple customer support channels, including telephone, chat, and email. A well-equipped customer support team should be able to handle queries from all the components of the ecosystem – the customer, the delivery executives, and the restaurants.
Conclusion:
There is no question on the relevance of food delivery applications on-demand, especially with the millennial generation embracing the new norm of life. The COVID-19 crisis has only increased the relevance of these food delivery apps as restaurants have been restricted from accommodating guests in their dine-in premises.
In a competitive and cut-throat market, time is of crucial importance to ensure success and profits. While building the app from scratch seems like a great idea on paper, it might not be practical as it is bound to consume a lot of time and money. There are also possibilities of bugs that might interfere with the basic functionalities of the product.
One of the best ways to counter this challenge is to use white label clones of existing food delivery applications like UberEats. An UberEats clone will not only save you a lot of time and money but will also ensure that you get the best value in terms of a properly functioning product. All you need to do is get in touch with an UberEats clone development company. They will take care not only to create but also to customize the app according to your requirements. In short, they will deliver the app in the shortest possible time to satisfy your entrepreneurial hunger.