Develop a Grocery App Like Coles : Cost And Features

Sir Richard Branson, Entrepreneur and co-founder of Virgin Group, once said:

“Business opportunities are like buses; there’s always another one coming.”

Which is nothing less than the triumphing truth for every lucrative business in 2025. Case in point: take, for instance, the world of grocery apps like Coles. Quick commerce isn't just the market king at the moment; it's the future of user engagement and profitability. Supermarkets or grocery products are legitimate everyday needs for every individual.

Previously, people had to make the trip to the market, pick an item, stand in lengthy billing lines, wait for cashiers to process payments, gather bags, and go through a slew of other procedures before eventually loading the things into their vehicles and driving home. All of this was changed and revolutionized after the launch of grocery delivery services and online quick commerce delivery apps like Coles.

The fast-paced world has quickly fallen in love with the convenience, accessibility, and effortlessness that come with grocery apps like Coles. With a few taps, customers get the flexibility to browse multi-category items, choose the sizing of products, compare prices, and have them all delivered at the earliest possible timeline right to their door. Creating a supermarket app like Coles is a lucrative opportunity for businesses looking to replicate this success. The strategy to develop a grocery app like Coles is multidimensional and needs proper planning, accurate allocation of resources, and smart execution.

But the question remains: how much does it cost to build a grocery app like Coles? It depends on a variety of factors like the complexity of the app, UI/UX, platform selection, location of the development team, and the kind of functionality you incorporate into it. In this blog, we will address all these questions along with a step-by-step guide to getting started with the craft of creating a supermarket app like Coles.

What is Coles and How Does It Work?

Coles is one of Australia's biggest supermarket and retail chains that's also available as a grocery delivery app. They offer a diverse selection of groceries, household articles, fresh fruits, health, and beauty products, along other specialty services.

Synonymous with convenience and quality, Coles has become a household name due to its offline and online stores. Coles leans on a dual concept via its integrated omnichannel approach, which entails traditional in-store shopping and a feature-rich mobile app. The company also offers a website with a mobile app for browsing items, placing orders, and scheduling deliveries or pickups.

The Coles app boasts effortless navigation as items are categorized for quick searches with custom filters. Its AI-powered suggestions provide relevant recommendations based on the last purchased items to promote relevancy, and users can choose between home delivery and click-and-collect alternatives.

Coles also provides loyalty programs that enable users to earn points for each purchase and redeem them on their next purchase. The company also encourages eco-friendly initiatives like recycling and plastic reduction, which again cater to the environmentally aware customer segment. Coles' popularity is credited to its customer-centric approach, broad spectrum of product offerings, and competitive pricing. In essence, Coles delivers a simple, dependable, and modern shopping experience, deeming it a go-to spot for day-to-day essentials.

Alsor Read, Business Model of Grocery Delivery App Development

Cost to Develop a Grocery App Like Coles

The cost of developing a grocery app like Coles depends on a variety of factors, such as the type of platform you're choosing to implement it on, the geographical location of your developers, app complexity, the number of features you want to incorporate, and more. Let’s understand the cost estimations of each category.

1. MVP (Minimum Viable Product) App

The delivery timeline for any MVP app for on-demand grocery delivery will go from 4 to 7 months. It will include primary features like user registration & login, contact & support, standard product catalog, basic order tracking, shopping cart & checkout with limited payment options. The development team for your MVP will comprise 3 to 4 developers (depending on Android and iOS), 1 backend engineer, 1 dedicated UI/UX designer, and one experienced project manager/scrum master. The cost to build a Grocery app like Coles in MVP format will fall from anywhere between $40,000 and $60,000. 

2. Medium App

This is your intermediate version that’ll contain all the MVP features but will also come with a few more advanced features and also become agile in the process. Some key features of this will already include all the above-listed MVP features, along with basic personalized recommendations, order scheduling with limited slots, push notifications, multiple payment gateways, in-app deals & promotions, and lastly improved search & filtering.

The team for this will comprise approx. 6 developers (both Android and iOS specializations), 2 backend developers, 1 UI/UX designer, 1 project manager/scrum master, and 1 QA engineer to ensure optimal performance. The delivery timeline for this will fall anywhere between 7 and 11 months, and the cost will come across $60,000 to $1,25,000.

3. Feature-Loaded Advanced App

Your feature-loaded advanced app will be the closest prototype to your Coles-like grocery delivery app. It will contain all the primary features and functionalities of the medium-style app, along with multiple advanced ones such as AI-powered recommendations, loyalty programs, advanced order scheduling & delivery (multiple delivery slots, time windows, etc.), advanced analytics & reporting, in-store pickup options, integrations with third-party services (e.g., Google Maps, social media), and finally the most important geolocation-based services (store locator, delivery area).

You will require a huge development team comprising of 2 UI/UX designers, 3+ iOS developers, 3+ Android developers, 3+ backend developers, 1 QA engineer, a data scientist for AI/ML, a project manager/scrum master, and finally an experienced DevOps engineer (for cloud infrastructure). The delivery timeline for an all-inclusive app starts from 10 months, and the cost to develop a grocery app like Coles starts from $150,000.

How to Create a Grocery App Like Coles and Monetize It?

If you're a budding entrepreneur with a vision to curate an app similar to Coles, having proper revenue generation tactics will help you progress greatly in your efforts. Here are some popular monetization techniques you can implement for your app:

• Delivery Charges

Ensure that you add a delivery charge for all your orders along with a certain platform fee so as to continuously generate income on every order placed on your app.

• Subscription Models

Provide premium features, exclusive coupons, waiving delivery charges, and more for regular shoppers for better user retention. 

• In-app Advertisements

It’s important to generate income from multiple sources; hence, collaborating with different brands for paid or sponsored ads within the app will help drum up business. 

• Affiliate Marketing

Your app like Coles can earn a good amount of commissions just by promoting third-party products or services within the app for a streamlined flow of income monthly, quarterly, or annually. 

• Loyalty Programs

To keep users always engaged and encourage repeat purchases, make sure to incorporate the app with a rewards points system or loyalty program for better discounts. 

Steps to Develop a Grocery App Like Coles

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to develop a grocery app like Coles:

Step 1- Define Scope & Requirements

Begin with competitive market research by analyzing the competitive environment, understanding the needs of your target audience, and analyzing industry trends. Prioritize features like primary MVP for core structural foundation to advanced features, that could be added after scalability.

Primary features include- user registration, shopping cart, secure payment, basic search, product browsing, and order tracking. The latest features include- in-store pickup, push alerts, in-app offers, loyalty programs, numerous payment channels, and delivery schedules. You can also incorporate user stories to describe user interactions to get better insights into the user's perspective.

Step 2- Design & Prototyping

Start by creating basic wireframes to outline the app's structure and user flow. Then, you can proceed to hire your UI/UX designers. Curate the app's user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) to lay out the first step towards an intuitive user journey. You can also develop interactive prototypes for testing user interactions and collecting feedback.

Step 3- Choosing the Right Tech Stack

Select a promptly modern and suitable framework such as React Native or Flutter, especially for cross-platform development (iOS and Android). For the backend, you need to prioritize selecting prominent cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud and programming languages like Node.js, Python, and Java. And finally, for the database, select the most reliable ones, such as MongoDB, MySQL, or PostgreSQL, to store product information, user data, and orders.

Step 4- Define Development Process

In 2025, most app development companies will be utilizing agile methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban to ensure iterative development and flexibility. For the app development part to achieve success, it is important to conduct regular testing such as unit tests, integration tests, and user acceptance testing to address potential bugs and issues.

Step 5- Integration & Deployment

It's important to integrate your grocery delivery app like Coles with third-party services to ensure a seamless connection to payment gateways, mapping services (Google Maps), and other required APIs. Next, start the deployment process of your app to the app stores by submitting your software to the Apple Software Store and Google Play Store.

Step 6- Launch & Marketing

Next, you need to focus on your ASO (App Store Optimization) to enhance your app store listings using relevant SEO keywords and attractive visuals from the app. For the marketing efforts, you can craft different campaigns online and offline to promote the app and attract users. For the user input and iteration, you can collect different feedback, assess app use statistics, and iterate on the app in riposte to user needs and market trends.

Step 7- Ongoing Maintenance & Support

In the end, focus on releasing periodic updates for fixing bugs, enhancing speed, and introducing new features. You also need to provide exceptional customer service to address user queries and fix problems that could arise in the future. The best post-launch maintenance tip would be to conduct frequent security audits to discover and address issues. 

Conclusion

The world of on-demand grocery delivery apps is continuously evolving and is thriving with cutthroat competition. Your supermarket app like Coles needs to stand out from the competition by incorporating unique features and providing an excellent user experience. Start by investing in the right resources, marketing efforts, and user acquisition tactics to acquire new customers. Set up highly efficient logistics and delivery chains to accurately handle delivery operations, order fulfillment, inventory management, and driver management. It’s advisable to consult with top app development companies in Australia or even a custom software development company before you start Googling hire app developers or app developers for hire. They can help you come up with a personalized cost estimate based on your specific project requirements. Consider curating a brief project scope document that outlines every feature, design need, and functionality precisely. Select the development approach that works best within your budget and project timeline. By carefully considering these factors, you can effectively plan and budget for your grocery app development project.

Since our humble beginnings in 2011, Hyperlink InfoSystem has been a dependable and consistent partner for several worldwide corporations and SMEs. Our skilled staff is knowledgeable, adaptable, and committed to delivering high-quality results at all stages of app development. Whether you want to develop an MVP app with basic e-commerce/retail features or take control of the AI-driven quick commerce market with advanced AI capabilities, we have the expertise, resources, and creativity to meet all of your needs. Are you ready to turn your Coles-like app concept into a reality? Connect with us to be a game changer in the realm of photo animation.