The online food delivery marketplace allows customers to get food from any restaurant they want delivered to their doorstep with a few taps on their smartphones. There was a time when restaurants used to deliver themselves. However, in the past few years, consumers have shown more interest in ordering from a food delivery website as there are more choices.
An online food delivery platform allows restaurants to reach their audience comfortably. Such platforms are great for new restaurants and home chefs trying to make a name for themselves in the food industry. In addition, a food delivery website allows customers to find their favorite brand’s food easily. Over the past few years, this industry has reached new heights. According to Statista, the market size of the global online food delivery sector is expected to cross 1.65 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027. Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Grubhub are a few leading food delivery platforms that promise to deliver piping-hot food to your doorstep.
The good news here is that you can also establish a successful food delivery website this year. However, in order to make that possible, you need to understand the business model and how a food delivery platform works.
Detailed Business Plan
Online food delivery platforms allow consumers to order from their favorite websites and even offer discounts. A food delivery platform can make it happen, whether you see a cafe in your neighborhood or satisfy your craving at the best waffle house in the city.
The business model mentioned below can assist new business owners in understanding how a food delivery platform operates. In addition, such a platform also allows consumers to customize their orders to satisfy their cravings just the way they want. Users can also track their orders and provide feedback to improve their service.
Stakeholders
The food delivery website’s business model revolves around three major groups of stakeholders:
Restaurants
- Restaurants provide their own menu.
- Maintain the food’s quality.
- Ensure orders are made according to consumers’ demands.
- Update the availability of items on the menu at the time of shortages.
Customers
- Consumers are free to choose their meals from the menu.
- You can pay online or avail of the cash-on-delivery (COD) option.
- Users can pre-book orders according to their requirements.
- Customers can write reviews and rate the food, restaurant, and delivery person.
Delivery Person
- Delivery people are responsible for picking up orders from restaurants and delivering them to customers.
- Orders have to be delivered on time to avoid poor feedback from customers.
How Does a Food Delivery Platform Work?
- Restaurants are listed on the food delivery platform with a complete menu of available items.
- Customers place their orders, provide personal details, and choose the desired payment option.
- Restaurants prepare the items ordered.
- Orders are delivered to the address provided by the user by delivery people.
How Much Can You Earn If You Create a Food Delivery Website?
A food delivery website can earn money in various ways. The business model of these businesses allows you to provide a means for restaurants to sell their food as well as generate online awareness. You can generate revenue from regular operational activities like:
- Fees for delivery.
- Commission charges or orders.
- Ads by restaurants want their banner to feature on either the homepage or any listing.
- Subscription charges are charged to all vendors who wish to register their brand on this website for food delivery.
The Importance of a Food Delivery Platform in 2024
A food delivery website has proven to be worthwhile for all stakeholders. Here are a few benefits of a food delivery platform that you should know.
For Restaurants
- This business model provides an extended customer base.
- The ability to change the menu to keep users interested
- It’s easy to manage orders with software installed.
- Delivery people are available to deliver food to customers’ doorsteps.
For Users
- 24/7 support.
- Users can track orders online.
- You can freely browse restaurants and order whatever you like.
- Save both time and money (at times).
- Customers can use multiple filters to choose a restaurant.
- Users are free to choose their desired payment methods like COD, digital wallets, and credit/debit cards.
- You can subscribe to receive notifications and emails related to coupons and new offers for your favorite restaurant.
For Delivery Person
- The opportunity to earn a living
- Good tips from satisfied customers
Key Elements of an Online Food Delivery Platform
You must remember many elements before launching your food delivery website:
1. An Engaging Homepage or Interface
Food delivery platforms require an amazing UI/UX to attract more traffic and convince users to engage. The homepage is the most crucial page of a website. Therefore, you need to make sure that your homepage is perfect. Avoid confusing content or questions that would divert the user’s mind. Use an easy signup process on the homepage that requires minimal time and effort. The leading online food delivery websites have perfected their signup processes, so you know where to go for the idea.
2. Signup
In order to place an order, you have to sign up first. Therefore, the signup process needs to be flawless. Avoid adding too many questions that confuse or distract the customers. Social media login and signup options can be considered for instant registration. If you have ever ordered food from such food delivery platforms, you should already have an idea of how easy the process is.
3. User Profile
A user profile should have the following features:
- Edit your profile
- Check your credit score
- Buttons for social sharing
- Search capability
- History of orders
- Manage Addresses
- Filters
4. Procedure for Placing Orders Is Perfect
In order to satisfy a customer and convince them to place an order, it is crucial to add all the necessary details about a dish on every menu. If the dish isn’t common, adding the ingredients will also help customers develop trust in your platform. User reviews are also handy in guiding customers. The order placement process needs to be quick and smooth. If you opt for a long process requiring too much time, users will simply leave your portal for another one in no time.
5. Checkout
Once the customer has placed an order, the final checkout process involves the following steps.
Add an option that allows customers to note down delivery instructions. This feature will let the customer say how they want to get their orders.
Customers should be able to choose when they want the food delivered. This helps them feel relaxed as they can order in advance and get food delivered when they actually need it.
An efficient and flexible payment process that shares all the billing details and allows customers to choose which mode of payment they prefer.
6. Order Summary
A brief summary of the order that mentions all the items, quantity ordered, price, and special instructions. In addition, delivery charges and taxes should also be mentioned to avoid any miscommunication regarding the prices. You can also allow users to add a promo code to encourage them to order more or simply put a smile on their faces.
7. A Variety of Filters
Food revelation is critical for each food-focused web-based adventure. Development teams knowledgeably add food search options with strong filters that aid in refining results according to normal food propensities. This helps guests rapidly track down the food that they want. Online food ordering and delivery are among the fastest-developing ventures at this moment.
Features Recommended by Experts
The elements mentioned are common things that every food delivery platform should have. However, while starting a new food business platform, owners may face several challenges and issues in their business operations. In order to taste success, all platforms must think outside the box and use the best methods. Here are a few features that you should consider to improve your chances of attracting new customers during your initial days.
• Mobile App
If you look at the current usage of a device, mobile is leading in 2024, with over 57% of the global population preferring mobile over desktop and tablet. This indicates that if you plan only to launch a website for your food delivery business, you might miss out on attracting a huge audience that prefers using a mobile phone. To counter that, you only need an app to align with your website. Though a responsive website can also be acceptable, an app can be more productive as it will be a faster option to order food.
• 24/7 Support
Imagine looking for a specific restaurant or dish and being unable to remember the name. A representative can answer such questions. If support is unavailable, new users may find it challenging to find what they want.
You can also introduce a live chat feature to stay connected with all users at all times. In addition, live chat can also be used to pitch offers and discounts to convince customers to buy what you want them to.
• Smart Restaurant pages
Foodies love to experiment! Therefore, adding features like social media sharing buttons, intros, and feedback can also offer a better experience for users. Hence, they’ll want to return to your food delivery website and become loyal customers.
Wrap Up
The online food industry has experienced rapid growth in the past few years. It is expected to grow at an even faster rate as time passes. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the rate of door-to-door delivery. In order to run a successful food delivery platform, you need to offer good food and a unique online experience.
If you are planning to create a food delivery website and are unsure where to begin, try our Restaurant Plugin. It helps you create a stylish, responsive restaurant menu for your site with a fully responsive restaurant menu ordering system.
