The digital transformation of many business spheres, including grocery and food delivery, is striking. Until recently, 'going shopping' meant stopping at different stores in your neighborhood, which was a very time-consuming process. It required searching through stores and then waiting in line to check out. Now you can search and find goods in a matter of seconds, saving time, energy, and even money. Checking out becomes seamless as purchasing is automated and fast. Therefore, there is no need to spend time digging into your pockets to find acceptable forms of payment.

Although it can be quite gratifying to visit your local farmer's market or farm with eco products, the pandemic has limited our access to local farms, reinforcing the importance of farmers and grocery chains to leverage technology for online shopping.

About 15.3% more U.S. citizens have used an online grocery delivery or pickup service in 2021 than in 2020, according to a March Online Grocery Shopping Survey by research advisory firm Brick Meets Click.

Major grocery chains like Kroger, third-party companies like Walmart, and large farms offer online grocery shopping, delivery, and curbside pickup, where grocery employees load the order into your vehicle outside the store.

The Average Order Value (AOV) of the COVID-19 recovery mode has slightly decreased compared to the midst of global pandemic time. Meanwhile, it still has $8 growth compared with times before the pandemic. Also, customers became more demanding, so there is a high probability if the previously used delivery app will be unsatisfactory, customers are going to search for alternatives and that's a great time for small and medium businesses to enter the game. When thinking about expanding your business, the development of a mobile app can help you sell products online in nearby areas without a middleman and build a brand image.

Choosing an Existing Online Marketplace for Your Goods

The online marketplace is a reasonable idea when you're a small grocery shop and don’t want to develop your own.

However, choosing a marketplace has significant disadvantages:

• More competition and therefore more difficulty to stand out and succeed.
• Dependence on the platform that has its own restrictions.
• Platform additional fees require a pretty big cut from your own profit.
• Only being promoted on the marketplace, but not outside it, which may not be the best strategy.

As for advantages:

• Ability to widen your audience and become more known on the market
• It’s a brilliant choice for smaller businesses, since building your own food ordering app can be more expensive in the short term than collaborating with more well-known food delivery platforms.
• Can be a pre-recourse to understand how it works before developing your own application.

It is important to think about the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, considering your specific case, business maturity, and strategic plan.

Developing Your Own Grocery App

You can benefit from developing your own mobile app for selling farm goods if you are:

1. An owner of farm markets or eco/farm/bio grocery chains
2. An owner of a large farm who is ready to make your own app and compete with supermarkets

When a farm grows, it is very important to manage your own supply chain without the need of incorporating middlemen such as store chains, markets, marketplaces. Farm markets also need to go online to keep up with demand in large cities where eco and bio products from the farm are valued. Consumers lead busy lives and they need a digital solution that will allow them to order fresh groceries quickly and easily.

Creating a grocery delivery app that will represent your offline farm market, a large farm, or grocery chain is necessary. It allows updating online grocery items available in the store, having your own delivery men, delivering particular items to customers, and managing all store-related activities. It’s all about controlling the quality of the delivered goods, making it easier for steady customers to purchase and attracting new customers.

For Farmers:

• Allows the farmer to sell products online in their nearby areas without a middleman Improves supply and demand transparency
• Enhances customer engagement, retention, and in-store shopping experiences with features such as instant, detailed product information and the ability to pay with a credit card)
• Provides the ability to compete on the market and match customer expectations
• Always in customer's pocket and able to notify or contact them anytime
• Loyalty programs and discount offers
• Secure and quick payment options
• Direct selling doubles revenue for farmers

For Consumers:

• Provides the ability to order groceries online in an easy and quick way
• No intermediaries involved—a direct deal between the consumer and the farmer
• Allows purchasing the freshest and the best products that come directly from the farmers
• Reduced cost for buyers as there will be more purchasing options Secure and quick payment options

Key Features for Grocery Mobile App Development

Now that you're considering developing a mobile app for your grocery chain or farm market, it’s time to highlight the key features.

Customer app

• User profile
• Easy sign-up through social networks
• List of stores and farms
• Menus and items in stock
• Ability to leave ratings and reviews
• Cart and order pages
• Payment gateway
• Order status
• Order history
• Notifications

Delivery app

• Profile
• List of orders (showing items and delivery addresses)
• Map for navigation

Admin panel

• Customer data
• List of stores/farms
• Menus and items in stock
• Revenue

Keeping in mind all those valuable features, don't forget about app development essentials such as UX design, different payment methods, personal data security, and performance that match users' expectations.

Moreover, you can consider additional features, such as offering no-contact delivery and pickup options to meet safety standards.

Conclusion

Going online for farm stores or grocery chains is necessary for today’s market. It allows improving supply and demand transparency, enhancing customer engagement, and in-store shopping experiences.

Developing an on-demand grocery mobile app can be challenging unless you're prepared and have an expert marketing and development team by your side.