The use of mobile is increasing every year with tremendous growth across the world. The impact of this trend is also showing in the grocery and food market, which has relied on mobile apps recently.
If we talk about an instant grocery delivery app like InstaShop, this online grocery platform has dominated the market to a greater level.
There is strong anticipation by many experts that online grocery shopping sales will surpass US $ 185 billion in the next two years.
Many young and urban households prefer buying online due to their busy schedules. The UAE market has also faced a great rise after the COVID-19 pandemic era which has changed people’s habits of buying groceries.
Due to these facts, many business-minded individuals are seeking answers on “how to develop an grocery app like InstaShop” and want to utilize this opportunity at the highest level.
In this post, we will talk about this topic and uncover the major prospects for giving a brief overview to the audience.
If we talk about the pre-pandemic time, the UAE online grocery market has a very under-whelming performance compared with other e-commerce businesses. Things have only changed because the sales have increased to more than double in the past two years.
The COVID-19 era has boosted the e-grocery market exponentially in the United Arab Emirates with a market cap of more than 1 billion.
It proves that grocery shopping for UAE people has become a necessity. Consumers prefer to avoid crowded places and wish for convenience while buying fruits and vegetables for their homes.
Additionally, the retailers also prefer to partner with third-party delivery companies to use the opportunity for making the most profits.
According to Ken Research’s study, the value of the UAE online grocery market will exceed AED 3.8 billion by 2025. It is strong evidence about how things will perform in the future and can greatly benefit grocery platforms to create strategies.
InstaShop is a well-known name in the hyperlocal grocery market app based in Dubai, UAE. Loanna Angelidaki and John Tsioris started it in 2015 after high demand for on-demand groceries. This brand is now owned by Delivery Hero, who bought it for an incredible amount of US$ 360 million.
They have partnered with many supermarket chains to deliver groceries to customers’ doorsteps. Presently, the company has an active monthly user base of over 350,000, which is incredible.
The InstaShop Hyperlocal grocery ordering app has dominated the market with its promise to deliver products within the hour.
They have over 20 grocery product categories covering various essentials to buy. On top of that, the customers can also access additional services of providing medicines on demand and delivering organic food. There is a 24X7 delivery service offered by the company that helps in increasing the customer base.
They have incredible service in major cities of the UAE, like Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Al-Ain, and Dubai. The company also has a presence in Egypt, Lebanon, and Bahrain.
People interested in developing an grocery app like InstaShop usually look at what business model they use.
This company has focused on business model of having a dual-sided marketplace for retailers and buyers.
It has become a well-known brand under the guidance of Delivery Hero, who has a plan to expand the brand globally. Allow us to explain various grocery app business models with proper explanation.
The inventory-based system is a very common model that top grocery delivery apps in the UAE. Here, the e-commerce brands in this category hold an inventory of groceries in their warehouses.
They shop for items from many different suppliers and deliver them according to the purchase order of customers. The products are delivered with the brand’s logo, irrespective of vendors.
A few examples of this model are Bigbasket and Grofers, selling items directly to consumers. It is quite a costly model that demands huge financial backing, warehouse administration, and a transportation system.
In the multi-vendor model, the companies partner with various sellers who list their products on their platforms. Whenever someone makes an order, they notify the sellers who usually perform the packaging work.
They pick the products using an internal logistics network for transporting them to the consumers.
A great example of this model is Amazon, which generates billions of revenue annually. It is very popular among groceries apps due to its excellent ability to make huge conversions.
Also known as Zero Inventory Business Model, there is no need to maintain the inventory as various partnering vendors perform this work.
A hyperlocal groceries model targets fulfilling the requirements of consumers within a certain geographical area. It is used for completing the demands in the nearby area instantly for the customers.
The delivery work of various items is performed using local stores through a digital platform. It ranges from beverages to medicines and other essential items. An incredible unique selling proposition of this business model is they provide delivery on the same day within a couple of hours.
1mg is one of the most successful examples of a hyperlocal delivery business that picks medical products from local stores and delivers them to customers within a few hours. This model is very useful for businesses looking for answers on how to make an app like InstaShop with a different approach.
The Click and Collect Business is an interesting business model where the customers buy items online from the platform but pick them from a centralized collection point or in-store. It saves tons of time for consumers that usually get wasted while purchasing items.
In recent times, supermarkets have adopted this model at quite a faster rate. The customers have to choose the products using a digital platform and mention a time slot that is convenient for them. The shopper will keep the items ready at the mentioned time allowing customers to pick them up straight away.
Walmart and Kroger have implemented this model successfully and attained tons of success in the audience. They have provided a brand-new experience that is convenient for both customers and companies to a greater level.
If you are still here, it is pretty understood you are very serious about creating an instant delivery app like InstaShop. Now, it’s time to find an app development agency that can transform your vision into a reality.
There will be a need to add a variety of experts to the app development team, ranging from UI/UX engineers to QA engineers and app developers.
Apart from having a great team, you will have to care about plenty of factors we have mentioned below:
A proper protocol should be ready with extensive and practical measures before starting the journey to create Shopping and delivery apps like InstaShop. It can be done by conducting in-depth research to find the targeted audience and analyzing the profile of your competitors.
Also, try to find what kind of challenges are faced by the potential customers while online grocery shopping. Adding all the necessary points to your app development plan will ensure you create an exciting app.
It will allow the custom grocery app development company to develop an app that the audience wants.
The selection of the right platform is very important for taking your app to the right audience.
The platform can be either native or hybrid with certain benefits and disadvantages. If you choose Native, the cost will be pretty high, and the app will work either on Android or iOS.
Things are different for a hybrid interface as it creates apps with a cross-platform interface that can work on multiple platforms. Additionally, the cost of making such apps are comparatively lower than native models.
The next stage involves the designing process which plays a very important role in the success of an app. You must understand that appearance is the first thing a customer will see. So, ensuring the design is appealing and responsive while creating an supermarket app is necessary.
Hire a team of UI/UX designers who work by keeping the targeted audience in mind and understanding the specifications rightfully. They should create a design that eliminates the consumers’ issues.
The next step you need to perform is creating a case once an incredible design is made. It will be helpful to know what the app will look like. Ask your development team to try different features and scale the viability of the app.
It can also be utilized for taking feedback from the targeted audience and attracting investors to attain funds. This step can also work as a pre-testing phase for a grocery app like InstaShop for your business.
In this phase, the developers and designing team will collaborate to create the app’s front-end and back-end by utilizing the selected tech stack. There is a wireframe provided with the design phase that will help in detailing technical specifications.
It is important to ensure that the Mobile app development agency in Dubai focuses on every functionality. Choose an application architecture that works as per the needs of the potential audience. The main output of this stage is making the app ready for the testing process.
Developing a Grocery Delivery Platform like Instashop is impossible without an effective testing phase. It is a necessary process that can save tons of money if performed regularly from the early app development phase.
The QA team will perform testing for checking UI checks, compatibility, usability, security checks, and other performance parameters. It will ensure functionality and designs get evaluated using the necessary checks. The engineers can decide the number of tests needed to check every feature to ensure quality at its best.
Once the testing phase gets completed, your InstaShop clone app online grocery shopping app will be ready to launch. It is one of the final stages that make the app ready for release in the market. Please keep in mind launching doesn’t mean the work is done.
We suggest closely following the app’s functionality and public response after the launch. Make the necessary changes to ensure the audience loves your app. Perform regular edits for enhancing and scaling the app.
Marketing of a grocery app holds equal importance as the development and launching process. Hire an agency that performs the necessary measures to advertise your app properly to the audience.
Launch regular campaigns using social media and other platforms to reach the targeted public. Also, have a keen look at the user behavior and conversion rates for boosting your app’s performance.
The support plays a highly important role in properly maintaining your created app. You need to understand that development and launch aren’t the ends while planning to build an app like InstaShop.
Ensure your app constantly gets endless support for proper maintenance after launch. Go for the perfect maintenance system to ensure the app works according to its capabilities.
Many must-have features must be added while building an InstaShop clone app online grocery shopping. You need to understand that features are the most important part of an app for connecting it with the audience.
The first thing to do is to create an interface with a quick and user-friendly registration process. It can be done through social media login, email, or phone number, whatever suits the customers best.
Ensure the app has a push notification feature to keep the users updated regarding new items and offers. The grocery delivery app development process should include sending pop-up messages informing customers about items, discounts, etc.
The next feature that an online grocery application should have is adding a range of products to the cart anytime during shopping. It not only keeps the customers on the page but also boosts the user experience.
A common mistake businesses make while creating an grocery ordering app is forgetting to add a real-time tracking system. It is a must-have feature using which users can track instashop order from packaging to delivery point.
An app with a safer payment gateway is a necessity for its success. It would help if you increased customer trust by having multiple payment options, including mobile wallets, cash on delivery, UPIs, and credit cards. Also, the customers are free to choose any option at their convenience.
UAE is one of the world’s few countries with people speaking various languages. Adding multiple languages to the grocery app will help increase the customer base.
Whether someone is looking for shopping and delivery apps like InstaShop or any other industry, it is important to have a loyalty program that lets the customers enjoy various offers and get gifts regularly.
Biometric sign-up is the latest technology that modern mobile apps use these days. If you want the brand to become popular in the young community, add face recognition and fingerprint sensors to the app. It will not only make things convenient for the customers but also boost their trust.
Tech stacks play a very important role in developing a quality grocery app. Whichever technology is used, it should be diversified and responsive for the users. In building an instant delivery app like InstaShop, it is essential to use the right stack to boost effectiveness.
Have a look at a perfect example of how a tech stack should be.
The steps to hire mobile app development company in UAE for an instant grocery delivery app project should include professionals like mobile developers, backend developers, QA testers, project managers, UX/UI designers, business analysts, and CTO.
The exact evaluation of the cost to develop a grocery delivery platform depends on the features available. Many different variables affect the cost, and we have mentioned the major ones below:
A major contributor to the cost is the complexity of UI/UX design as it decides how the audience will feel about the app. Such a typical design can cost anywhere between US$ 1,000 & US$ 10,000, according to the contractor’s skill levels and the project’s complexity.
The next factor that can help manage the budget for creating an instant delivery app is what kind of technical team you are hiring.
It is assumed that a truly professional and experienced expert will charge much more compared to a less talented team. Also, whether someone is hiring a freelancer agency or in-house team affects the overall to a greater level.
Another thing that affects the cost of developing something like InstaShop hyperlocal grocery ordering app is the location from where you are hiring the technical team. For example, the hourly rate of mobile app developers in India is between US$ 20 & US$ 40 as per the expertise.
On the other hand, the cost of hiring such a professional can increase to even more than US$ 80 per hour in the USA. So, it is essential to evaluate where you will hire a developer to make the grocery app.
If we keep the above factors in mind, a quality app with a desirable set of features can cost anywhere between US$ 50,000 & US$ 150,000.
Everyone’s motive behind following the one-stop online store business model of InstaShop is making money. It can only happen by implementing the desirable monetizing models after building the app. Have a look at the major ones to generate huge profits:
The most significant monetization method is charging a subscription fee that guarantees access to premium features. It can be set either monthly or yearly by the users. MilkBasket is the premier example of a subscription-based platform that fulfills daily grocery requirements for a certain fee.
The second method to earn money used by shopping and delivery apps like InstaStop is charging delivery fees from the users. It can be determined according to the distance parameters. Think about charging for urgent deliveries, whereas standard deliveries can be done for free.
Also, extra fees can be charged during peak hours. InstaCart app is a great example of how this model can be used.
Advertising on your grocery app is a super amazing method for generating revenue. You have to place advertisements on the app and receive a certain fee for this purpose. There are plenty of e-commerce apps that have successfully used this model.
If you follow the multi-vendor model, revenue can be generated by charging commissions from store owners for placing their products. According to the requirement, it can be yearly, monthly, or per product. Amazon has successfully implemented this model and made tons of money with it.
The online UAE grocery market has a few roadblocks that aren’t the same as hypermarkets. Allow us to give information about the major ones in detail.
If we compare UAE business digitization with western countries, they are very far behind. Although the future looks promising in the case of consumers, the result isn’t the same for businesses. We believe initiatives like the Dubai Internet of Things Strategy will improve the business infrastructure and agility.
Plenty of vegetables, fruits, dairy, and other groceries are imported to the UAE from other countries. Customers want these products of the best quality, so storing them for an extended time isn’t possible. It demands highly specialized storage and transportation system to ensure quality products delivers to the consumers.
Arka Softwares is the right place for creating a grocery app like InstaShop for your business. We have adequate expertise and skills to transform your vision of a successful online grocery store. Our professionals have years of experience in building mobile apps for large-scale companies, Fortune 500, and many successful start-ups.
Every employee in our company aims to achieve excellence using an all-pervasive approach. With a client retention rate of nearly 80% and delivery of more than 600 successful projects, our company knows the perfect approach for transforming the vision of an instant delivery app like InstaShop into a reality.
Looking to create a grocery app for generating huge revenues? Connect with our expert team now or book a Free 30 min Consultation call.
We believe every doubt regarding how to make an app like InstaShop has been cleared with this dedicated post. It is an alluring industry for young entrepreneurs who want to leave a strong impact rather than just opening any other business.
The online grocery market will likely surpass the US$ 81 billion mark by the end of the decade, opening a huge chance for earnings. This post has explained everything to succeed in this field, from selecting a business model to app monetization and development costs.
Still have any doubts regarding this article, feel free to write about it in the comment section!
InstaShop is presently dominating the online grocery market in UAE followed by El Grocer and NRTC Fresh.
The key features of an online grocery app should easy to use of a cart, real-time tracking, an easy registration process, and the liberty to upload a grocery list.
Life is very fast in UAE, and people prefer to save time by delivery of grocery to their doorstep.
A wireframe is created first followed by the design selection and fulfilment of the grocery app’s technical specifications. The mobile app development company in UAE will take care of all the necessities finalized during the initial plan.
There are multiple models following which grocery shopping app for UAE people make money, ranging from delivery fees to in-app advertising and premium subscription fees.
Jeeto11
The app quickly earned over 1,000 downloads within two months of launch, and users have responded positively. ARKA Softwares boasted experienced resources who were happy to share their knowledge with the internal team.
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While the development is ongoing, the client is pleased with the work thus far, which has met expectations. ARKA Softwares puts the needs of the client first, remaining open to feedback on their work. Their team is adaptable, responsive, and hard-working.
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I started my project with Arka Softwares because it is a reputed company. And when I started working with them for my project, I found out that they have everything essential for my work. The app is still under development and but quite confident and it will turn out to be the best.
