On-Demand Apps: The New Horizon of Mobile App Economy

On-Demand Apps: The New Horizon of Mobile App Economy

Mobile apps are increasingly becoming new consumer services now.

Whether you need to order groceries or book a cab to reach your workplace or order food from the nearby restaurant or clean your house, there are apps for each of these services. These mobile apps for doorstep services are called on-demand apps, and they represent a new fad in the world of app development. Thanks to these on-demand apps and their skyrocketing popularity we now have a booming on-demand economy.

Various statistics confirm the exponential growth of the on-demand economy based upon these new service-based mobile apps. As per the latest data concerning investment on on-demand startups, the investment in 2014 for the on-demand startups was only $74 Billion, and it reached $10,293 Billion in the last quarter of 2017. As per the study contradicted by the National Technology Readiness Survey of U.S., the spending for on-demand mobile app services has experienced a 58% increase between 2016 to 2017. As per the latest PwC report, the economy based upon on-demand apps and websites which was just $14 Billion in 2014 is supposed to reach a whopping $335 Billion by the year 2025.

How are on-demand apps different?

The on-demand apps that represent a whole array of consumer services have some specific attributes uncommon to other types of apps. Allowing quick ordering of services to easy payment option to user optimised filters and sorting options to inbuilt features to push promotional offers, on-demand apps are different in many aspects. Any business wants to make a mark with an on-demand app, has to be aware of these specialities. Developers have to take care of the active commercial role these apps play for keeping a business alive with a steady flow of traffic and orders.

Basically, on-demand apps allow the demands of the customers in real time by allowing them access to goods and services on their mobile device screen. Just by demanding a product or a service through the mobile screen a customer can get it delivered on the doorstep. This not only contributed tremendous value to the life of customers but also gave businesses enormous growth opportunity with increased frequency and volume of orders and service demands.

Apps are nothing but solutions to specific problems that add value to the life of users. On-demand apps are solutions to make the ordering of products and service requests easier. The speciality of on-demand apps is that they facilitate ordering products and services without quickly and with little effort.

Some of the critical features and specialities of on-demand apps include the following.

  • They need to allow the fastest access to services and goods through the app UI.
  • They need to allow custom user experience based on user preference, search and order records, are the erred mode of payment, frequency and timing of use, etc.
  • The service and product pages should allow several different filters and sorting options as per the user preference.
  • They need integrated promotional features to boost sales and customer engagement. Up-selling and cross-selling features are key to business process across most on-demand apps.

Business advantages of on-demand mobile apps

On-demand apps offer a whole array of advantages for any business. On-demand apps can also give birth to several services comprising both Business2Business (B2B) and Business2Customer (B2C) models. For example, while a restaurant through its app can launch an on-demand food delivery service to serve foods on the doorstep of the consumers directly from the restaurant, the same restaurant can also be listed through an independent food ordering app like Uber Eats or Swiggy to allow this app-based service to take care of orders and delivery.

Some of the key business advantages of the on-demand apps include the following.

  • Scalability of product orders.
  • Enhanced customer satisfaction with doorstep delivery, real-time purchase confirmation and real-time delivery tracking.
  • Cost competitive services and product offerings.
  • Enhanced business conversion and return on investment (ROI).
  • Frequent customer interaction and engagement.

Some of the principal types of on-demand apps are grocery delivery apps, food ordering apps, apps for on-demand home cleaning services, on-demand healthcare apps, shared cab apps, etc.

Steps to build an on-demand app

Now, let us explain the key UI/UX elements, technologies and the steps involved in building on-demand mobile apps. These steps of developing on-demand mobile apps can be followed to come up with a very audience-focused app for any business niche.

1. Know your audience

For any business willing to come up with its on-demand mobile app, it is essential to know the target audience. The best way to focus on a particular problem or demand common among many smartphone users. Just think of the way Uber or Lyft identified the demand for shared cab service among many taxi owners and passengers.

2. Two choices: your brand app and third-party app

For your on-demand app you have two specific choices, respectively unleashing your on-demand service through your brand app and offering service through a third-party on-demand app of your niche.

3. Know the key technologies and backend requirements

Now, it is essential to know the specific technologies and backend requirements for your on-demand app. Like most on-demand apps with real-time tracking facility, you need GPS, integrated map app, integrated chat messaging and calling feature. You also should integrate social media platforms to allow sharing contents and inviting others onboard. You need to ensure custom push notifications to help customers get preferred messages in their preferred time.

As for backend requirements, you need to figure out the delivery process and personnel, despatch schedule, order timing, customer support, third-party collaboration, etc.

4. Reviews and ratings

To stay ahead of some petition, good customer rating and positive reviews are a must. Always encourage customers to rate the app and share their opinion after processing every order. Such reviews and ratings also engage customers more frequently with the service and help in to make them loyal.

5. Customer support

For an on-demand app customer support is very crucial as it can solve issues concerning delivery or service quality. Apart from round the clock phone support always offer very proactive and alert chat support to resolve queries instantly and without the slightest delay.

On top of all of these, an on-demand app can only stand out in excellence with a customised ordering experience. This involves analysis of consumer’s order and searches history, payment data and other demographic information. Integrating an intelligent algorithm and analytics to assess consumer behaviour is required for any on-demand mobile apps now.

Posted by Juned Ganchi

Juned Ganchi
As a Co-founder and CMO of IndianAppDevelopers the international Mobile app development company which offers to hire app developers India for mobile solutions, Juned leads the charge in increasing brand awareness, lead generation.

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