How to Build a Pet Care App like Rover: Comprehensive Guide

Statistics and Numbers

1. The pet care market is expanding rapidly, as evidenced by a report from Grand View Research indicating that the industry was worth USD 232.3 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% from 2021 to 2028.
2. The on-demand pet care app market is also growing rapidly. According to Business Insider, the pet services market is estimated to be worth $203 billion globally by 2025, with the majority of the growth driven by mobile apps.
3. The most popular pet care app categories include pet sitting, dog walking, and pet grooming.
4. The top players in the pet care app market include Rover, Wag!, and Care.com.
5. In a survey conducted by Petco, 58% of pet owners said they would use an app to schedule veterinary appointments, and 34% said they would use an app to book pet care services.
6. According to Statista, the number of pet care app downloads worldwide increased by 10.2% from 2019 to 2020.
7. The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the growth of the pet care app industry, as more individuals are working from home and adopting pets. This has resulted in an increase in demand for pet care services, and mobile apps have made it easier for pet owners to discover and reserve these services.

In the past, pet owners used to hire their neighbor’s children to walk their dogs, but now, the pet sitting industry has evolved into a more profitable and organized business model. The rise of aggregator-driven platforms has revolutionized the pet care industry, and Rover walker app is one such application that has gained popularity in this space.

Key Features of Rover Walker App

Search and Booking

Rover app allows pet owners to search for and book a variety of pet care services, including dog walking, pet boarding, house sitting, and drop-in visits.

Real-Time GPS Tracking

The app offers real-time GPS tracking for pet owners to track their pets during their walks or when they are away from home.

In-App Messaging

Rover app provides a messaging system that allows pet owners to communicate with their pet care providers in real-time, ask questions, and receive updates on their pets.

Payment System

The app handles payment transactions and allows pet owners to securely pay for their pet care services through the app.

Service Reviews and Ratings

The app offers a review and rating system that allows pet owners to leave feedback on their pet care experience and helps other users make informed decisions when choosing a pet care provider.

Vet Advice

Rover app provides pet owners with access to a team of veterinarians who can answer pet-related questions and provide advice on pet care.

Emergency Assistance

In case of an emergency, pet owners can use the app to quickly contact their pet care provider or Rover’s 24/7 customer support team for assistance.

Overall, the Rover app provides a comprehensive platform for pet owners to find and book reliable pet care services and stay connected with their pet care providers.

Given the convenience it offers and the significant market share it has acquired through its on-demand service model, creating an app similar to Rover has become a profitable opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs. One of the first inquiries entrepreneurs typically make during the pre-development phase is the cost of developing an app like Rover. While the cost can vary from $20,000 to $40,000, obtaining an accurate estimate necessitates an understanding of the app’s features, UI/UX design details, and development complexities. This article will delve into these elements to provide a comprehensive cost estimate for Rover app development.

Key Features – Must Have’s of app like Rover

The key to successful development of a pet care app is to incorporate essential features that ensure a smooth and reliable service booking experience. In the case of Rover, the app has gone above and beyond to enhance the pet care process for both pet owners and service providers. With a well-curated service selection and a service guarantee, the Rover mobile app has established high standards for the pet industry to emulate.

Registration and Login

With easy integration options such as email and social media, registering and logging in to the app should be hassle-free. Multi-factor authentication options such as fingerprint or OTP mechanism can also be added.

My Profile

This section allows pet owners to add and update their contact information, addresses, and pet details. It is also helpful to have a dashboard highlighting past and upcoming bookings and payment details.

Find Services

A smart search and filter option for pet owners to look for services such as boarding, house sitting, day care, dog walking, drop-in visits, and virtual dog training. An intuitive set of filter options that is multilingual and consists of multiple options like geographical region, costs, and reviews would be an add-on.

View Service Providers Details

This feature allows pet owners to view service provider details such as their bio, cost range, years of experience, and reviews.

Schedule Service

Pet owners can schedule the service as per their required time. The app facilitates communication between owners and service providers to confirm the booking.

Online Payments

Integrating online payment options such as debit, credit cards, BNPL, COD, etc. is essential for the app’s success.

In-app Communication

Integrating an in-app chat or call service enables effortless collaboration between pet owners and service providers.

Ratings and Reviews

Including a rating and review mechanism for service providers helps other pet owners in selecting the right service provider.

Pet Walkers/Sitters

Pet walkers and sitters have a unique set of features, including signing up, in-app communication, and managing profiles.

Features for – Pet Walkers/Sitter

Dashboard

The sitter/walker version of a pet care app should have a dashboard view with past and upcoming bookings, total revenue earned, ratings and reviews, and more. A graphical interface for the dashboard or profile summary section is recommended.

Manage Bookings

When developing an app like Rover, it’s important to focus on the ability of service providers to accept or decline booking requests. As many service providers are seeking side income, they may not be available at the time slot selected by the pet owner.

Pet Profile Check

Pet walkers and sitters should be able to view a pet owner’s profile and check their pet’s habits and specific requirements before accepting a booking.

Manage Payments

An important aspect of a pet care app like Rover is having an architecture that allows service providers to receive payments, view their total revenue earned to date, and get clarity on the outstanding amount.

Admin Panel Features

The development of a pet care app like Rover also includes an admin version, which focuses on creating different architectures to support management and task handling.

Customer Management

The Rover-like app should include a feature that allows the app admin to manage customer profiles and respond to queries in real-time.

Pet Sitter/Walker Management

The app should also include a feature for managing service provider profiles and responding to any queries they may have.

Booking Management

The app admin should be able to keep track of bookings, their status, and any issues that arise during the service tenure.

Offer and Discount Management

The Rover-like app should have a feature to manage offers and promotions, ensuring that they are updated and removed on time.

Client Support

The app should have a feature for handling user queries and concerns in real-time.

FAQ and T&C Management

The app admin should have control over updating the FAQ and Terms & Conditions pages to reflect any changes in business policies or new feature additions.

Tech Support

The Rover-like app should include a feature for handling technical issues that may arise in the application, allowing the admin to access the backend or frontend of the application for correction

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The Rover app has basic features at the MVP level, but there are additional functionalities that can enhance the app and make it more appealing to pet owners. Before discussing other aspects of the cost of building an app like Rover, let’s explore these advanced pet care app features.

Advanced level features of a Rover-like pet care app

Virtual dog training

This feature allows pet owners to avail one-on-one video consultations with experts for virtual dog training.

Rover Guarantee

This feature offers pet owners insurance in case of any harm to their pets during the service period. Every booking made through the app is backed by $25000 in vet care which can be claimed by submitting valid claims.

Extended care

In case the pet sitter/walker needs to extend their service beyond the specified time, Rover charges pet owners extra for the extended time.

Verification

This feature involves the verification of the service provider through a thorough background check and virtual KYC. It can have a significant impact on the cost of building a Rover-like app.

Rover card

This functionality notifies pet owners of the tasks performed by the service providers through Rover cards. It includes information such as bathroom breaks, food and water activity, at least one photo, an optional short message, and a map of the walk with the total distance.

eCommerce store

The Rover app comes with an eCommerce store where users can buy pet products such as toys and food.

Other elements that define the pet care app development cost

App design

The cost of designing a pet care app includes creating a user-friendly interface that appeals to the target audience and creating appealing visual elements that match the branding.

App development

This involves developing the core functionality of the app, including implementing the features discussed earlier, ensuring app security, and designing a scalable backend infrastructure.

App testing

This involves testing the app’s functionality and ensuring that it meets the desired performance standards.

App launch and maintenance

The cost of launching the app includes publishing it on app stores and marketing it. Ongoing maintenance costs include updating the app’s functionality, bug fixes, and server maintenance costs.

Factors to consider when designing a mobile app like Rover

To make an app successful and user-friendly, it’s not just about the features it offers but also the overall user experience it provides. A user-favorite application stands out from those that get uninstalled over time due to the experience it offers to the end-users. Rover is a prime example of such an application that has a minimalist design structure. The app is built on an intuitive model that ensures that the in-app user movements are almost organic and require minimal learning.

Moreover, the application has a media-based design structure that provides enough white space, making it easy for users to navigate within the app without feeling overwhelmed or crowded. Therefore, creating an immersive user experience like Rover involves building a wireframe that allocates dedicated space for each event while having elements that facilitate natural in-app movements.

Typical Software Development Process to build a pet care app like Rover

1. Define your app’s target audience: Identify the demographics of your target audience, their needs and preferences, and pain points.
2. Conduct market research: Research the existing pet care apps and identify the gap in the market to create a unique value proposition for your app.
3. Choose the right platform: Select the platform for your app development, whether it’s iOS, Android, or both.
4. Determine the features and functionality: Decide on the features and functionality of your app, including the ones mentioned above such as managing customers, managing pet sitters/walkers, managing bookings, etc.
5. Wireframing and Prototyping: Create a visual representation of your app’s layout, known as wireframes. It is a low-fidelity representation of your app, which outlines the basic design and functionality of the app. After wireframing, create a high-fidelity prototype that simulates the user experience of the app.
6. Design: Use the wireframes and prototype to design the visual elements of the app, including the user interface, graphics, colors, typography, and other design elements.
7. Development: Begin developing your app by creating the front-end and back-end of the app, implementing the features, and integrating APIs and third-party services.
8. Testing and Deployment: Test the app thoroughly to ensure it meets the desired quality standards and deploy it on the app stores.
9. Post-launch Support: Offer support to the users after launch, collect feedback, and implement improvements to enhance user experience and retain your users.
10. Marketing: Promote your app through various channels, including social media, influencers, email marketing, and paid ads, to acquire and retain your target audience.

Team Structure for building pet care app like Rover

The cost of developing a pet care app is heavily influenced by the hourly rate charged by the development team. For instance, partnering with an Indian pet care app development services provider for this team structure and the features mentioned above would cost $40-60 per hour, whereas the same services will cost $120-140 per hour when working with a USA or UK-based app development agency. All these factors contribute to the overall cost of developing an app like Rover, which ranges from $20k to $40k and can vary depending on individual needs.

App Monetization Opportunities

Commission-based service fee

A popular way to monetize pet care apps is by taking a commission from each booking made through the app. This percentage can vary from 10-30% depending on the app.

Premium features

Offer additional premium features like one-on-one virtual training sessions, extended customer support, or in-app advertising options for premium users for a monthly or yearly subscription fee.

In-app advertising

You can partner with pet care product companies to display their ads in your app. You can either display these ads for free or charge a fee based on impressions or clicks.

Affiliate marketing

You can include links to pet products and services on your app and earn a commission every time a user makes a purchase through your referral link.

eCommerce store

You can sell pet products directly through your app, earning a profit from each sale.

Partnership with local pet stores

You can partner with local pet stores and offer discounts and coupons to your app users for the stores. In turn, you can earn a commission on the sales made by your users at those stores.

Sponsored content

You can collaborate with pet influencers or other relevant brands to create sponsored content for your app’s blog or social media pages.

These are just a few ideas to monetize a pet care app. The monetization strategy can be tailored based on the specific goals and target audience of the app.

How Ways and Means Technology help you build a pet care app like Rover ?

Looking to build a pet care app like Rover? Look no further than Ways and Means Technology! We are a leading app development company with expertise in building custom mobile applications for a variety of industries, including pet care.

Our experienced team of developers and designers will work closely with you to understand your requirements and create a pet care app that meets your business needs. We offer a range of features, including managing customers and service providers, booking management, virtual dog training, background verification, and eCommerce store integration.

We understand that cost is a crucial factor in any app development project. That’s why we offer affordable pricing plans that cater to your budget, without compromising on the quality of the app. We have a flexible team structure that allows us to work with clients worldwide, ensuring that we can offer competitive pricing options.

Partnering with Ways and Means Technology for your pet care app development needs means that you can rest assured that you are in good hands. We offer end-to-end support, from ideation to deployment, and we use the latest technology and best practices to ensure that your app is scalable, secure, and user-friendly.

Don’t wait any longer to build your pet care app like Rover. Contact Ways and Means Technology today and let us help you turn your ideas into a reality!

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