On-demand Laundry App Development: Cost And Key Features

The increased awareness and desire for eco-friendly laundry detergents and promoting a safe and balanced lifestyle among the consumers are driving up the demand for laundry products. With the high competitiveness in the laundry market, many businesses opt for launching laundry app development. According to Verified Market Research, the Global Online On-Demand Laundry Service Market was valued at $9.72 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $113.24 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 35.9% from 2020 to 2027.

With the goal of assisting businesses in their digital transformation journey, this written piece will serve as a comprehensive guide to developing an on-demand laundry app.

1. On-demand Laundry App Development – Why would you need it?

There is no doubt that technology is revolutionizing how the world operates, and the laundry business is not an exception. An increasing number of laundry apps have been launched, helping to reach more customers, provide better customer services, and generate more revenue. Technavio reported that the COVID-19 could not slow the laundry sector’s growth. Here are some apps in this sphere that have stable revenue and proceed to grow:

Source: Zoominfo

A laundry app is beneficial for both business owners and customers. These are the things that a laundry app will do for a laundry business:

• Manage booking effectively: scheduling might be a problem when there are too many orders coming at the same time. Developing a laundry app is an effective solution with all the illustrations, tables to arrange the bookings logically, lessening the efforts spending on booking management.
• Smartly maintain client communications: business owners can know customers better over a period of time through feedback or customer insight when the customer data collection is big enough, and keep in touch for the future comeback.
• Store important client information: all the information of app users throughout all sessions is stored within the app. The data of customer experience collected can be analyzed to help the business improve the existing services or release more services fitting the customer needs.
• Manage staff and review performances effectively: each staff has their own accounts or codes on the laundry app so the clients can feedback or rate the service they got. These data attribute to business management and will be the basis of the staff assessments. 

Besides, when using the laundry service, customer benefits a lot if the business has an app:

• Easy booking: clients can place an order for laundry anytime or even schedule laundry pickup, delivery through the app. The app might have reminders so they will not miss the booking.
• Track the laundry process: people always feel more rest assured when they are well-informed, it goes for tracking the laundry process. People pay special attention to luxury clothes and the fact that they know what is happening to their clothes makes the service better.
• Feedback about the service: Client feedback is essential to guide, inform decision-making, influence innovations and changes to the service. On the client-side, the form in the app encourages them to feedback, and while doing so, they also feel important, involved and tend to be attached to the brand.

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2. Concepts of On-demand Laundry App Development

Developing an app has never been easy. The laundry app needs to be designed to fit at least three subjects: customer, delivery, and laundryman/admin panel. Each side has its own customized features. Even though they are only slightly different, they, in fact, taking a lot of time for planning the app structure.

2.1. Customer Side

The customer interface includes customer profiles with personal info such as full name, address, and phone number. In the app for customers, they are enabled users to:

• Sign up and sign in
• Choose the desired service and add details (fabric, detergent preferences, clothes types, etc.)
• Schedule pickup and delivery
• Pay online and receive an e-invoice.
• Track order process and get notifications.
• View history and review the service

2.2. Delivery Side

When customers place an order, it is transferred to the delivery side. Within this app, after receiving information, employees can:

• Confirm the orders
• Put the preferred pickup and delivery times in the schedule
• Set up tracking and update the order status when needed
• Map a suitable route for pickups and deliveries

2.3. Laundryman Side

The laundryman side needs to be closely connected to the delivery side. The laundryman gets detailed information about clients’ orders, such as the order number, service type (Laundry Care, Dry Clean, or Duvet Clean), fabric and detergents, etc. Each step of laundry needs to be marked on the app to keep the clients updated. In the case there are any problems occur, the laundryman has to inform and discuss with the clients to find out the solutions When laundry is completed, systems will send the notice to the delivery.

Another role on the laundryman side is admin. Admin is the one controlling everything that happen on the app, ensure the laundry service runs smoothly and clients get the best experiences. The entire processes are managed by the admin panel, which consolidates:

• Order histories
• Data of clients, employees
• Map and calendar
• Dashboard (Statistics and analytics)

3. Key Features in On-demand Laundry App Development

The app needs to include key features that meet the demands of app users from all three aforementioned sides. Here are some recommended functionalities, divided based on usability:

3.1. On-demand Laundry App Development: Customer Side

3.1.1. Easy And Quick Sign up/Sign in

The easy register enables the customers to sign up through various options such as phone numbers, email, or social media accounts like Google, Facebook, etc. It saves users time by not going through validation steps. The password saving function should also be added to laundry app development, helping users get rid of retyping passwords.

3.1.2. Service Options

There are multiple options for app users to select for the laundry. Some fabrics require special treatment. For instance, if the customers need the laundry service for cottonwear, they choose the ‘Cotton’ option, and the laundryman will know what treatment should be given for the clothes.
A small note is that the ‘Other’ option is essential in the laundry app development because it is impossible to list all existing fabric. This option allows app users to note the fabric not in the mentioned options but also the laundry instructions.

3.1.3. Schedule

In on-demand laundry app development, this is one of the most important features. The clients can book the pickup time of their preference in the scheduling function. After the date and time are set, the laundry will be picked up and delivered in time. This makes laundry much more convenient for the busy who is not always available at home.

3.1.4. Estimated Cost

After filling in the services options, type and number of clothes, clients can see the laundry’s estimated cost in the total payment. The costs are calculated basing on the selected services. For example, services for ‘Cotton’ material may cost less than that for ‘Linen’ material, which requires cautious washing and ironing.

3.1.5. Notifications

Customers will receive notification relating to the order status updates, order cancellation, promotion offers. This function benefits both service sellers and buyers. The customers will not miss any updates while the laundry service provider stays more connected to customers and motivates them to come back later.

3.1.6. Order Status

This is another indispensable feature. With the help of this feature, customers can track their orders’ progress in real-time. The laundryman needs to update the order status periodically to keep the customers updated with their orders’ status. The customers will feel more assured when they know what is happening with their clothes.

3.1.7. Order Cancellation

In the on-demand laundry app development process, developers need to assume any possible situation, and some order cancellation is inevitable. The cancel button is usually placed at the bottom of the order. After customers cancel any orders, the laundry app system will automatically send notifications to the admin, laundry, and delivery. Questions about canceling reasons should also be added for service improvement purposes.

3.1.8. Offers

Customers love offers. When they start an order, checking the promotion code is almost a habit. Therefore, if the app has “My Offers”, showing personalized rewards or offers for the users, it will encourage them to utilize the code. Besides, the admin can organize some campaigns and giveaway vouchers. They can attract customers’ attention and increase interaction.

3.1.9. Payment

The payment gateway within the laundry app development is vital, especially in this digital era, when the e-wallet becomes indissoluble. It takes less time and be convenient for customers. They can complete the payment with a few taps, connecting their bank accounts or any e-wallet after finishing the orders. However, the cash payment option is unremovable as some older people prefer the traditional methods.

3.1.10. Review and rating

Allowing customers to give feedback and rating only after the order is finished ensures all the reviews are from the real users, avoids the rivals’ spams. These reviews will be transferred to admin, laundryman, and delivery as they are valuable for service improvements.

3.2. On-demand Laundry App Development: Laundryman/Admin Side

3.2.1. Login

The admin or laundry workers need their own account type to differentiate them from customers. In these accounts, they can get access to the dashboard to manage the business. Also, these accounts have control of the app overall. For example, the admin can decide which notifications the customers will receive or change the order status.

3.2.2. Dashboard

The dashboard is the paramount tool for the admin to manage the app and make business decisions. The dashboard contains all the figures, such as the detailed information of each order, total number of orders, real-time analytics like business growth, profit per order, staffs’ performance, etc. The laundryman also will not miss the customers’ booking date if they keep on track with the dashboard.

3.2.3. Order History

Order History is essential to keep the clients’ loyalty. Admin can develop personalized offers for loyal ones and find out the clients’ taste by statistics. In some apps, Order History is integrated into the Dashboard and synchronized with other data. This makes all statistics are in one place and convenient for the management.

3.2.4. Reminders

This feature is quite beneficial in on-demand laundry app development. It helps the laundryman not miss the tasks and admin to keep the whole system run as scheduled. For example, if there is any coming deadline for ironing, the system will automatically send a reminder about the task so the laundryman will arrange a time for it.

3.3. On-demand Laundry App Development: Delivery Side

3.3.1. Login

The shippers need a customized interface, so there should be a shipper login option when signing in. In this account, shippers will organize their workload based on the information about the orders’ schedule and location to ensure everything is on track. 

3.3.2. Map

This is one of the most important features for shippers in laundry app development. It shows the precise customers’ location so the shippers can create the shortest delivery or pickup routes. This function’s interface can base on Google Map, so the app can take advantage of the tremendous data source of Google to increase the location’s accuracy, and shippers will not take too much time to familiarize themselves with it. 

3.3.3. Schedule

The delivery men need to adjust their working time according to orders’ date and time. Therefore, the app needs to provide them a schedule of what time they need to pick up or deliver to have an overview of their future working schedule to arrange the time reasonably. This schedule also needs to be equipped with reminders to ensure everything runs in time.

3.3.4. Customer Contact

This feature allows shippers to contact the customer directly. Many unpredictable cases are happening while shippers are on the road that they need to inform customers. For example, shippers cannot find the address, or there is a sudden traffic jam, making shippers do not make it in time. The shippers need to commit that they will not leak the customers’ personal information.

4. Trendy Designs for On-demand Laundry App Development

4.1. Rounded Corners

Rounded corners have been mobile app design trends accelerated from mobile devices such as iPhone 12 or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. These curves gradually get reflected in the design of mobile apps. This mobile app design is aesthetically pleasing and positively impacts user experience, making it easier for the human eye to see and more quickly for users to input data and carry out transactions.

4.2. Neatly Organized Contents

Too many texts on the screen can disperse the users’ focus and decrease efficiency. Keeping the app interface simple and minimal, using different font sizes, highlighting the key points or frequently-used features are suggested solutions. Focusing on one or two actions at once proves for a better user experience. This also helps to deliver more accurate messages of app developers to the customers.
Besides, white space and bright colors are recommended to be used widely and wisely. White space is an effective tool for separating different sections, especially in on-demand laundry app development, while the colors can attract the users’ focus. However, using too many colors might confuse and exhaust the users’ eyes.

4.3. Make Use of Visual

According to Taylor & Francis Online, users form their first impression in only 50 milliseconds. In the laundry app development, the design should not only be beautiful but also be a comfort to use. Designers are trying to meet the users’ cravings for a more relaxing experience that can reduce eye strain by creating comprehensive designs joined with soothing visuals easy on the eyes. The app designs contain natural colors and simple layouts that don’t overwhelm users, enabling them to look at the screen longer without getting uncomfortable.

5. On-demand Laundry App Development Cost

In laundry app development, the app’s cost is calculated based on various factors, including the app development platform, design, and function complexity.

5.1. Laundry App Development Platform

The man-hours vary depending on the platforms, which makes the difference between development costs. The time to develop an app on iOS is usually longer than that for Android. For on-demand laundry app development, approximately 800 hours are needed for an Android app and 750 hours for an iOS app.

5.2. Laundry App Design

The design might take approximately 140-200 hours. This estimation might vary a lot due to the amendment. There should be an advanced discussion between designers and customers about the color, theme, designing style, etc., to reduce the editing time later on. 

5.3. Laundry App Function Complexity

This factor depends mostly on customers’ requirements about the laundry app. If the app is integrated with other functions such as entertainment or chatbot, it will take more man-hours and raise the overall cost. However, complex apps should be considered as they might attract more users and generate better profit.
Additionally, admin panel and backend development require 60 hours and up to 200 hours, correspondingly. Altogether, a native, on-demand laundry app development takes around 1000 hours. The hourly rate is different in each country and company. It might come between $12000 to $30000 for developing a laundry app for a single platform.