How to create a competitive analysis on the example of Glovo app

Home food delivery companies have been gaining popularity for several years and the pandemic has only boosted their growth. When restaurants closed down, apps like Glovo became their salvation, as they were able to continue serving food and attracting customers through them. This is a kind of revolution which caused the creation of more apps of this type and although each offers something a little different, the basic idea is very similar. 

So whenever you come up with an idea for a new app, remember that someone else has probably thought of something similar before. Even if it seems that there’s no app like yours on the market, you could be very wrong. That's why doing a competitive analysis is so important. In this article, we will do a sample analysis for an app similar to Glovo. So let's assume that you want to create a new product, an app that is supposed to be an intermediary between restaurants (or also stores) and customers and Glovo is one of your competitors.

Gathering information about the target audience 

Based on this article, the first step is collecting information about the audience of a competitive app. Please remember that this is an example analysis and the information might not be true. The idea is to show you how it’s done. We focus on the B2C model, which means that we take into account Glovo’s clients who order food. 

So let’s gather all the information you can find about the target group of the competitor:

Who are they trying to reach with their app? Who are their customers?

• Customers of different restaurants
• Especially young people with a lot of things going on in their lives
• Preferably people without kids
• Overall: people who want to order food delivery or shopping delivery for their own convenience.

What does their user persona look like?

In this article you’ll find a detailed guide on how to create a user persona (on examples). Here we’ll briefly describe an example of the user persona of Glovo app. 

• Basic information – people aged 16-40, different occupations, living in cities (preferably big cities)
• Bio – people who don’t have time to cook or do the shopping, who are in a rush, who want to order food delivery instead of going out (or order groceries), who want to take a break from daily activities and give themselves a treat once in a while
• Goals, motivations – they want to rest at home and receive food delivery to not have to cook or want to get a lunch at work because they didn’t take anything to eat with them and work long hours, they don’t want to overpay for the delivery fee, they want to save time 
• Needs – they need a food delivery service, they want to log user data to not have to put their data every time they make an order, 
• Pain points and frustrations – too high delivery fees from different providers, poor food delivery services (cold food, long delivery time, delays, miscommunication with the provider).

How do they communicate with users? 

Through emails, social media, push notifications, in-app chat, newsletter with discounts. 

Competitors’ value proposition research

What value does their app promise to deliver to the users?

In this case, there are values offered to end customers and others for restaurants’ and shops’ owners.

These values are often introduced in advertisement slogans (for end customers):

• Customers get to choose from various popular restaurants, shops and pharmacies 
• Fast and high-quality delivery services
• Users can take advantage of various discounts and promo offers after registration
• Wide range of deliveries

And for restaurants’ and shops’ owners:

• Up to 40% increase in sales 
• Owners can take advantage of the latest trends without caring about customer service
• Promoting local businesses
• The offer will effectively reach a wider group of people.

Why should their clients choose to purchase their product?

What distinguishes the competitor from others:

• Shortest delivery time
• Supporting local businesses and local merchants
• Widest range of restaurants and stores
• Also delivering from supermarkets
• The best mobile app (the most convenient) 
• Lowest delivery fees
• Widest delivery area

And last but not least… In your opinion: do they deliver the promised value? 

This one should be left for everyones’ personal opinion. For example, from a customer's point of view it could go like this: 

I can choose from different restaurants and shops that I know and like, the deliveries aren’t always on time and the delivery fee is quite high for some of the restaurants. The delivery is possible even though I’m quite far from the city centre. I used a promo code yesterday, but the prices on Glovo are higher than in other competitive apps, so it didn’t make much of a difference. 

Market analysis concerning the business model

Glovo’s business model includes delivery fees from mini-supermarkets, and fulfillment facilities operated by Glovo in collaboration with grocery store chains and dark kitchens, enabling restaurants to increase their capacity.

What is their plan for generating revenue? What monetization strategy have they chosen?

Glovo business model includes signing agreements with all of the restaurants and stores which want to have their spot in the app and earns money through commissions on orders, delivery fees, subscription fees, and profits from its Q-Commerce service. Their commission fees from delivering restaurant food and grocery shopping range from 22% to 30%. This percentage is added on to the total of the bill. The exact fee varies depending on the agreement that Glovo and the partner have reached.

What features can you find in the Glovo app? What are the core features? 

• Registration – users can register in the app by putting a delivery address, first and last name, and password. After registration, users can manage their payment options – customers get to choose from credit or debit cards, Apple and Google Pay, and cash (in local currency). These steps are required before placing an order. 
• Discovering restaurants, stores and others – users can discover restaurants, local shops and pharmacies by name, category, delivery fee and other variables.
• Ordering products – when customer’s details are all filled in, they can put products they want to buy into the cart. Then there are a few steps (depending on products) to complete, like choosing from various dish options (sauce, allergens etc.), and there comes the time to process the payment and place the order. Then, the user has to wait for the order to be accepted (a few minutes on top). In case it’s a restaurant order, the nearest driver will go to the restaurant and take your order to you. In case of shops/pharmacies, the nearest driver will go to the closest store, which has the item available, buy it, and deliver it to the customer.
• Tracking the order – customers can track the driver throughout the journey by checking their real-time location.
• Notifications – users constantly get updates and notifications for their orders and deliveries, as well as for discounts and deals.
• Rating the service – customers can give a thumbs up or thumbs down for every service right after the order is completed.

Rates and reviews in market research, feature gap

What’s the rating on Apple App Store and Google Play? 

• In Google Play, the app has reached only 2,2 points from its users
• The app in the App Store, on the other hand, represents a high rate of 4,8 points.

What do the users say about the app? Are they satisfied? Do they point out missing/unnecessary features? 

Glovo users have different opinions about the app but there are some repetitive comments.

Negative reviews:

• Repeated harsh comments about the customer service
• Users often complain about delivery time, estimations and the restaurant visibility in the app
• Some users complain about the high delivery fee and the overall disorganisation
• Poor communication between the Glovo drivers, restaurants and customers – there are often trouble finding customers’ addresses, lack of possibility to review the restaurant, there’s no information about the order time

Positive reviews: 

• Users appreciate the idea of food delivery service through a mobile app
• Convenient and easy-to-use tool for everyone who wants to save time 
• Fast deliveries, kind drivers and professional customer service – despite lots of bad reviews on these topics, there were also those who evaluated these aspects very positively.

Additional insight from reviews about the feature gap:

• A possibility to add/delete particular ingredients in the dish would be nice – users can put a message to the seller but it doesn’t ensure that the request will be fulfilled.

How would you rate the app?

Although it’s (about to be) your competitor, try to be fair with your rate. This will help you define your needs in a practical and realistic way. The example would be: 

Just like other users, I’d like the Glovo team to fix the time estimation issues and provide better communication with drivers and restaurants. However, the whole idea and the app itself is great and the tool is very well-thought. I’d rate the app for 4,5 as I see some missing points but also appreciate the functionality of the app very much.

The next step of filling in the template would be putting the next competitors’ apps descriptions in the table and comparing them. In this case this could be for example: Uber Eats, Doordash, Takeaway and Wolt. 

Results of competitive analysis

Concluding from users’ reviews – what would customers like to change or see in the app?

• The order time should be displayed, so that users know when they ordered the delivery and how much time they wait
• Time estimates are incorrect
• There are too high delivery fees – sometimes, even if the restaurant is close, the delivery fee is high, similar or the same as in case of a distant location
• A possibility to add/delete particular ingredients in the dish 
• Customer service are mostly bots that don’t understand users and can’t meet their requirements – new possibilities to talk with the Glovo team should be added
• Better communication with drivers and restaurant owners/employees.

Determining the features 

The most important result from the competitive analysis is that you know what features your app should implement in the app, based on the feature gap in the competitive app. Sometimes it’s not about creating  brand new features but to design the existing ones in a better way. However, remember that analysing one competitor isn’t enough. Depending on your industry and idea, there may be a lot or a few similar products. Do a competitive analysis for at least a couple of apps, preferably most similar to yours. 

Do your own competitive analysis with our template and hit the market knowing your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Good luck!