Consumer expectations have changed dramatically during the past few years, while supply chain fluctuations have made managing inventory more challenging than ever for grocers of any size.
But delivering a streamlined and seamless shopping experience is table stakes for any grocery store: 25% of shoppers will visit a store less frequently after just one poor experience, and 59% will buy from a brand more often after a positive encounter.
Meanwhile, improving cost efficiency has become critical for grocers to lower operating expenses and increase their margins. Yet, many manual processes (e.g., stock checks) can no longer meet today’s market demand.
New technologies have changed the retail landscape, and grocers must implement the right systems to stay relevant and competitive. This post shows you how a robust point-of-sale (POS) system can help you increase sales.
How To Use a Grocery Store POS To Drive Revenue
Here’s how using the right grocery store POS can help you deliver a modern customer experience cost-efficiently to increase sales:
1. Improve Inventory Management
To sell more, you must have the right products on the shelves. Out-of-stock items not only impact your revenue. They also create a frustrating customer experience that may deter shoppers from returning to your store.
POS software with an integrated inventory management system can help you perform real-time inventory tracking and reconciliation to increase visibility. You can also set up low-stock alert and auto-replenishment to ensure critical items are always available.
2. Provide Self-Service Checkout
The checkout process is a critical component of the customer experience. After all, if you want to get paid, you must make it easy for customers to pay you! But long lines often create a frustrating experience that could turn customers away.
Self-service checkouts can help facilitate the checkout process, shorten queues, and reduce wait time. In fact, 81% of consumers say they want more self-service options, and many retailers have already implemented this strategy to attract shoppers.
3. Accept More Payment Methods
Customers want to pay in their preferred methods, and accommodating their needs will make them more likely to buy from you. Plus, a shopper fumbling through their wallet to find the payment you accept will delay checkout for other customers.
Besides cash and credit/debit cards, you should accept mobile payments (e.g., Apple Pay), gift cards, and contactless payments. You can use a robust POS system that integrates with multiple payment processors and portals to accept popular payment methods.
4. Offer an Omnichannel Shopping Experience
The pandemic changed consumer habits, and many people now prefer “buy online, pick up at store” (BOPIS), also called “click and collect.” 75% of shoppers who have used BIPOS are more likely to make an additional purchase while 50% have based their purchasing decisions on the availability of in-store pick-up services.
A robust POS system can help you manage all your sales channels efficiently. Moreover, it supports automation to help reduce effort and human errors when recording and preparing BIPOS orders to deliver prompt and seamless customer services.
5. Deliver Personalized Shopping Experiences
71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from retailers. Collecting data on your customers’ preferences and shopping habits can help you drive sales through relevant product recommendations and special offers on brands they love.
A robust POS solution doesn’t just tell you what a customer buys. You can also connect the data with your website, mobile app, and other marketing tools to deliver relevant content and offers in the right place and time to drive sales throughout the customer lifecycle.
6. Automate Loyalty Programs
Loyalty program members tend to spend 37% more than regular customers. But your reward program must be easy to use to achieve results. For example, you should allow customers to sign up and redeem their points at the POS without jumping through hoops.
A loyalty program that’s fully integrated with your POS and other customer touchpoints (e.g., eCommerce site, mobile app) can help you stay top of mind and reap the most benefits of this customer retention strategy.
Beyond POS: Connect the Dots With RORC
A POS system is a critical component that connects the customer experience with your back-office activities to improve sales and cost efficiency. But why stop at the POS?
Our RORC suite of services provides a complete technology solution with flexible and scalable features to help you manage and grow your business. By integrating POS and customer engagement functionalities with back office and direct store delivery (DSD) tools, our platform allows you to manage all business activities with a centralized software package.
Learn more about RORC for grocery stores and see how we can help you future-proof your operations.
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