How to Develop a Restaurant Mobile App: 9 Must Have Features

The number of restaurants and cafes developing mobile apps is on the rise. Technology enables restaurants to expand their customer base, increase sales, generate repeat orders, and solve other important business problems.

However, many entrepreneurs either doubt whether they really need a mobile app, or simply do not understand what kind of app they need. Therefore, let’s take a closer look at the advantages of having a mobile app for the restaurant business, and the features it requires.

How Mobile Apps Have Changed The Restaurant Industry

• 60% of people in the US now order delivery or takeout at least once a week. — Business Of Apps
• Consumers want more mobile apps for local chain restaurants, but the apps must have easy ordering and easy payments. — Pizza Marketplace
• 70% of consumers would rather order from a custom restaurant app than a third-party app. — Hospitality Tech
• Restaurant apps and websites are the most used channels for digital ordering, representing 62% of all digital orders. — NPD 
• Searches for branded restaurant apps that enable things like reservations, tracking orders, and discounts have grown 120% YoY. — Google
• 36% of TikTok users order from restaurants after seeing them on the app. — Restaurant Dive
• About 92% of all top-performing restaurants offered mobile order-ahead and loyalty rewards programs or a combination of both. — FinancesOnline
• It is projected that online food ordering revenue will climb to $220 billion by 2023 – 40% of overall restaurant sales. — Demetra

Share of consumers that prefer to use a restaurant’s own app or website for food delivery in the United States. Source: Statista

Why Does Your Restaurant Need a Mobile Application?

Mobile technologies can be successfully deployed in the restaurant business, providing owners with many advantages, including:

• Restaurant attendance growth. Users can be informed about various events, discounts, and other activities aimed at attracting visitors.
• Quick order processing.  A client receives a quick and easy tool to order and pay, without having to wait on the phone and talk to a representative.
• Higher customer loyalty. Customer loyalty is increased by the ability to give feedback, make remote bookings and pre-order from the menu, and engage in promotions and other campaigns.
• Collecting statistics about customers.  A history of customer visits and orders allows you to create personalized offers which clients will not be able to resist.
• Encouraging reviews.  After a client visits your restaurant, you can send them a push notification with a request to provide feedback.

Thus, the development of a mobile app is a truly modern approach to acquiring and retaining a target audience for your restaurant business.

9 Must-Have Restaurant Mobile App Features 

Different people will need different capabilities, but a few features will be relevant to most customers of restaurants and cafes.

1. Contacts

A must-have item for any consumer application. This will enable the customer to quickly build a map route to your venue, or call you with a click of a button or other communication option.

2. Photo Gallery

Here you can describe the concept of your restaurant, its advantages and features, as well as showcase photos of the interior and the prepared dishes.

3. Menu

The ability to browse the menu is one of the most important options of a restaurant application. According to statistics, more than 70% of users of such applications first look at the menu to study it and the pricing policy of the establishment, and only then they visit the restaurant of their choice.

People often turn to the menu to study offers and prices before visiting any outside eating outlet. The benefit for owners is that it will take a minimum of time to make changes to such a menu.

On the administrative side, the restaurant manager can change prices, add new dishes and drinks, and, based on analytical data (which the app can also provide), remove unpopular dishes from the menu.

4. Reservation option

The function of table booking in restaurants helps customers choose a convenient day and time of visit, without going into trouble of calling the outlet.

5. Pre-order of dishes

Time is a valuable resource, and the ability to pre-order dishes from the menu will help save precious time. In this way, the client can save waiting time when at venue.

[Taco Bell app]

6. Food delivery

It is a freedom to order from any place at any time without pausing everything and making a call to the restaurant. A good opportunity to expand the customer base at the expense of people who do not have time to visit the outlet, but would like to make an order from you.

7. Loyalty program

This is the main tool for retaining customers, and generating repeat sales. A loyalty program can involve visit rewards, club cards, family discounts, or a free cup of coffee after every third visit. Carrying loyalty cards is inconvenient, but a mobile app is always at hand.

8. Order history

Not all restaurant apps have this option, but it is definitely useful. If a person has a certain taste (for example, they order the same salad and drink), it is important for them to be able to quickly access their previous order and repeat it.

9. Push notifications

These messages appear on the phone screen of the app user, and can be sent periodically to remind customers of offerings, promotions, special events, or updated menus.

A properly configured mobile app, coupled with good usability, will enable restaurants to increase profit by attracting new customers, and retaining existing customers.

10. Pre-order dishes

This feature allows you to save time when the client is in a hurry. This is especially important for fast food restaurants, where customers usually wait in line rather than at a table.

11. Table reservation

This is indeed a very convenient tool that saves time for both restaurant managers and guests. In addition, if this process is digitized, there will be no errors caused by the human factor.

How Much Does it Cost to Build a Restaurant Mobile Application?

The cost of developing a restaurant mobile app can vary significantly depending on several factors. Some of the key factors that influence cost include:

• List of features. The more features and functionality you want in your restaurant app, the higher the cost. Features such as online ordering, table reservations, loyalty programs, push notifications, menu customization, and payment gateway integration will impact development costs.
• Target platform. Costs may vary depending on whether you are developing a native app for a single platform (iOS or Android) or a cross-platform product.
• UI/UX design. A well-designed product with a user-friendly interface may cost more than a simple and basic design.
• Development team. Hourly rates for developers/agencies can vary depending on their experience and location. Developers in certain regions may charge more or less than others.
• Backend infrastructure. If you are creating a restaurant app with a complex backend system to handle orders, payments, and user data, this can add to the overall cost.
• Testing and maintenance. Testing the application for bugs and ongoing maintenance and updates are important considerations for the overall cost.

The cost to build a basic restaurant mobile app could range from $10,000 to $20,000, while a more complex and feature-rich app could cost $30,000 or more. However, there are many price factors as mentioned above. For an accurate estimate for a restaurant mobile app development, contact us to discuss your specific requirements and receive a personalized quote.