Case Study
Creating a Fully-Featured Grocery Mobile App for Sidramart Stores
Introduction
Sidramart is an online grocery supermarket app that serves customers in the Toronto area in Canada. They needed a website and app for selling groceries online that could let their customers order online for various groceries and Halal meat. Elite mCommerce reviewed their unique challenges and needs, tailored an eCommerce platform to their requirements, and delivered the final product quickly and efficiently. We provided a full-featured eCommerce website and mobile app tested for their needs, plus continuing Elite mCommerce support and updates.
Challenge
The client contacted Elite mCommerce about their urgent need for a stable and functional eCommerce mobile app as soon as possible. We proposed our Elite Grove plan which offers more comprehensive features including an admin app at the best cost. We determined that our standard features for a grocery ordering app provided what they needed. After trying a demonstration version of the Elite mCommerce app, they knew we were able to supply the right app for them.Â
The client’s requirements were led to certain challenges:
- The Canadian postal codes were alphanumeric and had a pattern specific to region, making it very difficult to set the postal codes of six different serviceable areas for delivery.Â
- Customers needed to be able to check if the store could service their area or not.
- They wanted delivery time slots, and the store owner would need to be able to process and prepare orders in time to deliver the groceries
- They wanted a solution that is usable, high-performing, fast, and with impressive graphics
Solutions
Postal Code-Serviceability check
- Elite mCommerce added a pattern-based postal code serviceability check that allows users to simply enter their postal code and see whether the addresses with that postal code are in the delivery range.Â
- The app was able to successfully use the postal codes in a user-friendly system that provided delivery time slots based on each individual postal code.Â
- In addition to this, the store owners can set time intervals from when the order is placed to when the promised delivery time is, so the timeslot becomes unavailable if there isn’t enough time to prepare orders.Â
- Store admins can use area codes for location restrictions so only customers whose addresses are in the right area codes are able to place orders.
Store Pickup and Delivery
Offering delivery through an app requires access to the customer location and a set delivery range to avoid promising delivery at a longer distance than the company can support. The app lets stores set a delivery range based on distance and area codes, only allowing delivery to addresses within range.
To address scheduling deliveries and pickup, we enabled delivery slots that automatically offer delivery windows provided by the store owner.Â
Targeted Marketing
Communication with customers can be targeted more accurately on a mobile app than an eCommerce website. EMC determined that Sidramart would benefit from using intelligent push notifications through the app. Push notifications can reach out to anyone who has downloaded the app, whether or not it is currently running.
In order to meet the client’s requirements, we enabled custom push notifications that they can send based on certain conditions, such as geo-location, purchase history, and abandoned carts so the right customers are targeted each time.
Contactless Delivery
Customers prefer contactless delivery now more than ever. When customers can normally choose between pickup and delivery options, the app offers additional choices of contactless delivery and curbside pickup, and customers can give special instructions about how to fulfill their order.
Outcomes
We planned the product launch in advance to arrive on the date requested by the client. The launch of the product was confirmed when the client approved our staging apps and website after the entire flow was reviewed and the app worked successfully. With no unexpected issues during testing and launch, we concluded it was a success.
After launch, we responded to feedback from Sidramart and enhanced the interface of the Android & iOS app. They proposed that we modify the app’s home screen to include HD Slider banners with Contact links to Website that could show off products and deals, so we adjusted the app to their satisfaction.
Overall, EMC received helpful client feedback that stressed aspects of the product such as faster loading times and a better checkout experience. We did our best to factor the feedback into our development process.
Key Takeaways
The Sidramart app is meant to let customers access the store while on-the-go and with the most convenience. That meant our priority was to deliver an app that is easy to use and offers advantages to the customer, so they will take the step of installing the app and using the store for groceries more frequently, making it worth the investment. A streamlined mobile user interface and user experience were the keys to making this project succeed.
Since many of our clients start as brick-and-mortar stores in need of an online presence, we want to do the most to connect physical and digital stores. Going forward, our development goals make integration between stores and their mobile apps a high priority.
Clients don’t always know exactly what they need from the start, so EMC makes efforts to create modules and features that can be added based on client feedback at any time. By staying up to date with the latest trends and developments in the industry, we can continue to create apps that are accessible and life-changing for the businesses we serve.