The COVID-19 pandemic has left people stranded in their homes for almost two quarters in 2020. Traditional businesses are the worst hit in the current situation, and restaurants are no exception. With governments of various nations restricting dine-ins as a measure to curb disease spread, restaurants are pushed to make a decisive call – collaborate with third-party delivery platforms or have a delivery chain of their own. While the former is economically feasible, giving up commissions on every order seems too much to ask for low and medium-scale restaurants. A massive brand like Domino’s Pizza or McDonald’s can opt for the latter, i.e., having an online ordering and delivery platform.

With restaurants finding it hard to manage expenses on one hand and the demand for food almost drying up on the other, food delivery startups can benefit eateries and yield enticing profits. It is up to the emerging on-demand food delivery apps to convince restaurants in joining hands with them. And if startups can crack that code, they’ll open the floodgates to unrestricted revenue.

Are you an entrepreneur aiming to launch an app like UberEats into the market? If so, you need to provide restaurant owners a lot more than delivery services alone. This blog discusses unique insights worth-considering in an UberEats clone to lure the restaurant owners and the audience towards the food delivery platform.

Restaurant foot traffic was down by 75%

Let’s discuss some stats to visualize the impact of COVID-19 on restaurant sales and traffic.

According to data by Zenreach, the restaurant foot traffic in January 2020 was down by just 2% compared to the same period last year. In March and April, nationwide lockdowns came into action, and restaurants had no option but to succumb to the self-isolation & social distancing wave.

Restaurant foot traffic was down by 60% in March and lowered to almost 75% in April.

With nations encouraging restricted dine-in activities, restaurants are trying to get back on their feet. And there’s no denial in the fact that startups leveraging the online medium are playing a significant role in helping restaurants resurrect from the damages of COVID-19.

Restaurant apps have caught investors’ eyes 

With restaurants either joining hands with startups or rolling out an app for their own, investors are keen to make their presence and boost their profits by funding these startups.

As of September 2020, almost $800 million was invested in venture-backed restaurant app startups in 49 deals. These are promising signs for the sector as they march to sail past the $1.6 billion funding in 2019. As luck would have it, COVID-19 has probably aggravated the role of these food ordering & delivery startups.

Toast, the popular restaurant management startup, received $400 million in new funding in February.

Online ordering in/is the ‘New’ normal!

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear for restaurants that they shouldn’t rely on dine-ins alone. With ordering via phone calls getting outdated, the need to leverage the online medium is more than ever. The number of smartphone users in the world is poised to reach 3.8 billion by 2021. With that being said, is there any other medium than smartphones which is pocket-friendly?

‘No’ would be the most one-sided answer. Ordering via an on-demand app is convenient, reliable, and easily accessible. One needn’t spend time reaching restaurants. All they need to do is make a few taps on their smartphones and enjoy their favorite meal from the comfort of their homes.

Besides, online ordering leads to generating revenue via various sources as well. Even when the situation stabilizes, the online ordering platform can boost sales and act as an alternative to supplement dine-in sales.

Managing operations becomes effortless 

Most restaurant owners find it challenging to manage operations, and things get clumsy during peak hours. Manual inventory management leads to loss of potential resources and ultimately leads to lower profits.

What if a smartphone application can help restaurant owners manage operations seamlessly? An UberEats clone comes with an intuitive order management dashboard to let restaurant owners gain detailed insights on their past/ongoing/upcoming orders in a single place. The dashboard provides real-time analytics on multiple orders, helping them manage their operations. Moreover, having an inventory management dashboard can come in handy. According to a recent study, 58% of restaurants find it difficult to manage inventories. Having a real-time dashboard to keep an eye on inventories can yield fruitful results by enabling better resource utilization.

Having self-executing software is the only way out to manage operations wisely in a restaurant.

The future is here – Doorstep deliveries 

One of the significant factors that have propelled the food delivery sector to success is its convenience. When talking about convenience, matching the experience of doorstep services is impossible. Deliveries are an easier way to enjoy food from favorite restaurants. Besides, online ordering and delivery platforms provide a win-win-win situation for the entire ecosystem. Restaurants get to satisfy potential customers. Customers enjoy their food with a few taps. The platform owner enjoys revenue for bridging the gap between supply and demand.

Third-party food delivery platforms will grow in numbers in the upcoming years, and it’s only a matter of time until low scale restaurants sign up with these platforms. Do not miss out on this trend, as your UberEats clone can be the one they can join hands with!

The Indispensable Role of data 

In today’s technologically-driven world, the role of data shouldn’t be underestimated. Data can provide better clarity to entrepreneurs when it comes to consumer preferences and market conditions. With Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) creeping into every possible sector, the success chances of entrepreneurs relying on instincts alone become very narrow. The need to gather, analyze, and interpret data can be the trump card for emerging startups.

It is advisable to have a real-time analytics feature to identify how the platform is faring among the audience from time to time. Besides, exploiting AI and ML to predict bestselling cuisines in a particular locality, estimate the delivery time accurately, etc., can all come in handy? Moreover, providing personalized food recommendations is a possibility with AI-powered food delivery apps.

What lies ahead? 

Restaurants are retaking their stands when it comes to food delivery apps. The online food delivery market will grow from $94.3 billion in 2019 to $134.5 billion in 2023. During this forecast period (2019-203), the market witnesses a healthy CAGR of almost 10%. With that being said, the COVID-19 pandemic has made people and restaurants realize the convenience of food delivery apps. Startups have begun to sprout in this sector, and you needn’t miss out on this lucrative business opportunity. With processing becoming automated rapidly, delivery apps are the future of restaurants!

Reach out to Appdupe – Your one-stop destination!

Being the market leader when it comes to app development, Appdupe has helped numerous entrepreneurs scale their business massively in the food delivery sector. Reach out to our experts, tell us your needs and visions, and we’ll help you establish a stronghold of the flourishing food delivery market!