How To Create An On-Demand Grocery Delivery App | Guide For Beginners

After lockdown, we don’t believe there is any individual who hasn’t used an on-demand grocery delivery app. When we were not allowed to go out, these apps were our only source of getting daily essentials.

An on-demand grocery delivery app has a number of benefits apart from fulfilling our daily needs. These apps have made our lives easier and simpler. They save our time, keep us safe at home, and deliver the groceries just at our doorstep as we schedule.  

In this guide, we’ll explore how to build an on-demand grocery delivery app from scratch, the key features to include, the technologies involved, and why this industry continues to grow rapidly in 2025 and beyond.

Why Choose on-Demand Grocery Delivery App Development?

Still wondering if building a grocery delivery app is the right move? With the rise of convenience-driven lifestyles and fast digital adoption, the demand for on-demand services is booming, and grocery delivery apps are leading the pack.

According to a recent Statista report, the online grocery delivery market is projected to generate over $938.98bn in revenue by 2025. That’s a clear indicator of both strong consumer demand and a high-growth business opportunity.

While other on-demand categories like food delivery, medicine delivery, and parcel services have seen rapid adoption, grocery delivery stands out because it’s an essential, high-frequency need for every household. That makes it one of the most profitable and sustainable app development ideas in the current market.

Top on-Demand Grocery Delivery Apps

In this section, we will be discussing the top on-demand grocery delivery apps. The apps that have a huge user base and their examples might help you understand the market of on-demand grocery delivery apps. 

These grocery delivery apps, too, started with a struggle and are now ruling the on-demand grocery delivery market. You must start today to get better results tomorrow. 

1: Instacart

This on-demand grocery delivery app offers services in Canada and the U.S. The Instacart app deals in grocery pick-up, delivery, and provides a platform for the user to connect with local grocery shoppers to buy groceries. 

It was founded in 2012, and during the COVID-19 period, it has earned a profit of $10 million. Instacart has 9.6 million active users and more than 500k shoppers who use the Instacart on-demand grocery delivery app for picking up items.     

2: GrubHub

Grubhub is especially known for its food delivery services, but due to the increasing demand for grocery delivery apps. The platform is now offering online grocery delivery services to its users.  During the pandemic, many food delivery apps have turned into on-demand grocery delivery apps.

3: Glovo

Glovo is a quick-commerce app, based in Spain, launched in 2015. Users can order anything from the local store and get it delivered as soon as possible (Standard time is 60 mins). 

They hire an individual courier for delivering the orders, and they call them Glovers.  

4: GoPuff

It was founded in 2013, and it has a business model little different from other on-demand grocery delivery apps. They provide services to their customers through micro-fulfillment centers. 

The GoPuff offers various delivery services to their users, from food, grocery, home essentials, to alcohol delivery services at a delivery charge of $1. 95.

One of the best features of GoPuff is that it is available 24×7 for its customers. 

5: FreshDirect

One of the oldest grocery delivery apps was established in 1999. FreshDirect offers freshly prepared food to the users and grocery essentials. It targets more health-conscious users, who are willing to pay extra for healthy and fresh food and essentials. 

The FreshDirect grocery delivery app claims to deliver food items on the same day or the next day. The users can place orders through the app or website and get free delivery on orders above $30.

6: Amazon Fresh

AmazonFresh is a subsidiary of the world’s largest e-commerce company, Amazon. The platform is used for online grocery delivery services. AmazonFresh has its own grocery warehouses.  It offers special services to Amazon Prime members. If you are not an Amazon Prime member, then users have to pay the delivery charges. 

7: Walmart Grocery

The Walmart grocery delivery app is best for those users who seek quality products at affordable rates. It is one of the best on-demand grocery delivery apps of 2021, which offers user-friendly and quality services. 

8: Postmates

The platform is helping over 6,00,000 merchants to connect to the users and deliver their services online. 10 million active users monthly and more than 5 million monthly orders make Postmates one of the best on-demand grocery delivery apps.

Postmates app was acquired by Uber in the year 2020. It is a San Francisco-based quick-commerce platform that offers services in more than 2900 U.S cities. 

9: BigBasket

Big Basket was launched in 2011 by the Tata group. They get groceries from farms and other producers and make the inventory of the store items, and sell them online with a margin. 

If you also want to develop a grocery delivery app that is mentioned above, then hire the best mobile app development company. You can customize the app as per your business needs, or you can simply go with the white label app development concept. To read more about white-label apps, click here.

The Diversification You Get While Developing An Online Grocery Delivery App

Above, we have discussed many food delivery apps that have been converted into online grocery delivery apps. This is because their features and working processes are somewhat similar. Therefore, as an on-demand grocery delivery app owner you have the possibility to add or make changes to your app as and when needed. Initially, you can start with the basic grocery delivery app, and later, when you find that your app has got the expected recognition or popularity. You can add services like food delivery or medicine, or pharma delivery as an integrated part of your grocery delivery app. 

While owning a grocery delivery app, you get a chance to grow your business in many ways. Only experienced and skilled programmers can help you to develop such an amazing app with the best features integration.

However, there are many benefits of developing an on-demand grocery delivery app. But utilizing it for other delivery services is one of the best features of this app. That allows you to earn more with one single app.

Features of on-Demand Grocery Delivery App

If you are planning to develop an amazing on-demand grocery delivery app. Then you must also plan all the necessary features of the app. That will make your app user-friendly. 

Depending upon different user types, we have categorized the features below. Have a look, and in case of any query, you can contact a mobile app development company for better guidance and help.

1: App For Buyers

• Registration

When a user wishes to use your on-demand grocery delivery app. They can register themselves through this feature. This registration feature will also help you to know about any new users who have recently registered on your app. This is a very basic yet very important feature of an app.

• Product List

Provide a product list through which users can go to find the item of their choice. 

• Search For Product

This feature can be useful in searching for a particular item. Through different product categories, shopping becomes very convenient, and one can place an order easily.

• Category Of The Products

Divide the items on your app through this feature. Different categories make the segregation process easy. This is further helpful for the users to find the exact product for their needs.

• Shopping Cart

Through this feature, user can manage their order. They can add the product to the cart, and later they can place an order as per their need.

• Payment

Easy online payment options enable users to make contactless payments. This also keeps the worry of change at bay. Provide different payment modes to the user to make your app more user-friendly.

• GPS Tracking

Through this feature, users can keep track of their orders. It is helpful in real-time tracking of the delivery person or driver.

• Push Notifications

A push notification will notify users every time of any new offer or scheme. It also notifies users about the availability of the frequently purchased item and etc.

• Order History

With the help of this feature, the user can make a monthly list and can place the order by referring to their last month’s order list. It helps users to place orders directly through their previous list without getting into the whole process again. 

2: App For Drivers

• Registration

The driver or the shop owner can register through this feature and can provide services to the users. They can also collaborate with other grocery delivery apps and work for them. 

• User Profile

Drivers can make their profiles for the admin’s and customers’ reference. Depending upon their profile, the area of delivery will be assigned to them.

• Details of each order

Drivers will be provided with every detail of where they have to deliver the groceries or orders. This is really a very important feature of the grocery delivery app.

• Order Description

The complete description of the items that have to be delivered. The pricing details and the number of items can also be seen by the driver. He can know where he has to deliver the particular item or order. This feature makes things simple for the driver.

• GPS Tracking

This will help the driver locate the exact location of the user (who places the order). Even if the driver by any chance lost the way, he can reroute the path with the use of GPS tracking.

3: App For Admin

• Administrator Login

Admin can log in to the app with the help of this feature. They can also keep a record of every user or driver added or registered recently.  

• List Of Users

Admin can keep track of users using this feature. Activities or orders placed by users can be accessed with these features. 

• Review User Profile

This feature will enable the admin to check the profile of the user. That means the admin can check what the frequently ordered items are by the user and what their reviews are on the services.

• Manage Users

Admin can manage users through this feature. Especially to the drivers, if the driver is not registered or does not provide the required documents. Then the admin can remove the driver as and when required.

• Manage Category List

Admin can add the product to the list as per users’ demand and order rate. 

• List Of Orders

This feature enables the admin to manage the orders placed by the users. Scheduling delivery of the order is done with the help of this feature. 

• Payment And Transactions

Every payment, either done by the user or received by the driver, is taken care of by the admin through this feature.  

Money Required To Build An Online Grocery Delivery App

There are many factors that are responsible for affecting the cost of the online grocery delivery app development. Some of the factors which are very common are mentioned below:

1: Use of the latest technology stack

If you want to design your grocery delivery app with all the latest and advanced technology, then the cost will be high. Otherwise, with basic and previous tech stack use the app development cost will be low. 

2: Team working on the app development

The number of developers working on the development of the app really affects the app development cost. Also, if you want the delivery of the app soon, then the cost of the app will be high. And if you allow developers to take a reasonable time to develop the app. Then the cost will also be reasonable.

3: Location of the app development company

• In India, the development cost is – $10 – $40 per hour
• Eastern Europe app development cost is – $30 – $100 per hour
• US developers cost – $70 – $150 per hour.

Now, if we conclude all the above points, then the cost of grocery delivery app development will be somewhere near $20,000 – $50,000. 

However, this is not the final amount. There are other points where you need to spend money, like:

• App marketing
• Maintenance
• App Update

Also Read: Cost To Build a Food Delivery App Like DoorDash

How To Make Your Grocery Delivery App Different From Others?

The year 2020 has changed the vision of every business and owner. Now, everyone wants to stay safe rather than anything else. Therefore, there should be a few measures that every individual should follow to create a good market and trust among the users. Follow these points for an easy and safe on-demand grocery delivery service:

• Issue Personal Protection Measures
• Promote Contactless Delivery
• Join Hands With Local Retailers
• Offer Quality Services

Apptunix: Your No.1 Grocery Delivery App Development Partner

We believe we have covered all the aspects related to on-demand grocery delivery app development. Still, if you think your concerned point is not discussed above, you can simply contact us for more information and app development ideas.

Apptunix is a leading grocery delivery app development company with 12+ years of experience. We boast a team of professional developers who are ready to help you at every stage of development. Our portfolio consists of some of the most successful food and grocery apps with advanced technologies like AI and machine learning.

Worrying about the cost of developing a grocery delivery app? Apptunix offers a detailed cost estimate based on your project needs. We offer one-hour free consultation services to understand your vision and make it a reality.