Cost and Features of Mobile App for Restaurant

Running a food business is not an easy task from any stretch of imagination.  Capturing demand for your restaurant in a competitive market takes proper planning and some valuable resources. Among most effective aspects that you can rely upon to reach to customers, food ordering app is one of the best and most beneficial tool. Getting a mobile app for your restaurant can prove a prudent investment, as it will make your menu accessible to larger audiences online without you having to spend a fortune on promotion and advertisement of your restaurant.

So, whether you are a small restaurant in any corner of the city or you are operating a chain of restaurants, mobile app can do wonders for the growth of your business.

Cost of Mobile App Development for Restaurant – The development cost of a food ordering app depends on variety of factors. First and foremost aspect that affects the cost of the app is its platform. In case the app needs to be developed only for iOS, then cost is expected to be lesser as it would cater to limited number of users. However, if the app needs to be made accessible to a larger audience then it is crucial to make it compatible for Android and Windows. In this scenario the app should be developed independently of the platform for android and iPhone taking the overhead cost a little higher.

There are certain other factors that play a crucial role in determining the cost of the developing a restaurant app –

• Design of the app whether it needs to designed to have user interaction or not? In this case advanced tools are employed which affect the overall cost of the development.
  
• Size of the app, whether it needs database or not. This factor plays a crucial role in determining the amount of funds required to develop the app.
  
• Advanced features like data sync, geo-location, in app camera and push notification add to the cost of the app.
  
• Wallet feature and its inclusion also affect the overall cost incurred in developing the app.
  
• If you choose the services of popular developers, then too cost would go higher when compared to being associated with lesser known and experienced developers.
  

Vital features for Restaurant app 

Once you have realized that you need an app for your restaurant, it is crucial that you take the services of expert app developers to get your app prepared. A perfect app is one which is easier to use to browse menu and book food without any hassle whatsoever. All the more, it should be equipped with user friendly features for promoting customer engagement as well for creating a significant user base. A well featured app enhances the brand value and makes customer come back for placing more orders in future. Here are some of the most important features that you can include in your restaurant app to make the app more engaging and user friendly.

Menu items 

It is the most important feature and should be on the front page of your food ordering app. The feature should allow the users to access the menu at the touch of a click without giving them the hassles of browsing endlessly for finding a particular item. Menu should have proper search box and dishes should be listed according to their cuisine. User should be able to find subcategories in a quick time and each menu item should be hyperlinked for booking purpose. Besides this, the feature should be easy to migrate allowing the user to create a list of items that they need to order.

Ordering and payment feature 

Among the most important features that your food ordering app needs to be equipped with, online ordering of food and payment is the most vital of all. The facility of ordering food from the app platform itself gives your customer the facility of ordering food instantaneously at the touch of a click. Moreover, it avoids them the hassles of searching your restaurant on restaurant finder apps which certainly works in your favour as you create your own customers.

Along with this feature, the app should let customers make payments for the order at its platform. This feature is handy and it leads to creating more convenience for the customers. The very fact that they are able to make payment for order via secure payment gateway using their debit/credit card  creates a feeling of security and they are likely to place the order more often.

Table Reservation feature 

Once you have got an app for your restaurant, it is important that you include in it ‘Book Table’ feature. This is an important feature as it allows user to make online booking for a table in your restaurant without having to visit the restaurant. The feature should be easy to locate on the app and should list information like number of available tables, menu served during specific time and special discounts for the day. Each such information is vital to be presented which enhances engagement and encourages the user make booking without reconsidering their decision.

Discounts and Rewards

According to survey, most of the customers prefer ordering food via app because of discounts and offer available with app. So, if you want your restaurant become a hot property among your customers, then it is imperative that you ask your developers to include ‘discounts and rewards’ feature in the application. Much like the website of your restaurant, the app should display the feature on its front page and should be promoted with discounts on regular basis.

In addition to regular discounts, app should promote loyalty of the customer by providing them with loyalty points on each order. The loyalty points should be redeemable with next order enabling the customer to use such points to get certain discount while making payment.  Such features are crucial and create among customers a sense of loyalty and also build a brands image in their minds.

Restaurant app and its benefits

• It acts as medium of sales facilitating quicker placing of orders
  
• With food ordering app customers can be retargeted easily through mails and push notification
  
• It gives customers the facility to order food from the convenience of their mobile which builds brand and enhances reputation
  
• Food ordering app creates more sales which further enhances profitability and revenue generation
  

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