Mobile App technology has brought a revolution in every industry. Those businesses that were giving their services only offline were now ruling online. From booking a cab to ordering food is now done through a few taps of a smartphone. The development of Apps has made the life of people easier. Nowadays, people are using mobile apps for their day to day activities. The availability of apps has now brought a drastic improvement in the business and the life of users.
Those were the days when people had to rely on physical stores for their basic needs. They used to travel a distance to select and purchase the product. The advent of mobile apps and online stores has reduced their effort. Looking at the inclination of people toward the apps has made every service industry develop apps and engage with their audience. It may be the travel or fashion industry now; all of them have witnessed the impact of mobile apps on their business. The food industry is one of those industries that has experienced a game-changing improvement.
The Technological Advancement and emergence of Apps have transformed the Food Industry. This advancement provided a solution for both owners and customers. Mobile App has now bridged the gap between restaurant owners and customers. With the help of Apps, food businesses can engage with their audiences with the best deals and offers. Gone are those days when restaurants were waiting for customers and customers searching for a good restaurant.
The concept of food delivery has hit the food market to a large extent, as foodie apps like Zomato, Swiggy, Uber Eats and others allow customers to have their favourite food from the comfort of their homes. Food delivery apps are getting recognised everywhere in the world; it has transformed the growth of the food industry and made food delivery faster and easier.
According to a report by Statista, It is expected that the food delivery business will grow by 9.3% by 2023. The development of the mobile app is making the food industry more profitable. Top of that, mobile apps have made the life of people easier as they don’t have to go out to get a meal as it is delivered to their place with a few taps of their mobile. One of the reasons behind the success of these apps is “better User Experience”. Users can easily understand and deliver food without any complications. The more they have a better experience, the more the food industry grows.
Mobile apps have transformed the food industry to a large extent. Let’s discuss how it has impacted businesses and customers.
The Impact of Mobile App on Customers:
So, there are several reasons for people to prefer foodie apps over restaurants in physical locations. Let’s talk about some of the features that attract customers to food apps.
1: Accessibility-
The development of mobile apps has made it easy for customers to access the restaurant of their choice. They can choose a dish from their favourite restaurant that can be delivered to their doorstep. Let’s take an example; If a person who is a vegetarian is new to a city. It is difficult for him to find restaurants offering only vegetarian food. Even if he googles and finds it, that may be far from his current location. Just think, if that restaurant has an app or is available on a food delivery app then how easy it would be. Exactly, this is what apps are doing. They are connecting business with customers. Now customers don’t need to find restaurants preparing their favourite dishes. They can easily get access and delivery of their dish through the foodie apps.
2: Discount Offer-
To be a step ahead of competitors, now several restaurants and foodie apps are offering discounts to their customers. The offers may not be available in restaurants’ physical locations but are available on their app. This allows a huge number of customers to download apps and avail the offer.
3: Search Dish/Restaurant-
Gone are those days when people had to read paper menus or wait for waiters to ask about the availability of the cuisine. Apps have made it simple for the customers. They can search for their favourite cuisine and restaurant. Customers can sort and select their dishes based on the category and price range.
4: Reviews & Ratings-
Reviews and ratings are one of the most important features of mobile apps which attract more customers. Most restaurants and hotels have
attractive interiors and designs with low-quality services. There was a time when people used to get fooled by these. Thousands of customers who get dissatisfied with the service of a restaurant add a rating and review. This makes the rest of the customers aware of the quality and services of the restaurant. They used to check for the review before ordering.
5: Mode of Payment-
Nowadays, food ordering apps give a versatile payment option for customers. They can pay it through online banking, UPI or can give cash after delivery. This versatile mode of payment is attracting more audiences to install these apps.
6:Food Tracking-
This is one of the best concepts of food service mobile apps. This feature allows the users to track their orders and also show the time estimation for delivery. And also this feature helps the restaurants and the delivery partners reach the customers.
These apps have changed the way of business for restaurants and hotels. With the advancement of the mobile app, they are now earning more profit from them. Let’s discuss some features which are impacting the food Industry.
The Impact of Mobile Apps on the Food Industry:
1: Food Delivery on Demand-
The usage of foodie apps has become extremely popular among audiences after the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the public restrictions, people are not allowed to come out. The restaurants and hotels that were closed, started providing their services on these foodie apps. Even those restaurants which were not registered to any foodie app have got registered and started their services. It encouraged businesses to give quality services to get more business. With these Apps, People got a solution to their problems. They don’t need to move out of their house to have a meal as it is delivered to their place with the help of the app. Additionally, it saves their time.
2: Table reservation booking-
There are several popular restaurants that have their own applications. They provide service to their customers through their own app. With technological advancement, they have started giving customers the feature to book a table or dine. Before this feature, people have to wait in the lounge till their time comes. People who are planning for a small party or get-together now reserve their table through restaurant Apps.
3: Cloud Kitchen-
The demand of people toward the food industry and apps have given an opportunity for those people who have an interest in cooking to earn. The people who are passionate about cooking but don’t have any physical stores are now providing services to the people through these apps. This option of the kitchen has also benefited several brands to serve their customers without opening their physical locations.
4: Discount Offers-
Offering audiences with discounts have changed the way of business. Now several food serving businesses are in the foodie App. To attract customers they are giving discounts. Thus it helps businesses to find a way to be a step ahead of their competitors. Additionally, this feature helps new businesses to promote and engage with their customers.
5: Rating and Reviews-
The quality of food becomes important for those Startups that are trying to set up themselves in this sector are quite particular about their brand reputation. The rating and reviews help their management to do quality checks for good quality delivery of products. This feature has a genuine impact on the restaurants, enabling individuals to say whether they liked the service. Thus It helps foodservice businesses to make improvements and modifications related to the issues of customers.
6: Potential Customer-
To acquire a customer is difficult in today’s competitive market. These apps help businesses to get potential customers. These apps allow businesses to interact with audiences with promotional offers and discounts.
7:Brand Creation-
There are several restaurants that are offering customers quality service in their physical location but are unable to promote and gather an audience. Apps help them in all ways, to gather an audience, to promote their best dishes by giving offers and finally to create a brand.
Conclusion:
It is clear that mobile apps have a huge impact on the food industry. This has impacted both businesses and consumers. The upcoming years will be quite fruitful for the food industry due to the rising mobile apps usage.
This advancement has not only impacted the food industry but has motivated the IT industries in innovative ways. Looking at the demand of the people for these apps has now encouraged small and medium software companies to build powerful and better user experience mobile apps.
If you are running a food business and looking for a company to build your app, then Gloify is the best option. Our experts will assist you in building your mobile app.