Grocery Delivery App Development Guide 2026: Features, Cost & Tech Stack

Complete guide to building a grocery delivery app like Instacart or Walmart. Learn essential features, inventory management, and development costs.

Hevcode TeamJanuary 16, 2026

The grocery delivery market exploded during the pandemic and continues strong growth. This guide covers everything you need to build a successful grocery delivery application.

Market Overview

Key Statistics:

Global online grocery market: $285 billion (2024)
Expected growth: 25.3% CAGR through 2030
70% of consumers have used grocery delivery
Average order value: $95-120

Top Players:

Instacart (US market leader)
Walmart Grocery
Amazon Fresh
DoorDash (grocery)
Shipt (Target-owned)
Gorillas/Getir (quick commerce)

Types of Grocery Apps

1. Marketplace Model (Instacart)

Multiple store partners
Personal shoppers
Wide selection
Higher fees

2. Retailer-Owned (Walmart, Kroger)

Single retailer
Store inventory
Lower margins
Brand loyalty

3. Quick Commerce (Gorillas, Getir)

Dark stores
10-30 min delivery
Limited SKUs
Urban focused

4. Subscription Model (Misfits Market)

Weekly/monthly boxes
Curated selection
Recurring revenue
Lower logistics complexity

Essential Features

Core Features (MVP)

Customer App
├── User registration/login
├── Store/Location selection
├── Product browsing by category
├── Search with autocomplete
├── Product details (images, nutrition)
├── Shopping cart
├── Delivery time slots
├── Address management
├── Payment processing
├── Order tracking
├── Order history
├── Ratings & reviews
└── Customer support

Shopper App
├── Order assignment
├── Store navigation
├── Product scanning
├── Item substitutions
├── Customer chat
├── Batch shopping (multiple orders)
├── Delivery navigation
├── Proof of delivery
├── Earnings tracking
└── Schedule management

Admin Panel
├── Store management
├── Product catalog
├── Inventory sync
├── Pricing management
├── Shopper management
├── Order management
├── Delivery zones
├── Promotions/Coupons
├── Analytics & reports
└── Customer support tools

Advanced Features

Smart Shopping
├── AI-powered recommendations
├── Shopping list import (photo)
├── Recipe integration
├── Reorder favorites
├── Personalized deals
├── Voice search
└── Dietary filters (vegan, gluten-free)

Inventory Management
├── Real-time stock sync
├── Automatic substitutions
├── Out-of-stock alerts
├── Expiry date tracking
├── Demand forecasting
└── Multi-warehouse support

Delivery Optimization
├── Route optimization
├── Batch order grouping
├── Time slot management
├── Express delivery option
├── Contactless delivery
├── Scheduled recurring orders
└── Real-time ETA updates

Loyalty & Engagement
├── Points/Rewards program
├── Referral program
├── Membership tiers
├── Digital coupons
├── Personalized offers
└── Gamification

Operations
├── Dark store management
├── Temperature monitoring
├── Quality control checks
├── Returns processing
├── Driver assignment AI
└── Capacity planning

Technical Architecture

System Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     Mobile Apps                          │
│          (Customer App / Shopper App)                    │
└─────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┘
                          │
┌─────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────┐
│                    API Gateway                           │
│         (Kong / AWS API Gateway)                         │
└─────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┘
                          │
    ┌─────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┐
    │                     │                             │
┌───▼───┐           ┌────▼────┐                  ┌─────▼─────┐
│Catalog │           │ Order   │                  │ Delivery  │
│Service │           │ Service │                  │  Service  │
└───┬───┘           └────┬────┘                  └─────┬─────┘
    │                    │                             │
┌───▼────────┐    ┌─────▼─────┐               ┌──────▼──────┐
│Elasticsearch│   │ PostgreSQL│               │    Redis    │
│  (Search)  │    │           │               │ (Real-time) │
└────────────┘    └───────────┘               └─────────────┘

External Integrations:
├── Store POS Systems
├── Inventory Management (SAP, Oracle)
├── Payment Gateway (Stripe)
├── Maps API (Google Maps)
├── SMS/Push (Twilio, Firebase)
└── Analytics (Mixpanel, Amplitude)

Tech Stack

Mobile Apps:

Framework: React Native / Flutter
State: Redux Toolkit / Riverpod
Maps: Google Maps SDK
Payments: Stripe SDK
Push: Firebase Cloud Messaging
Analytics: Mixpanel
Barcode: ML Kit / ZXing

Backend:

Runtime: Node.js / Python / Go
Framework: NestJS / FastAPI / Gin
Database: PostgreSQL + MongoDB
Cache: Redis
Queue: Bull / RabbitMQ
Search: Elasticsearch
Storage: AWS S3
CDN: CloudFront

Database Schema

Products Table

CREATE TABLE products (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
  store_id UUID REFERENCES stores(id),

  -- Basic info
  name VARCHAR(200) NOT NULL,
  description TEXT,
  brand VARCHAR(100),
  category_id UUID REFERENCES categories(id),

  -- Identifiers
  sku VARCHAR(50),
  barcode VARCHAR(50),

  -- Pricing
  price DECIMAL(10, 2) NOT NULL,
  sale_price DECIMAL(10, 2),
  unit VARCHAR(20), -- each, lb, oz, kg
  price_per_unit DECIMAL(10, 2),

  -- Inventory
  in_stock BOOLEAN DEFAULT true,
  stock_quantity INT,
  low_stock_threshold INT DEFAULT 10,

  -- Details
  weight DECIMAL(10, 3),
  dimensions JSONB,
  nutrition_info JSONB,
  ingredients TEXT,
  allergens TEXT[],

  -- Media
  images JSONB, -- array of image URLs
  thumbnail VARCHAR(500),

  -- Attributes
  is_organic BOOLEAN DEFAULT false,
  is_vegan BOOLEAN DEFAULT false,
  is_gluten_free BOOLEAN DEFAULT false,

  -- Search
  search_vector TSVECTOR,

  status VARCHAR(20) DEFAULT 'active',
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW(),
  updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Indexes
CREATE INDEX idx_products_store ON products(store_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_products_category ON products(category_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_products_barcode ON products(barcode);
CREATE INDEX idx_products_search ON products USING GIN(search_vector);
CREATE INDEX idx_products_price ON products(price);

Orders Table

CREATE TABLE orders (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
  order_number VARCHAR(20) UNIQUE,

  -- Participants
  customer_id UUID REFERENCES users(id),
  store_id UUID REFERENCES stores(id),
  shopper_id UUID REFERENCES shoppers(id),

  -- Delivery
  delivery_address JSONB NOT NULL,
  delivery_instructions TEXT,
  delivery_slot_start TIMESTAMP,
  delivery_slot_end TIMESTAMP,
  delivery_type VARCHAR(20), -- standard, express, scheduled

  -- Status
  status VARCHAR(30) DEFAULT 'pending',
  -- pending, confirmed, shopping, ready_for_delivery,
  -- out_for_delivery, delivered, cancelled

  -- Pricing
  subtotal DECIMAL(10, 2),
  delivery_fee DECIMAL(10, 2),
  service_fee DECIMAL(10, 2),
  tip DECIMAL(10, 2) DEFAULT 0,
  discount DECIMAL(10, 2) DEFAULT 0,
  tax DECIMAL(10, 2),
  total DECIMAL(10, 2),

  -- Payment
  payment_method VARCHAR(50),
  payment_status VARCHAR(20),
  payment_intent_id VARCHAR(255),

  -- Tracking
  shopper_accepted_at TIMESTAMP,
  shopping_started_at TIMESTAMP,
  shopping_completed_at TIMESTAMP,
  picked_up_at TIMESTAMP,
  delivered_at TIMESTAMP,

  -- Substitutions
  allow_substitutions BOOLEAN DEFAULT true,
  substitution_preference VARCHAR(20), -- best_match, contact_me, refund

  -- Proof
  delivery_photo VARCHAR(500),
  signature TEXT,

  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW(),
  updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

Order Items Table

CREATE TABLE order_items (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
  order_id UUID REFERENCES orders(id),
  product_id UUID REFERENCES products(id),

  -- Quantity
  quantity INT NOT NULL,
  unit VARCHAR(20),

  -- Pricing at time of order
  unit_price DECIMAL(10, 2),
  total_price DECIMAL(10, 2),

  -- Status
  status VARCHAR(20) DEFAULT 'pending',
  -- pending, found, substituted, not_found, refunded

  -- Substitution
  substituted_product_id UUID REFERENCES products(id),
  substitution_approved BOOLEAN,

  -- Shopping
  scanned_at TIMESTAMP,
  scanned_barcode VARCHAR(50),

  notes TEXT,
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

Product Search Implementation

// Elasticsearch product mapping
const productMapping = {
  properties: {
    name: {
      type: 'text',
      analyzer: 'standard',
      fields: {
        keyword: { type: 'keyword' },
        autocomplete: {
          type: 'text',
          analyzer: 'autocomplete'
        }
      }
    },
    description: { type: 'text' },
    brand: { type: 'keyword' },
    category: { type: 'keyword' },
    price: { type: 'float' },
    in_stock: { type: 'boolean' },
    is_organic: { type: 'boolean' },
    is_vegan: { type: 'boolean' },
    allergens: { type: 'keyword' },
    store_id: { type: 'keyword' }
  }
};

// Search with filters
const searchProducts = async (query, filters) => {
  const must = [
    { term: { store_id: filters.storeId } },
    { term: { in_stock: true } }
  ];

  if (query) {
    must.push({
      multi_match: {
        query,
        fields: ['name^3', 'brand^2', 'description'],
        fuzziness: 'AUTO'
      }
    });
  }

  const filter = [];

  if (filters.category) {
    filter.push({ term: { category: filters.category } });
  }

  if (filters.isOrganic) {
    filter.push({ term: { is_organic: true } });
  }

  if (filters.priceRange) {
    filter.push({
      range: {
        price: {
          gte: filters.priceRange.min,
          lte: filters.priceRange.max
        }
      }
    });
  }

  if (filters.excludeAllergens?.length) {
    filter.push({
      bool: {
        must_not: filters.excludeAllergens.map(allergen => ({
          term: { allergens: allergen }
        }))
      }
    });
  }

  return elasticsearch.search({
    index: 'products',
    body: {
      query: { bool: { must, filter } },
      sort: [
        { _score: 'desc' },
        { price: filters.sortByPrice || 'asc' }
      ],
      size: 50
    }
  });
};

Delivery Slot Management

class DeliverySlotManager {
  constructor(storeId) {
    this.storeId = storeId;
    this.slotDuration = 60; // minutes
    this.maxOrdersPerSlot = 10;
  }

  async getAvailableSlots(date, deliveryZone) {
    const storeHours = await this.getStoreHours(date);
    const slots = [];

    let currentTime = storeHours.open;
    const endTime = storeHours.close;

    while (currentTime < endTime) {
      const slotEnd = this.addMinutes(currentTime, this.slotDuration);

      const bookedCount = await db.query(`
        SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders
        WHERE store_id = $1
        AND delivery_slot_start = $2
        AND status NOT IN ('cancelled', 'delivered')
      `, [this.storeId, currentTime]);

      const available = bookedCount < this.maxOrdersPerSlot;
      const deliveryFee = this.calculateDeliveryFee(currentTime, deliveryZone);

      slots.push({
        start: currentTime,
        end: slotEnd,
        available,
        remainingCapacity: this.maxOrdersPerSlot - bookedCount,
        deliveryFee,
        isExpressAvailable: this.isExpressAvailable(currentTime)
      });

      currentTime = slotEnd;
    }

    return slots;
  }

  calculateDeliveryFee(slotTime, zone) {
    let baseFee = zone.baseFee;

    // Peak hour surcharge (5-8 PM)
    const hour = slotTime.getHours();
    if (hour >= 17 && hour <= 20) {
      baseFee += 2.99;
    }

    return baseFee;
  }

  isExpressAvailable(slotTime) {
    // Express only available during daytime
    const hour = slotTime.getHours();
    return hour >= 9 && hour <= 21;
  }
}

Shopping Flow (Shopper App)

class ShoppingSession {
  constructor(orderId, shopperId) {
    this.orderId = orderId;
    this.shopperId = shopperId;
  }

  async startShopping() {
    await db.orders.update(this.orderId, {
      status: 'shopping',
      shopping_started_at: new Date()
    });

    // Notify customer
    await notifications.send(order.customer_id, {
      type: 'shopping_started',
      message: 'Your shopper has started shopping!'
    });
  }

  async scanItem(barcode) {
    const orderItem = await db.orderItems.findOne({
      order_id: this.orderId,
      product: { barcode }
    });

    if (!orderItem) {
      return { found: false, message: 'Item not in order' };
    }

    await db.orderItems.update(orderItem.id, {
      status: 'found',
      scanned_at: new Date(),
      scanned_barcode: barcode
    });

    return { found: true, item: orderItem };
  }

  async requestSubstitution(itemId, substituteProductId, reason) {
    const order = await db.orders.findById(this.orderId);

    if (order.substitution_preference === 'contact_me') {
      // Send to customer for approval
      await db.orderItems.update(itemId, {
        status: 'pending_substitution',
        substituted_product_id: substituteProductId
      });

      await notifications.send(order.customer_id, {
        type: 'substitution_request',
        itemId,
        substituteProductId,
        reason
      });
    } else if (order.substitution_preference === 'best_match') {
      // Auto-approve
      await db.orderItems.update(itemId, {
        status: 'substituted',
        substituted_product_id: substituteProductId,
        substitution_approved: true
      });
    } else {
      // Refund
      await db.orderItems.update(itemId, {
        status: 'refunded'
      });
    }
  }

  async completeShopping() {
    const items = await db.orderItems.findByOrder(this.orderId);
    const allFound = items.every(i =>
      ['found', 'substituted', 'refunded'].includes(i.status)
    );

    if (!allFound) {
      throw new Error('Not all items processed');
    }

    await db.orders.update(this.orderId, {
      status: 'ready_for_delivery',
      shopping_completed_at: new Date()
    });

    // Recalculate total with substitutions/refunds
    await this.recalculateOrderTotal();
  }
}

Monetization Strategies

Revenue Streams

1. Delivery Fees: $3.99 - $9.99 per order
2. Service Fees: 5-10% of order value
3. Membership: $9.99/month for free delivery
4. Markup on products: 10-15%
5. Advertising: Promoted products, banner ads
6. Data & insights: Retail analytics

Membership Model

Feature	Free	Premium ($9.99/mo)
Delivery fee	$5.99+	Free (orders $35+)
Service fee	5%	Reduced 3%
Express delivery	$3.99 extra	Free
Exclusive deals	No	Yes
Priority support	No	Yes
Family accounts	No	Up to 5

Development Cost Breakdown

MVP Grocery App

Design: $12,000 - $20,000
├── Customer app UI/UX
├── Shopper app UI/UX
├── Admin dashboard
└── Brand identity

Development: $60,000 - $100,000
├── Customer mobile app
├── Shopper mobile app
├── Product catalog system
├── Order management
├── Real-time tracking
├── Payment integration
├── Admin panel
└── iOS + Android

Backend: $25,000 - $40,000
├── API development
├── Search engine setup
├── Inventory sync system
├── Delivery slot management
├── Notification system
└── Cloud infrastructure

Third-Party: $5,000 - $10,000
├── Maps API
├── Payment gateway
├── SMS/Push services
├── Cloud hosting
└── CDN for images

TOTAL MVP: $102,000 - $170,000
Timeline: 5-7 months

Full Platform

TOTAL: $250,000 - $450,000
Timeline: 10-16 months

Includes:
├── AI recommendations
├── Multi-store support
├── Loyalty program
├── Advanced analytics
├── POS integrations
├── Inventory management
├── Marketing automation
├── B2B ordering
└── White-label solution

Launch Checklist

Pre-Launch

Operations

Marketing

Launch promotions ready
Referral program active
Social media presence
Local PR/marketing

Conclusion

Building a grocery delivery app requires handling complex inventory, real-time operations, and logistics. Start with a single store or small geographic area, perfect the experience, then scale.

Ready to build your grocery platform? Contact Hevcode for expert grocery app development. We have experience with e-commerce, real-time tracking, and inventory systems.