How to Build A Grocery App like Bigbasket?

The on-demand model has successfully crept into almost all walks of our lives. It all started with transportation, but now you can order almost everything based on your demand, including but not limited to food, household work, handyman services, babysitters, pet walkers, courier pick up, and even dating.

In all of this, it should not be forgotten that most of the apps cater to needs beyond the basic, a grocery delivery app has only given an online dimension to the existing consumption ecosystem. It can be inferred from the fact that ever since cab booking applications came in, the number of cab users has increased but when it comes to grocery, it is only a matter of displacement of users from the traditional local grocery shops to the app.

It was unimaginable for a market like India to embrace this new technology. India thrived on local vendors for their grocery consumption, endearingly known as ‘Baniyas’ in the North and ‘Annachis’ in the South. Defeating all the odds, an app slowly but steadily established its supremacy in the app-based grocery delivery market in India. It was none other than Bigbasket.

Bigbasket has grown up to be a household name, and its relevance and profits have only increased ever since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the lifestyle of people forever. What was once never thought to be a candidate for an online revolution has now already stepped into the digital realm.

Considering the sheer population of India and the steadily increasing smartphone penetration, now would be a perfect time for any aspiring entrepreneur to build an app like Bigbasket. An on-demand grocery delivery app is the need of the hour, and needless to say, it has a market scope wide and open.

Why build an online grocery delivery app? 

A grocery delivery app brings a lot of benefits that are extremely relevant in today's world commanded by millennials.

• Millennials are short of time, and even if they aren't, they would like to save whatever time they have from not engrossing themselves in traveling to the supermarket and engaging in a time-consuming activity of selecting groceries.
• They do not have the time or patience for bargaining. They are, in fact, better off giving the price that is being asked for rather than negotiating with local vendors.
• They have more access to the Internet using their smartphones, and it might not be an exaggeration to say that people are constantly connected.
• They do not buy groceries for the entire month as the previous generation used to do. Most of them shop for groceries on a weekly basis, and some of them even more than once in a week. This means that they will have to frequently go to supermarkets and grocers which they do not want to do.
• It saves them a lot of money. On one side, there are discounts and offers that pamper them with the choice to buy more. On the other hand, they also keep themselves away from impulse buying a lot of unwanted things.
• Overall, a grocery delivery app like Bigbasket offers them convenience in terms of both time and money!

The Different Business Models

Before you go on to build your grocery delivery app, you will need to understand that there are different types of business models.

The aggregator brings all the grocery shops in your vicinity to an app. They, in essence, create an additional avenue for these grocery shops to suit the consumption patterns of millennials. It should be remembered that the responsibility of delivering the groceries to the user falls on the store and not on the app.

The marketplace model is quite like the aggregator model but the responsibility of delivering does not fall on the store but on the app. The app employees gig workers or delivery executives to pick the groceries up from the store and deliver it to the customer.

Single store applications are just a simple online avatar off an existing physical store. The store takes the responsibility of every aspect of the app, including but not limited to maintaining their menu, collecting the money, delivering, and resolving the issues faced by the customer.

The last one is the grocery chain model which is used by an already-established chain of groceries like Walmart. They take care of both the mobile app and on-demand delivery. Some of these chain models use warehouses to ensure timely delivery and updated availability.

The essential features

A grocery delivery app like Bigbasket found its success because it had brimmed itself up with a host of features that made it easy for the newer generation. Your grocery delivery app also needs to reflect these features if you need to find success.

• The app needs to be extremely user-friendly. The user-friendliness is determined by the simplicity of the app, the navigability, and the interactive and intuitive nature of the app. It should keep them engaged and increase the possibilities of them visiting the app again.
• The app should facilitate online payments. The possibility of you finding cash in the wallet of a person today has considerably decreased. The COVID-19 crisis has further brought down the extent of cash usage. Therefore, your app should facilitate online payments by tying up with a payment gateway that can support almost every digital payment method. It is an added advantage if your app has a native wallet that makes it easier for processing refunds and for making quick payments.
• Communication and interaction are important for any business today, and it has been adequately taken care of by social media applications. However, when it comes to the app space, instead of shuttling between social media and your app, it would be great if your app itself can feature an in-app chat or even making a phone call, so they can talk to the delivery executive or the partner grocery store.
• One of the most significant features that made the on-demand business model a runaway success is the tracking based on GPS. You should be able to track your order at every step and in real-time, and it is surely a delight for the user when they can see the movement of their grocery order over a map.
• As much as millennials are impulsive, they also have their own idea of being scheduled and planned. Therefore, your grocery delivery app should have a feature to schedule delivery. 

Enhancing your operations and customer satisfaction

The features that have been mentioned above culminate at customer satisfaction, without question. In addition, however, there can be a few more features that go the extra mile in delighting a customer.

Delivering the groceries on the same day is a great feature that you can bring in to benefit and delight your customers. It is to be remembered that when it comes to impulsive buying of groceries, people buy it only because they need it on an urgent basis. If you can deliver the groceries within hours of ordering, it surely brings a lot of joy for the customer that translates into loyalty.

Customers should be engaged in a way that merges interaction and profit. Using data collected from the app, the app should create bespoke promotions and offers for the customers. They should also take into consideration the pattern of spending, and also offer additional items for the customers to purchase or try. Having a feedback mechanism for customers with heightened engagement is also an added advantage.

The default features

In addition to all the features mentioned above, there are a few features that can be considered bear essentials for your grocery delivery app.

• Your app should feature a search bar that searches products by brand-name, the specific product, and if possible, even a scanner that can look by scanning the barcode. The search results should be able to pass through a filter in terms of price, availability, estimated time to deliver, and even the ingredients. The search should also start suggesting as soon as the customer starts typing.
• The customer should have access to coupons and discount codes that can give them value on an ongoing basis. These discounts and coupons go a considerable distance in retaining customers and enhancing loyalty.
• The checkout process should be made simple and straightforward. People should be able to add items to the cart, check out, choose a delivery slot, make a payment, and be updated on the progress of their order.
• The customers should also have a wishlist or a list of items that they intend to buy later. This not only helps the customers remember what they wanted but also helps the app push promotions specific to what they have been looking for.
• The customer should be able to input the default address and also mark the position on the map, so the delivery executive can make use of that marker and navigate easily to the delivery location.
• The customers should also be able to avail express delivery for an additional cost. This helps both the business and the customers during a time of an inevitable emergency.
• The customers should be able to grade that experience with the grocery vendor and the delivery executor. This will help retain the democratic nature of the app.

Conclusion

It is quite evident that the grocery delivery app space is here to stay, and it is strengthened by the fact that people do not want to move out of their convenience even if it is totally against their traditional habits. Therefore, an app like Bigbasket would be a great business idea for an emerging market like India.

However, building your app from scratch by figuring out all the technical elements might be a cumbersome undertaking. Alternatively, you can use a white label Bigbasket clone. These Bigbasket clones are extremely easy to customize and can be made available in a really short time. This ensures that you can launch your business without waiting for a long time and, that too, without having to worry about the bugs and glitches that you might encounter when you build your app from scratch.

All you need to do is get in touch with the company that specializes in the creation and customization of Bigbasket clone apps. They will take care to understand the requirements, build the app in line with your needs, and present it to you, so you are all set to deliver delight to customers and profits for yourself.