Over the course of the last two years, as the pandemic forced new restrictions and stay-at-home measures, more consumers acquainted themselves with the idea of ordering food online. At the end of a busy day, it was a quick, contactless way to put dinner on the table, and a convenient, reliable and safe way to shop for groceries.
Now, as the pandemic slowly lifts (very slowly, in some places), that shift toward online food ordering appears to have staying power. Many people have embraced the convenience and flexibility of ordering through an app.
With any significant shift in consumer habits, you’re going to see a lot of players entering the market – entrepreneurs looking to put their very own stamp on the food ordering app, as well as traditional brick-and-mortar establishments hoping to boost their online presence with an app. If you count yourself among those hungry entrepreneurs (no pun intended), here are a few ways to stand out above the competition.
Find the Right App Experts
This is the single most important step in developing a winning food ordering app. To execute your mobile strategy effectively, you first need to partner with app experts that understand your aims. To find the right mobile app developers, start by establishing a few deciding criteria:
- Experience: The mobile app developers you work with should be experienced, with years of know-how and a portfolio of happy clients to back up their work.
- Promptness: You want your app on spec and on time. Look for mobile app developers who value transparency and a client-focused approach.
- A Forward-Thinking Approach: A great mobile app developer needs to be fluent in emerging technologies, as well as current and potential trends. That way, they can create you a future-proof, scalable product.
- Size: Ideally, you want a tight-knit team of app experts. When you choose a large development corporation, you can often get lost in the shuffle. Instead, choose someone who will give your project the time, attention and energy it deserves.
Vet your mobile app developers by looking at reviews, testimonials, awards, and their project portfolios. Between those, you should get a good sense of their expertise and business approach.
Work Toward Friction-Free UX
Once you land on the right mobile app developer, work with them to achieve friction-free UX. To the uninitiated, UX refers to “user experience,” how the end-user experiences and interacts with your app.
You want your users’ interaction to be as effortless, intuitive and accessible as possible. Think of the hard worker who just needs to grab dinner after a long day, or the parent who needs a simple way to buy groceries as they juggle a houseful of kids. Tailor the user experience to them.
Consider AI, AR, Chatbots and Voice Commerce
Over-and-above features can help make your app “sticky” – that is, hold a user’s attention, increase their engagement, and help ensure they return.
AI can help you offer product recommendations and messaging based on dynamic segmentation, allowing you to guide customers through the ordering experience. Augmented Reality (AR) can help you bring dishes to life through stunning visual representations. Chatbots allow you to approximate real, real-time conversations with customers using artificial intelligence. And voice commerce technology lets your customers order by speaking into their device, which improves accessibility and convenience.
As long as you have a reliable, innovative partner, you should have no problem creating smooth UX and adding intelligent features. Between the three tips above, your app is ready to launch.
