Dogs are immensely cherished and loved by their owners. Higher pet ownership and increased spending have largely supported the industry’s expansion over the years. The industry has been characterized by a changing landscape with several new names showing up and challenging the traditional dog walking services with technologically advanced mobile applications. Some of the key industry players include establishments that provide dog walking services to households.
Currently valued at $1.1bn in 2021, the dog walking services has experienced growth of 1.2% as compared to the past year (Source). Additionally, pet owners spend more than $60.0bn a year on pet-related goods and services, treating their four-legged companions as if they were part of the family. Studies suggest expected stability in the job market and increased working hours will drive greater demand for dog walkers until the year 2023. Apparently, industry revenue is expected to continue the upward trajectory.
If you are someone looking forward to making an impact on this industry, you are the right place. In the following few minutes, we are covering what it takes to build an on-demand dog walking application, similar to a leading name in the industry- Wag!
Let’s get started!
What is Wag?
Wag is an on-demand dog walking service that lets you book convenient pet care in your neighborhood. Whether you are looking for daily walks, planning a trip, stuck at work, or just want friends for your pet, pet care is available via an app in just a few clicks.
Wag allows you to find services such as:
- On-demand and scheduled dog walks based on your and your dog’s needs
- Boarding and sitting overnight care for your fluffy one
- Drop-in visits for dogs who could use a potty break
- Veterinary consultants to answer your pet health questions, around the clock
- One-on-one personalized in-home and digital dog training sessions for puppies & adult dogs to learn tricks and basic commands.
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How to Create an On-Demand Dog Walking App like Wag?
Once you have understood the application, it’s time to set your foot on the path of development. Here is the step-by-step process of on-demand dog walking app development.
Step 1: Conduct a Thorough Market Research
Start by getting the lay of land. Understand your market to ensure you launch the application that is competitive and customer-friendly.
You might want to seek answer to the following questions:
- Who is your target audience?
- What is their problem and how will you solve them with your application?
- What are the trends in the pet care sector and how can you add value to it?
Once you have the answers, analyse your competitors to know:
- Who are secondary and primary competitors?
- What is their USP?
- What do they offer additionally?
- What are their applications’ pitfalls?
- How can you leverage these to create a competitive application?
Step 2: Decide the Features to Include in a Dog Walking App Like Wag?
Here are the must-have features of a dog walking app you would want to consider for your application.
Pet Owners Application
- Create a Personal profile
- Search and Filter nearby dog walkers
- View Dog Walker Profile
- Dog Walk booking and scheduling
- Dog Walk report
- Push Notification Alerts for dog walking and sitting appointments
- Live Streaming (optional) of their puppy or dog walking
- Give Ratings & Reviews
- Schedule/Cancel Appointment
- Track your dog
- Payment/Bill Estimation
- Referral Earnings
- Doggy Playdate
- Curated Professional Advice
- History and Trends
- Community Feature
Dog Walkers Application
- Real-Time Requests
- Get booking requests
- Customer Information
- Profile Creation
- Set Availability
- Navigation routes for reaching the pet owner
- Earnings Summary
- Walkers can track their appointments & earnings
Admin-facing Application
- Manage Bookings
- Manage Customers/Dog Walkers
- Push Notifications
- Advanced Analytics
- Real-Time Tracking of dog walkers
- Manage Payments
Also Read: How to Build On-Demand Services App?
Advanced Features to Include in a Dog Walking App
Here are some advanced features that can add value to your application.
1. Social Sign Up/Log In
While simple login is a great option, having a social sign up option gives an extra edge to your application. With this feature, applications can extract all the required information from the social profiles, freeing users from having to go through the pain of entering everything on their own. It also makes sign in process smoother and allows you to target your ads with vital insights from your audience base.
2. Filtering Feature
Tailored for dog owners and walkers, this feature makes it easier for the users to filter and sort through the walkers and walk requests. Dog owners, on one hand, can filter out walkers depending on various factors and choose one from the pool of walkers. Dog walkers can find the customers nearby or make a choice depending on the breed or specific traits.
3. Curated Professional Advice
This can be the most valuable feature for the dog parents. They can receive daily tips on grooming, training and diets or connect with professional vets, trainers and groomers for their dogs. You can attract more customers by adding breed-specific data to these.
4. Doggy Playdate
Like humans, dogs too require socializing. While dog parks can be a great option, it can be intimidating for smaller dogs to play around the bigger ones. Therefore, let your customers set a playdate for their dogs so that they can enjoy as well as socialize as much as they need.
5. Sales & Events Notifications
This feature would notify the users about events going nearby such as dig show, special training campaign, service dog training, deals on toys and dog food, etc. to give them a fun way to spend time with their furry ones and meet other dog owners.
6. Community Feature
This platform would connect dog parents and walkers to exchange thoughts and information about caring for dogs.
7. Live Dog Tracking
GPS feature allows you to ensure your dog is at the right place and know their location in real-time when he is out with the walkers. They can virtually keep an eye on the dog and take a sigh of relief.
8. Push Notifications
This feature help users to know the latest changes being made to the app through push notifications. They can also get notified about special offers, discounts, new updates.
9. In-App Call
As the name suggests, in-app call connects dog owners and walkers with a single click. They can communicate their requirements easily or communicate about current location, etc.
10. In-App Chat
Similar to in-app chat, this feature allows walkers and owners to communicate via chat option in case they are too busy to connect over a call.
11. Real-Time Analytics Dashboard
This is a performance tool that helps walkers analyse, report, and track their data in real-time with the assistance of data visualizations. All real-time dashboards are updated automatically and this provides the user with instant access to important data.
12. Mobile Wallet
Flexibility in mobile wallets is a great asset to have in your dog walker application. The more the options, the easy it becomes for the users to process the payment. As users from different parts of the world tend to use the app and since mobile wallets are different everywhere having various options of mobile wallets is a great thing to have.
Step 3: Hire Mobile/ Web Development Company
Once you are ready with the groundwork, hire a mobile or web development company to assist you. While you can work with a freelance developer, it is always a better option to choose a company because they:
- Offer a wider scope of services
- Professionals are experienced and certified
- Can manage replacements even if one of the team mates leave
- Provide comprehensive development experience
- Make development process more trackable
- Have exceptional project management skills
Step 4: Finalize the Team Structure
After the finalization of the development company, it’s time to ensure that you have the right team structure. An ideal team would include:
- Business Analyst
- Application Manager
- Project Manager
- Mobile Application Designer
- Front-end and Back-end developers
- Quality Assurance Expert
Step 5: Decide on the Platform and Finalize the Tech Stack
Depending on your customer base, finalize the platform on which you would want to launch your app. You could choose from the following:
- Web app development
- Mobile app development
- iOS app development
- Android app development
- Cross-platform app development (that caters to both the platforms using one codebase)
Once the decision is made, discuss with your app development company and finalize the technology stack.
Technology stack plays a major role in launching quality on-demand dog walker applications. Some of the common technologies you can use include:
- Programming languages: Objective-C, Swift, Java, Kotlin
- Toolkit: Swift, Apple Xcode, Android Developer Tools, and Android Studio
- SDK: iOS SDK
Step 6: Agree on Cost to Develop On-demand Dog Walking App
Once you know where you want to be and how you want the process to be like, the next step is to estimate the cost of developing an on-demand dog walking app. The factors that closely affect the cost is:
- Type of dog walking app
- App platform
- Functionalities and features and their complexities
- Size and expertise of the team
- Maintenance and upgrades
For accurate estimation, you will be required to share your requirements with the development company.
Are You Ready to Set Your Plan Into Action?
Let Matellio assist!
Our experts have assisted over 500+ customers across the globe to build a cutting-edge software solution for their organizations. Regardless of the industry, our applications have made their impact in the industry, helping businesses achieve their organizational goals. Capitalize on our experience and professional skills to build your dog walking application. To begin, request a quote today!
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