Since COVID-19, there has been a shift in how people procure their favorite food, from reserving a table for a dine-out to getting their favorite food via home delivery. Smartphones have played a major role in this massive shift, and due to this, food delivery ventures have witnessed a high influx of orders since 2019.

This high influx was greatly facilitated by the food delivery application of food businesses. A food delivery app enables food business owners to reach a greater audience and increase revenue. But before proceeding to a food delivery app development, it is essential for these ventures to prioritize features in the application that are suitable to enhance customer experience.

 To have a competitive edge, let’s look at a few features and functionality in food delivery app development that can change the game of food businesses and their related stakeholders:

1. Simple Registration and Social Media Sign-In Process

To improve user experience, make sure your app offers a simple one-step registration and login feature for the customers. You must be wondering why one-step registration process? This is because:

•  A simple sign-up process reduces the cart abandonment rate which can be observed in several e-commerce apps.
•  The users find multi-step registration process time-consuming and is something they are generally not interested in.

To further enhance the sign-up process, a food delivery app developer can accommodate social media sign-in features. This will eliminate the requirement to have separate accounts for ordering food, as customers prefer using their current social accounts for placing orders.

2. Real-Time GPS Tracking

Real-time GPS tracking is the need of the hour. You don’t want customers to call you every 15 minutes to track their orders. The time tracking feature will keep the users updated with all essential details about the food, like:

• The ETA for the food,
• The current location of the order and rider, and 
• How long it will take for the order to be delivered. This is because the time between when the order is placed and delivered is critical.

Hence, real-time GPS tracking is an essential feature for a food delivery app to increase the chances of success by ensuring that the food is delivered at the right time and location. It also improves customer satisfaction and reliability.

3. Adding filter and sorting preferences

Your food delivery app search bar must have a list of restaurants where customers can browse their favorite food, view reviews and ratings, and choose food items based on their preferences. Developers need to use certain algorithms to sort and filter out relevant data from the available listings.

This is because with access to the right filters, it is easier for the users to navigate nearby restaurants and order their favorite cuisines.

4. Broad and Secure Payment Options

In this fast-paced world where customers look for convenience, having a smooth payment option can make their food ordering journey a piece of cake.

• A food delivery app should offer multiple payment options such as wallet payment, internet banking, cash on delivery, card payment, etc. 
• A POS feature can be a plus, allowing customers to pay in real time just by swiping their cards. 

Along with these multiple payment options, food businesses opting for on-demand food delivery apps should integrate encryption mechanisms to assist customers in securing digital payments.

5. Easy Checkout and Billing

The primary reason for the low sales rate in numerous food delivery apps is their multifaceted process of checkout and billing. It is important for the developers to provide a simple billing and checkout process in order to reduce customer cart abandonment.

Customers are likely to abandon the cart if it is followed by a 7-8 step billing process. Therefore, it’s better to opt for the auto-capture method which quickly fills in information from the last billing data or eliminate a few steps to reduce the order placement time.

6. In-app Messaging

One of the most crucial functions of a food delivery app. In-app messaging is an exceptional way of connecting directly with customers and catering to their queries in real time. Through features like live chat, it becomes easier to get hold of customer preferences and offer them support from the backend team.

Customers can easily communicate with businesses via in-app messaging, which leads to increased satisfaction and reliability along with making problem-solving an easy task. Apart from this in-app messaging feature also helps in:

• Issue Resolution: Facilitates customers with quick resolution of issues such as, incorrect orders, delays, or missing items.
• Marketing Opportunities: A great tool for targeted promotions, tailored recommendations, and special offers. This helps in driving sales and customer engagement.
• Data-Driven Insights: Gather valuable feedback from the customers and refine the services and offerings.

7. Group Ordering

Group ordering has become increasingly popular in recent times. It has become one of the most surprising features in the domain of food delivery apps. Previously many users look for the possibility to place an order for a larger group and then split the bill between them. However, no such option was facilitated by the apps then.

Although there are no restrictions in terms of placing an order, apps mostly facilitate a single payment feature for the whole order, due to which calculating each participant’s share becomes a hassle. To address this issue, most apps are now moving towards integrating features such as group ordering, enabling customers to have a seamless user experience and access to user-friendly services.

8. Automated Tips and Charity

A small but good initiative as a part of CSR activities done by businesses. An automated tips calculation option along with the possibility to make some donations to charity can be a plus point in the food delivery app. All this can be incorporated when the user is paying for the delivery. Such features can add more value to your application and ultimately a better brand image.

In recent years there has been a surge in public reliance on food delivery apps which is functionality and features of an app are critical for business success. All you have to make sure is that while developing a food delivery, all functionalities are integrated into the app and provide a good user experience. A food delivery app that offers a simplified process, smooth navigation, and simple order management is something that customers crave.

Checkout our fully customized solution for a fast-food segment, providing seamless ordering, tailored recommendations, easy payment method etc. Posista

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