Who wouldn’t love flowers on their birthday? Or simply when you have had a hard day? Flower delivery business is a new field that has tremendous scope for success. A lot of people love to gift each other flowers to mark a special occasion and is seen as a sweet gesture.
According to a recent study published by IBIS, the florist industry has reached around $800 million in the last five years and is likely to augment in the foreseen times as well.
Developing an on-demand flower delivery mobile app is a great way to steal your share of this growing industry. If you own a flower shop and do not have a flower delivery app, you are leaving a lot of money on the table. Get to know how to develop an on-demand flower delivery app and reach out to your potential customers.
How to Develop An On-Demand Flower Delivery App like Ferns and Petals
If you wish to develop your very own florist app similar to Ferns and Petals, we are here to guide you through the process and answer this question in detail.
So let’s get started!
Do a Research
The first step to answer- ‘How to develop an on-demand flower delivery app’ is by conducting extensive research. Before you jump into the pool, you need to know what you’re getting yourself into. So it is always a good idea to research the various aspects of flower delivery business before launching your start-up and its mobile app.
Know your Competitors
During your extensive research, you will get to know about your main competitors. When you are launching a new florist app in the market, you will likely make a lot of mistakes if you go in blind. The saying ‘Keep your friends close, and enemies closer’ applies here perfectly.
Take a moment and evaluate your competitors: How they handle their flower delivery services? What are their strong points? Where do they lack? What do their customer’s reviews say? Answering these questions will give a brief of what you have to do, and what you need to avoid.
Observe the Trends
Keep a hawk-eye on the latest and upcoming trends. The world runs on trends, from technology to the fashion world and also flower delivery services. Carry out trending flower research as well, to appeal the youths towards your flower delivery services.
Target your Customer Group
You will need to decide the user group you wish to target. One app can’t attract all age, gender, and ethnic groups. So your best shot is to target the potential customers that are more likely to use on-demand flower delivery services and work to please them.
Plan the App
You need to have a clear picture of the layout, design, functionality, and features you wish to have in your florist app. There will always be new approaches to woo the customers as well as features and themes you would want to try. Thus, it is best to release the first version of the app and then improve it over time.
FEATURES OF A FLOWER DELIVERY APP
Before you hire a flower delivery app development company, you need to come up with the essential features that you want to have in your app. Here are the features you can include in your florist app to gain an edge over your competitors
USER APP
#1. Sign-in
Research shows that most people abandon an online shopping attempt because of the overly complicated ordering process. So be straight forward, ask for only essential details with easy sign-ups from a mobile number, email ID or social media accounts. Also, allow users to explore your flower delivery services without signing in.
#2. Product List
Enable your customers to choose from a vast range of flowers, gifts, and accessories you offer for delivery. Each product will have a detailed description along with offers and deals.
#3. Customized bouquets
Bouquets are the most sold product at a flower shop. While some bouquets might be pre-decided and waiting to be delivered, you must allow your customers to choose flowers of their choice to create a personalized bouquet.
#4. Quick Search
Features like sorting and filters along with appropriate categories make search simple and quick. The app users need not waste their time by going through a large variety of flowers you offer.
#5. Schedule Delivery
The whole purpose of a flower delivery business is to bring joy by delivering fresh flowers with crisp colors and pleasant smell. Give the users delivery options of whether they want the delivery immediately or later. Enable your customers to schedule the date and delivery time to receive flowers exactly when they want it.
#6. Tracking Orders
Keeping the order status to yourself will make your customers impatient and worried. Enable them to see the live status of the order with the expected time of delivery to enhance user-experience.
#7. Add Gifts
Customers can add gifts like desserts, chocolates, keychains, and other such small items with their orders.
#8. Modes of Payment
Offer your customers with several modes of payment like credit/debit card, net banking, and digital wallets. Also, ensure the payment gateway is safe and secure.
#9. Social Media Integration
We update all our life events on social media. Allow your users to share their recent purchases or gifts on their social media accounts.
#10. Push notifications
Customers will be notified about their order status, offers, and discounts. Occasional promotions can help you retain your existing customers.
#11. Ratings and Reviews
Every on-demand app has a review section. So should your flower delivery app. Customers can rate your flower delivery services and also write reviews for your potential customers to see.
ADMIN PANEL
#1. Login
You can log in to the admin panel of the flower delivery app with an ID that will be b known only to you. For your security and privacy of the admin panel, there will be multiple security checks.
#2. Managing orders
You can manage the orders by going through the required date and time of delivery and working according to the time frame. You may also schedule future deliveries.
#3. Payments
All the payments made by the customers can be viewed and managed by you.
#4. Monitoring Delivery Executives
The number of orders assigned to each delivery executive with the designated address will be completely under the management of the admin. You can also track their movements when they are out for delivery.
#5. Real-time notifications
The admin panel enables you to receive a real-time notification as soon as an order is placed. You’ll also b notified regarding delivery completion, upcoming scheduled deliveries and the status of the delivery executives.
#6. Dashboard
You can edit and customize the user florist app whenever you feel necessary. You can easily update the flower categories, prices, gift combos, etc to be attuned with the user demands.
#7. Marketing
All the advertisements, banners, email templates and promotional campaigns running will be managed by you through the admin panel.
#8. Feedbacks
You can view all the reviews and ratings for your flower delivery services made by the customers. This helps you to maintain your strong points and work on the negative feedback and suggestions.
The final step to answer ‘How to develop an on-demand flower delivery app’ is to choose a mobile app development company that caters to all your needs. While selecting your project managers, make sure they know the app development process inside. They must be able to envision your idea of the flower-delivery app and make it a reality within your budget. A team with experience that develops both, iOS and Android apps, will be the icing on the cake.
CONCLUSION
A flower shop or a florist business is incomplete these days without online delivery services. Although there are few apps like Ferns and Petals and 1800 Flowers that have set a benchmark, with the right features, graphics, and layout, you can develop the next market-dominating mobile app.
Idea Usher is a team of developers that have created websites and applications for almost all kinds of business. Besides years of collective experience, we also have developed flower delivery mobile apps previously from scratch.