Different types of on-demand service apps are trending these days. It is hard to imagine a consumer-faced industry that has not been affected by the on-demand app market. Customer convenience, easy accessibility to a variety of services, and quality control make these on-demand apps popular and widely appreciated across the world. So, why should one launch an on-demand service app? This article will be covering many aspects of developing on-demand service apps, such as the types of on-demand service apps, their required features, their benefits and challenges with these applications. But first, let’s discuss what on-demand service apps are.

What are On-Demand Apps?

On-demand service apps are considered to be a linking layer between customers and businesses. Many business verticals have adopted on-demand apps with respect to their consumer behaviour. Customers are getting attracted to the convenience and also the power to choose among multiple product/service options. Be it grocery, food delivery, car rentals, laundry, or personal health services, there are different types of on-demand apps for most services, allowing users to access all these services with a few taps on their smartphones.

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Why are On-Demand Apps popular among customers?

There is no doubt that on-demand delivery apps have a high adoption rate. According to a survey by Burson-Marsteller in 2014, in the USA, 42 percent of the adults have made use of at least one of the on-demand service apps on the market. The reasons behind such popularity are:

  • Lower Costs: When compared to the traditional service delivery process, on-demand apps model offer lower service costs. Keeping in mind that cost is one of the prime factors to drive more customers.
  • Personalized Services: On-demand service providers are keen to adjust according to the customer preferences. When they know what exactly their consumer wants, they aim to deliver the personalized services ASAP. For example, a home-service app will help you get an electrician or plumber to fix household problems within a couple of hours, not days.
  • Availability: the On-demand app services are easily accessible via mobile devices. Almost every potential customer owns a smartphone nowadays, and a reliable on-demand service platform can leverage this increasing popularity of mobile devices.
  • Payment Flexibility: On-demand apps use secure payment gateways like Stripe and also accept payments via third-party e-wallets & credit/debit cards. Having a variety of options to pay makes it convenient for the users to avail the services.
  • Effortless service delivery: on-demand service delivery apps provide users with the option to save their preferences such as service delivery address, payment method information, service preferences, and so on. It eliminates the hassle for users to enter the same information again and again at the time of ordering service. Saving a considerable amount of time in a week.
  • Variety of services: Although the on-demand service app market is nowhere near to saturation, the range of options aren’t small for the customers. There are multiple apps available in each category i.e. make-up service to babysitting.

A broader picture of the benefits of On-Demand Apps for businesses

When it comes to building mobile app solutions that retail customers will love using, it is worth brainstorming. An on-demand app with the right set of features can bring fortunes to many service providers. Although, going online isn’t as easy as it seems, the cost and time required for such transformation have many other business benefits to ensure good ROI (Return on Investment).

Business can expect the following benefits from an on-demand application:

It helps leverage the smartphone era

With each passing day, people are getting more internet-savvy. Statista reports that smartphone users have grown by 1 billion in the last four years. It clearly indicates that businesses which don’t invest in mobile applications, will lose potential customers and business opportunities.

Improves employee efficiency and satisfaction

On-demand apps bring improved efficiency in business operations. The apps incorporate features that encourage a transparent supply chain. When most of your management decisions will be based on ground-level data, the chances of management errors will be near to zero, leaving a well-managed workplace for the employees. With on-demand apps, the tasks and goals are well defined, the efficiency will significantly improve and the job satisfaction of employees will skyrocket.

Scale and secure business operations

Bringing the on-demand mobile apps into operations gives businesses an opportunity to scale themselves to different geographic locations. Mobile apps bring operational transparency and transparency allows businesses to provide the most secure services. The industry experts recommend businesses to opt for custom on-demand app development services to ensure maximum security and ease of integration. It will help you safeguard your customer and business data. You also should consult with your IT development company to make the app robust and scalable for future expansion.

Avail unprecedented business opportunities

Bringing businesses online will give it access to a database that can bring fortunes to the business. Having organized data about the customer addresses, phone numbers, preferences and interests, and email addresses will empower businesses to get into the head of their customers and enable business to provide customers with more personalized services. Personalization of services is just a small application of the data, businesses can utilize this data in many other use cases such as:

  • Using the data to empower business intelligence
  • Optimizing sales promotions
  • Utilizing email marketing to build a larger audience for promotion
  • Establishing uninterrupted communication with the customers
  • Increasing customer retention via personalization via pricing fluctuations
  • Building a stronger relationship

Type of On-Demand Service Apps

1. Food Delivery

Food on-demand delivery apps allow users to explore nearby eateries and order meals from them, all of it by just using the smartphone app. Right after the customer places their order, the restaurant accepts it, feeds estimated order preparation time in the app, and then starts preparing the food. The app also gives restaurants the option to reject any order due to lack of stock or other issues.

Meanwhile the food gets prepared, the food delivery management system assigns the task to one of the nearby delivery guys. The delivery guy reaches the restaurant and picks up the order and delivers it to the customer’s desired address.

Food delivery app

On-demand food delivery app is a win-win for both the customer and restaurants. The app users can easily browse through the nearby restaurants and compare food and prices. The restaurant owners can enjoy free branding and reach to a larger audience.

The following are some of the best on-demand food delivery apps at the moment:

  • UberEats
  • GrubHub
  • Doordash

2. Retail

Retail is another industry that has been disrupted by the on-demand app technology. The advanced logistics technologies are yet to be implemented into the on-demand ecosystem. People love fast deliveries and they would prefer to buy things online if they can be delivered within the day ordered. A research done by Walker Sands in 2018 states that 54% of US citizens under the age of 25 consider same-day delivery their first priority when deciding how to receive and purchase an item. The on-demand apps empower retailers to find more customers for their offerings. For customers, the on demand app provides a variety of options to buy from.

3. Grocery

Over the past few years, a significant amount of customers have chosen grocery delivery apps over traditional grocery shopping. The reason is that these apps are so easy to use as  customers can make purchases by a few clicks on their smartphones. Therefore, buying groceries from on-demand apps saves the customers a lot of time and money.

As some categories of groceries are perishable goods, the sellers would want to sell the stock as quickly as possible. This is where the on-demand app becomes crucial for the sellers as food moves from seller to buyer more efficiently.

4. Household Chores and Personal Care

There are apps that help you find people for everyday tasks such as house repairs, cleaning, dog walking. These on-demand apps also bridge the gap between personal care service providers and their customers.

For instance, these apps can provide customers with services such as plumbing, carpenting, gardening, hairdressing, massages and many more. Some apps that are popular in this niche are:

  • Task Rabbit
  • Thumbtack
  • Merry Maids

5. Healthcare

The on-demand healthcare apps connect patients with doctors so that the care can be delivered remotely. It allows patients to have a one to one talk with their physicians and the physician can recommend medication similar to the ordinary visits.

It is true that no mobile app can solely take care of a serious disease, and the health examination is always likely to be more precise when done in a hospital. Luckily, the on-demand healthcare apps aren’t supposed to replace the traditional healthcare infrastructure, they rather support.

HIPAA6. Taxi

Taxi and transportation are the most appreciated use cases of on-demand apps. There are international players like Lyft and Uber that have changed the taxi industry forever. Since the success of Uber, most of the taxi businesses have started investing in mobile technology. On-demand taxi booking apps allow users to book a cab within a few minutes. The customers can now enter a new drop location or pick amongst their saved ones, saving booking time and improving satisfaction.

The driver then gets the pickup location on their smartphone. The payments are hassle free and safe as there are options available for the companies to incorporate e-wallets into the apps. The on-demand taxi booking apps offer the following features:

  • Communication channels between the driver and riders
  • GPS navigation illustrated on the map, helping riders and customers to find each other
  • Advanced feedback algorithms based on reviews and ratings

Features

1. Customer App Features

  • Real-time tracking allows users to track their orders on map.
  • Push notifications to keep users updated with changing status of their order.
  • Multiple payment options that allow users to pay with their suitable payment method – debit cards, ewallets, COD.
  • Save your favorite service provider. This feature allows customers to save any particular service provider so that they can eliminate the hassle of searching for them when ordering again.
  • Reviews and ratings. Every app that facilitates direct interaction between customer and service providers has to have review and ratings features. Customer feedback helps in quality assurance.
  • Help & Support features assist customers whenever they have any query. Modern on-demand apps have AI powered support features that ensure 24*7 support for customers.

2. Service Provider App

  • Push notifications features provides alerts to the service providers as soon as the customer avails for the service or product.
  • Responding request. The service provider is authorized to accept or deny the request for the service or product within a given time frame.
  • Start or end service module allows service providers to keep account of service duration and timings.
  • Earnings tracker keeps count of the earnings for the service provider.
  • The service providers can choose their availability as per their convenience.

3. Admin Panel

  • Your app would definitely need a dashboard that can help easily manage both users and service providers.
  • An algorithm to match is crucial for on-demand service apps as it helps in matching the service provider with every new customer request.
  • The admin panel has the ability to manage users and service providers. Managing them means having authority to manage payment, discounts, cancellations, earnings and penalties.
  • Commission management. The administrators should have access to every transaction so that the commission charged on them is automatically deducted.
  • It is beneficial for on-demand apps to have the ability for data analytics and reporting. It allows administrators to know which service line is performing well and whether or not there are any flaws in the operations. The advanced data analytics capabilities will provide the administrators with real-time business insights that are essential for uninterrupted and efficient operations.

Wrapping Up

Various types of on-demand service apps all focus on providing customers with cost-efficient and rapid services that would have been burdensome work in some cases. Another great thing is that on-demand apps make services accessible with more availability, which makes it convenient for customers. The current market trends show that the on-demand app trend is going to last for a couple of decades and as time passes by, the technological shift will make it feasible for newer industries that are yet to widely adopt on-demand app services.