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Features of delivery app

Top 10 Features of Delivery Apps

Executive Summary

The usage of Apps in every aspect of our lives is a reality today. In fact, it would be increasingly difficult for us to now survive without using an App for…well, for everything!

A great example of this is the Delivery App, which we use to conveniently have everything delivered to our doorstep. Day in, day out, we order stuff, put in our location details, and wait for the trusty delivery agent to knock on our door. Not just that, we expect to keep abreast of its real-time progress, too!

While there are several Delivery Apps out there, you would do well to check a few essential features to make sure you are using the best one available. Given below are the top 10 features a Delivery App should have.

The rise of and rise of Delivery Apps: a modern phenomenon

We live in hectic modern times, one that is now classified as the Digital Era. Everything about our lives, whether personal or work, is going digital with the objective of making our lives easier, faster, and more convenient. We have such little time for our daily tasks that we are constantly looking out for instant solutions at the convenience of our fingertips, doorways and homes – and, all at reasonable prices!

The rise of the “App culture” – i.e. making everything available on-demand – is perhaps the greatest shift brought about by this lifestyle.  With a single tap, swipe or screen-pinch, we can now acquire groceries, cabs, tickets, holiday reservations, food, entertainment, fitness classes…the list is endless!

The ongoing pandemic has only served to further accentuate the convenience of “having stuff delivered to home and office” – make no mistake, we are experiencing a seismic shift in the way civilization is evolving in its behavior.

What are the top 10 features a Delivery App must have?

For a Delivery App to satisfy its users, the makers must first understand the basic aspects of the “why and how” of a Delivery App. Here are the top 10:

1. Push notifications to customers for real-time updates: Sending a push notification to your customers with latest updates about their deliveries has now become a norm. These messages – sent via SMS, email, or in-app pop-ups – keep the customer informed about their delivery details.

2. Ease of payment: Payments are an essential part of any Delivery App – unless a payment is successfully received the delivery cannot be completed. The Delivery App must be integrated with all the commonly used payment options available so that the customer is well served.

Nowadays, there are innumerable payment gateways or mobile wallet services including Credit/Debit Card, Internet Banking, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Cash on Delivery (COD). You could even run payment based promotions based on type and amount from time to time.

3. Reward and loyalty programs: Special offers, discounts, and loyalty programs are tried and trusted methods of not only attracting new customers but also rewarding them for their repeated usage of your app. This is exactly the reason why successful companies offer strong loyalty programs to provide regular customers (especially the heavy users) benefits for their patronage.

4. In-App messages: In-App notifications are alerts that show up on the screen of the user while the app is open. They can be colorful interstitials or pop-ups but their main objective is to provide updates and information about the status of the customers’ deliveries. A messenger feature is also an increasingly important way for engaging with customers through a two-way communication channel.

5. Real-time tracking: Not only does this feature enable your Fleet Managers as well as your customers to track the location of their deliveries using real-time GPS but it also helps your drivers identify the optimal route to reach the customer, therefore minimizing the cost of deliveries. Fleet Managers can use APIs to integrate Google Maps or Waze’s Navigation to do this conveniently.

6. Customer profile and history: A customer’s profile becomes an important reservoir of information. Order history such as type of goods, suppliers, locations, preferred vendors, preferred payment methods (etc.) are recorded for future references. For example, you could offer discounts and promotions based on the type of product(s) ordered, or a time of the year (e.g. Christmas time) if you see that the customer tends to make a lot of purchases along those lines.

7. Ease of use: The very nature of a Delivery App is that it is steeped inconvenience. People choose to use Apps, including a Delivery App, because it is quick and easy. However, if the design and usage of the App is complicated, if it takes too long to load, requires customers to fill out details repeatedly, and is generally cumbersome, you would be defeating its very purpose. Therefore, all Delivery Apps must have an incredible user interface (UI) and also offer a strong UX (User Experience).

Users should be able to find what they are looking for, be prompted where they need to be, and be exposed to the entire scope and functionality of the App in a seamless and engaging manner. For example, using icons wherever possible – instead of text – has become a modern way to make speed up usage and make it more convenient.

8. Search options: Offering customers a well thought out ‘search’ feature would enable them to get a good idea of the details that would go into their delivery starting from the point of placing an order through to its delivery (e.g. ETA, costs, fragile cargo details, pick-up points, discounts and cash-back, superfast delivery details, etc.)

9. Using the social media juggernaut: We live in a world that is driven by social media and it has permeated into every aspect of our lives. Allowing your customers to share their experiences via photographs, moments of happiness at receiving a parcel, or their feedback and comments on social media through API integrations is a good way to get strong customer word-of-mouth and build a good reputation for the Delivery App.

10. Feedback and reviews: This feature enables your customers to provide feedback, rank your services, take surveys and provide comments and suggestions. Customers form the lifeline of all companies and making sure you offer them convenient channels to make themselves heard – whether they have positive or negative feedback – is a must in today’s highly competitive world, especially in the delivery business since it functions in a complex and dynamic environment.

Conclusion: Our modern lives have now become dependent on a digital existence and the “delivery culture is here to stay. While there are several last mile delivery software that is available, with new ones hitting the market every day, you would do well to consider the points mentioned above while selecting yours.

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