Grocery stores are an essential part of our communities — but sadly, many independent and small grocery stores are struggling to survive amid bigger competition and economic uncertainty.
Luckily, it’s not all bad news. While a point of sale (POS) system used to be little more than a way to track and process payments, they’re now helping small businesses stay competitive, save time, cut costs, and boost profit margins.
But we know better than most that picking the right POS system for your small grocery store isn’t easy — and we’re here to help!
In this blog, we’ll cover the essentials of small grocery POS systems, including:
Let’s jump in.
Must-Have Small Grocery POS Features (+ Top Challenges)
There are many choices when it comes to POS systems, some of which are designed for general retail and others that are more industry-specific. However, small grocery stores face many challenges that other retailers (and even other grocery stores) don’t, including:
- Limited space and more consequential layout decisions
- Widely varied types of inventory
- Low profit margins and rising prices
- Labor costs and long hours
- Changing customer behaviors and expectations
- Grocery supply chain shortages and disruptions
Subsequently, there are a few features we consider must-haves for small grocery stores, including:
- Inventory management: Track inventory levels in real time every time you make a sale or receive an invoice. Plus, track perishable and weight-based items.
- Built-in vendor management: Manage vendor information in one place for streamlined purchase orders.
- Customer loyalty: Retain customers with member-exclusive discounts and tailored marketing.
- Cloud-based: Manage one or multiple locations from anywhere and on any connected device.
- Reports and analytics: Get an unbiased view of store performance to discover opportunities, learn customer favorites, and improve merchandise planning.
- E-commerce integration: Offer online sales for local pickup or delivery and ensure your stock levels are accurate.
- Scale integrations: Easily weigh and price cuts of meat, deli items, and other weight-based items using scanner scales, Zebra scales, or other scales.
- Flexible payments: Allow customers to pay with credit card, cash, debit card, contactless payment, or EBT payments.
While this isn’t an exhaustive list, these features should give you a good baseline when evaluating POS providers.
POS System for Small Grocery Stores: 5 Top Providers
Whether you’re opening a grocery store for the first time, taking over an existing one, or simply want to upgrade your existing system, choosing your POS system is a big decision.
Here are five providers to consider that offer different features and price points.
Square is one of the biggest names in retail thanks to its sleek, user-friendly hardware and modular software options. While Square lacks some of the hardware compatibility and industry-specific features of other providers on this list, they’re a solid choice for beginners or businesses with small sales volume.
Standout features:
- Customize a reward program with Square Loyalty (including the ability to try it out free for 30 days).
- Leverage diverse hardware POS options include mobile card readers, tablets, and touchscreens.
- Add on features as you go with Square’s modular feature options and flexible integrations.
- Easily get your store online using Square’s e-commerce features.
Pricing: Square Retail Plus plans start at $89/month per location.
IT Retail has over 30 years of experience creating powerful, industry-specific solutions for small grocery stores and supermarkets. IT Retail’s flexible hardware integrations, robust inventory tracking, and multilocation management features make it a good fit for existing stores looking for an upgrade.
Standout features:
- Automate invoicing, track stock levels in real time, accurately track perishable inventory, and set low-stock alerts using IT Retail’s powerful inventory management features.
- Customize the perfect customer loyalty program with built-in customer loyalty integration.
- View store performance, identify shrinkage sources, spot bestsellers, and gain other insights using prebuilt sales and inventory reports.
- Leverage e-commerce integrations to create an online grocery store or partner with services like Mercato or InstaCart.
Pricing: IT Retail offers several flexible pricing tiers based on your business size, hardware needs, and number of locations.
National Retail Solutions (NRS) is a straightforward POS system for retailers of different shapes and sizes. While not built specifically for grocery stores, the unique marketing features and eWIC support make it a solid choice.
Standout features:
- Get built-in support for eWIC payments along with EBT, credit cards, debit cards, and contactless payments.
- Consolidate customer profiles across all NRS merchants with the NRS BOSS Club Coupon Program to create highly targeted marketing offers.
- Manage your store from anywhere using NRS’ cloud-based software.
- Easily configure checkout and set user permissions to create smooth shopping experiences.
Pricing: NRS’ Pro plan starts at $54.95/month or $34.95/month if you use their in-house payment processor, NRS Pay.
ECRS creates scalable, innovative systems for retailers and grocery stores, with a focus on automated features and advanced marketing. CATAPULT, their POS system, comes with many front and back-end features to help small grocery stores run smoothly.
Standout features:
- Customize your checkout interface to keep lines short and customers happy.
- Automate your inventory tracking and reordering processes with advanced AI and machine learning.
- Connect your small grocery store with a gas pump using the ECRS Open Fuel Server.
- Simplify your marketing with automated loyalty triggers, reward point offers, and email campaigns.
Pricing: ECRS provides custom quotes on their website.
Last but not least is Markt POS (spelled without the “e”), a small specialty POS provider that has quickly grown to serve over 1,000 customers across the U.S. Markt POS gives small groceries, food markets, and butchers access to powerful, industry-specific tools at an affordable price point.
Standout features:
- Leverage a wide range of scales to easily weigh and price variable-weight items or offer self-service options with secure self-checkout hardware.
- Track inventory in real time, add standard and custom SKUs, and optimize stock levels with automatic low-stock alerts.
- Unify your grocery and deli or quick-service operations in a single system.
- Offer payments with all standard grocery store payments, including credit cards, contactless payments, EMV, debit, EBT Food, EBT Cash, gift cards, checks, and cash.
Pricing: Markt POS offers custom quotes based on your unique business needs, but you can also get a start on pricing using their pricing configurator tool.
Pro Tips: Evaluating a POS System for Your Small Grocery Store
Now that you have a better idea of what’s out there, how do you go about actually picking one? Here are some tips and considerations to keep in mind:
- Note any must-have features based on your business type, like quick-service restaurant functionality or weight-based sales. This allows you to quickly eliminate any solutions that don’t offer them.
- Keep your budget in mind, but remember that cheaper doesn’t always equal better. While finding a reasonable price point is important, don’t discount the time and money you’ll save on labor costs and daily processes with the right system.
- Schedule multiple demos and prepare questions in advance. Some solutions might look great on paper but aren’t as appealing when you see them in action.
- Fully understand the costs and limitations of different software providers. Know what hardware is compatible, if there are any hidden costs, what the processing fees are, and other essential prices.
Last but not least, don’t rush. You’ll be using your POS system every day, and it may require a decent upfront investment. It’s better to take your time and feel confident that a system will meet your short and long-term needs than to rush into something and be stuck with it.
Keep Your Small Grocery Store Competitive With a Specialty POS System
During times of economic uncertainty, many small businesses get lost in the shuffle, overshadowed by big-box stores that can offer aggressive discounts.
However, by pairing passion and local flavors with a modern, convenient shopping experience, small grocery stores won’t just stay competitive, they’ll excel.
POS Nation is passionate about helping match the small businesses that make our communities great with affordable, industry-specific solutions.
To find the perfect POS system for your small grocery store, try our free build and price tool!