Mobile app for dry cleaners and laundries - startup ideas

870 10-11-23 Read Time: 10 min

Running a dry cleaning and laundry business can be a successful venture that expands quickly and gains popularity among customers. It is a promising field today, as building a high-quality business model can generate stable income, increase profits and expand the number of locations. However, a crucial element for successful development in this niche is ensuring a high level of digitalization of services.

Why it matters: Dry cleaning and laundry processes involve a continuous flow of orders, technology operations and deliveries that cannot be effectively managed manually. To handle high volumes and consistently grow your business, you need a quality automation tool. In-house software can only partially address the problem because it leaves out a key component: the customer. That’s why more and more modern dry cleaners and laundries are opting to purchase a mobile application that includes an easy-to-use customer interface in addition to a convenient administration panel.

Application client interface

Most households value time-saving services and are typically willing to pay more for convenience. Customers expect services to be efficient without having to wait in line, ask for nuanced service details, or engage in lengthy conversations with administrators. The optimal algorithm is simple: just push a button, hand over items, and get clean results at the predetermined time. The mobile application enables the optimal execution of this system. To demonstrate the functionality of the client interface, let’s consider the case of courier services.

• The user logs in to his personal account in the application, selects a service from the
• from the catalog, calls the courier to
• courier to provide their address and preferred pickup time.
• for pick-up, hands over the items to be washed or
• and receives a confirmation of the order along with a quoted price.
• Pays for orders online
• through the application, tracks the status of the order in the personal
• account, receives a notification when the order is
• ready for pickup, selects an appropriate time and location for pickup, and
• location for pickup, and finally receives the fulfilled order.

Functionality for the client.

• Service calculator. You can use the calculator to make a preliminary calculation of the cost of washing or cleaning by specifying the basic parameters of the order – weight, type of items, type of dirt. This option will give you a general idea of how much the service will cost.
• Delivery calculator. The mobile application automatically determines the user’s geolocation, creates the optimal route for the courier, and calculates the cost of its services for collection and return. The route is sent to the courier when the order is completed.
• Remote photo cost estimation. Approximate cost of services is specified in the price list, but the final price can be specified depending on the type of things, intensity of pollution, characteristics of the material. The client uploads a photo to the application and receives the specified cost.
• Change of delivery address. If, for some reason, the customer wishes to receive the order at a different address or to collect the items from a collection point, it can be specified in the application.
• Store payment information. To avoid entering bank card information every time, you can safely store it in the system. The client adds and removes payment methods in the personal locker.
• Order status tracking. At any moment the client can find out in real time what is the status of his order – whether the courier has delivered it to the receiving point, whether washing or cleaning has started, what is the degree of readiness.
• Support chat. A form is created for the customer to contact the administrator. The user can ask a question, leave a complaint, get advice in the application.
• Online payment. The application integrates with one or more secure online payment systems to make secure payments.
• Push notifications. The customer receives notifications on his smartphone about order status, promotional offers, surveys. Push notifications are maximally effective – it is hard to miss them on the smartphone screen, there is no need to log in to the application to get acquainted with the content.

Staff interface

From the moment the customer clicks “Order”, the system automatically transmits the order to the courier, who then picks up the items at the agreed time and place. The courier then delivers the order to the receiving point, where a specialist examines the items, identifies their characteristics and defects, and prepares a list of necessary work and the final service price. The application then forwards this information to the customer. After confirmation of the request and receipt of the online payment, the items are handed over for processing.

The order card states:

• Composition, timing, work list,
• Quantity and weight of items,
• Description of defects and contamination,
• Delivery dates,detergents and chemicals used.
• Cost of services;
• Payments accepted;
• Customer
• notes; communication history.

The manager monitors the status of the order and finds out where things stand. If there is an unplanned delay, he receives a notification and takes appropriate action. Fixes the readiness – the customer sees it in the application. Return delivery data is automatically transmitted to the courier – at the specified time, the courier picks up the clean items and returns them to the customer. The completed order is closed and stored in the shared database.

Administrator Panel

A separate administration panel is created to manage the content and settings of the mobile application. What features are available to the administrator:

• Completes and edits the service catalog;
• enters and adjusts prices;
• Publishes content;
• Posts promotions;
• Works with customer base;
• Gathers statistical data for analysis;
• contacts technical support when errors are detected.

Courier Interface

A separate interface is created for the courier service, which contains a list of available, active and completed orders. The courier accepts the order, acquaints himself with the terms and conditions and receives the optimal route for the trip, which is also tracked by the administrator and the client on an online map in the application. The system automatically calculates remuneration, bonuses, rewards, penalties and other components of the payment system.

Such functionality shows couriers the real result of their work, stimulating them to work more efficiently and with higher quality. Automated exchange of information about orders eliminates the risk of errors, overlaps, inconsistencies. The application has special forms for quick communication with the manager and the customer.

Marketing tools in the app

The majority of dry cleaners and laundromats’ customers are repeat customers who use the services with a certain frequency. Therefore, it is important to retain existing customers and bring back former customers by introducing loyalty programs. Technically, this can be easily implemented in a mobile application.

Bonuses. For each order a certain number of bonuses is credited – they can be used for partial payment of the next orders. With each order, the account grows – this encourages the customer to return to the company.

Promotions. Below is a complete list of special offers currently available – discounts on certain services, free shipping, and more.

Notifications. The user receives pop-up messages about the next promotions, congratulations on holidays, reminders about the need for scheduled cleaning of things. Such a tool attracts attention and helps to bring back former customers.

Subscriptions. The Client may purchase a subscription for a permanent service, which allows ordering services at special discounted prices. The period of validity of the subscription is, for example, one month, six months, one year.

Promotional banners in the application. Information about current promotions is placed in the form of banners in different areas of the application – for example, in the service catalog or on the main screen.

News. In the app, you can publish stories about the company’s work – post videos, before and after photos, tips and recommendations, reference materials, and any other content of interest to the audience. For customers, this is an extra reason to go to the app and spend some time with it.

Feedback. Being available to your customers at all times is not just about resolving problems quickly. Every feedback, review, complaint, and suggestion is a source of useful information that can help improve service and adjust marketing strategies.

Analytics. The system counts customers, payments, services rendered, money received – this information helps to assess how efficiently the service is working. If it is a large chain of dry cleaners or laundries, analytics allows you to compare the performance of branches, identify problem areas and determine the most productive points.

Customer database. The mobile application allows you to collect customer data, store it securely and work with it in various ways to promote services – launch mailings and calls, send notifications in the application.

How to promote a dry cleaning and laundry mobile app

The most effective ways to promote a mobile app for dry cleaners and laundromats:

• Mailings to the customer base. The company makes SMS and e-mail mailings with an offer to download the app and get a bonus for it – a discount, free delivery for the first order in the app.
• Invitations at delivery points. POS materials and polygraphy with active QR codes to go to the pages of the stores are placed at the reception.
• Outdoor advertising. Advertising banners will be placed in shopping malls, subways, on the streets, and will also include QR codes for downloading the application.
• SMM. Active maintenance of pages in social networks, publication of promotional content, organization of sweepstakes with the condition to download the application, integration with bloggers helps to attract new audience.
• Application promotion. You can run contextual and targeted advertising, ASO optimization of the site for search promotion in the App Store and Google Play, advertising in other mobile products.
• Referral program. The user can invite a friend and get bonuses on the account – for installation and first order in the application.

If the company has a website, CRM, or other software

If a dry cleaner or laundry works with any software, it does not prevent them from creating a mobile application. To make all services work as a single “organism”, synchronization is performed with the help of API. Options for such synchronization:

• Full synchronization with the website – complex two-way transfer of the service catalog with prices, synchronous processing and status tracking of requests, shared customer database, one-step data correction on both platforms.
• Partial synchronization with the website – for example, synchronous processing and billing of orders on the website and in the application.
• Integration with CRM – creation of a mobile user interface synchronized with the CRM system, automatic data exchange between the two services.
• Integration with accounting software – transfer of data about orders, payments, workloads, clients from the mobile application to the company’s internal software.

A mobile application solves many important tasks: it helps to automate the work of a dry cleaner and laundry, implement marketing programs, build a base of loyal customers, increase the level of service and build trust with the audience. With a professional approach, the application brings the business to a new level and provides a basis for intensive scaling. The concept is universal and can be adapted to the size of the business. An application for dry cleaners and laundries is the first step to full automation, and for large chains it is a vital necessity without which it is difficult to work effectively and advance in this niche. The price of such a product depends on the complexity of its functionality. Write us your requirements – we will calculate the price of development.