Grocery stores are a major contributor to the retail industry. The global grocery store market generates revenue of around $9,753.9bn in 2020 alone with a compound annual growth rate of 7% between 2016-2020. By 2025 the market is expected to grow by 5% CAGR and be around $12,558.88 billion.
With such a huge size and dynamic composition of various categories and sections, Grocery stores are the major contributors to the economic well-being of every nation. Over the years grocery stores have evolved into a modern shopping experience. With the increase in the use of technology and modernization in business methods, grocery stores are the ones that evolve the most.
What are the factors leading to this transformation and what exactly are we looking for in terms of the modern shopping experience? These are some of the major questions we will try to answer in this guide so be with us and learn this transformation from scratch.
What Is A Modern Shopping Experience?
Before we jump to our main section where we will discuss the ten reasons that yield this transformation it is important to know what exactly this transformation we are talking about.
Today, the retail industry is all about the experience you are offering to your customers. The class, vibe, and quality you are presenting are all matters. The modern shopping experience is all about the use of technology, and the customer service you offer on your premises (stores) and in your online stores.
For example, if you walk into a grocery store and you find a self-service cart that has its own POS which automatically detects things you are putting in your cart. So that you don’t have to wait in lines to check out, do you visit this store again or do you prefer your traditional grocery store?
This is what a modern shopping experience is all about, various payment methods, digital checkout counters, E-invoicing, discounts, and promotions are what transform a grocery store into a modern shopping experience.
Contribution Of Grocery Store POS:
Grocery store POS is one of the major contributors to making this transformation happen. Over the years grocery store POS upgrades its various integrations and versions to make it possible what we are seeing today.
Grocery store POS provides digital solutions to grocery stores and makes them enhance their shopping experience. Furthermore, the reasons and the features that make this transformation happen will be discussed later in this guide.
10 Reasons How Grocery Store POS Transforms Grocery Stores
By far you have got the idea that we will focus on grocery store POS as the major contributor to the transformation of the grocery stores’ shopping experience. Although the whole idea of having a grocery store POS is to transform grocery store operations, we will focus on ten major contributors.
Here they are:
- Digital Sales Management
- Data-Driven Decision Making
- Real-Time Analytics
- Accurate Demand Forecasting
- Fasten Checkouts
- Use Of AI, BI, And ML
- Self Service Options
- Multiple Payment Methods
- Dynamic And Detailed Inventory Management
- Dedicated Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
1. Digital Sales Management:
Point of sales software is a digital solution to sales management. In its various versions like web-based (cloud) or on-premises (offline) it provides digital sales management services. What exactly is digital sales management? Grocery store POS is a digital tool that helps in sales management through its various features and modules.
In grocery store POS, all the integrations are programmed to manage challenges that a business might face like inventory management, accounts management, and sales management. Digital means used in a grocery store provide a modern experience rather than traditional sales management where manual receipts are given with handwritten notes.
Besides the fact that it provides a better experience to customers, it also helps employees in their tasks.
2. Data-Driven Decision Making:
Decision-making is the most important thing in any business. Like every other business, the right decision at the right time is what makes a good business. Today, data is the key factor that determines whether your decision was right or wrong. What if we make decisions based on data? What if rather than taking speculation or a wild guess you make your decisions based on trends and data analytics?
You might wonder where to get all that data, this is where grocery store POS comes in. This is the reason why it transforms grocery stores into a modern experience. Grocery Store POS analyses the data and produces results that are used in better decision-making. With the hand of primary data, the business can make effective decisions and can monitor its progress.
3. Real-Time Analytics:
Data analysis and data processing are the most critical tasks of a grocery store POS. Some dynamic grocery store POS like CISePOS provide real-time analytics and sales stats for store managers. These analytics are the foundation for grocery store operations.
For example, a store sees in its real-time analytics that on Saturdays the sale of its snacks increases. With that data in hand, the store managers make sure that the snack section will be prominent in the store with all the required inventory.
The grocery store also does various promotions based on its analytics and data. The data generated through all the daily transactions are recorded to a centralized cloud database in the case of cloud POS software like CISePOS.
4. Accurate Demand Forecasting:
Demand Forecasting is something that has a direct connection with business success. If a business is not good at forecasting its demand then it might face difficulty in managing the operations with efficient inventory stocks.
Grocery stores need effective demand forecasting that helps in keeping stocks and managing other resources to maintain seamless sales operations. Before we get into more details it is important to get an idea of what demand forecasting is.
Demand forecasting refers to forecasting future demand and trends in sales by analyzing sales data. To have an accurate sales forecast it is important to have well-organized sales data. Grocery store POS stores and organizes data so that it can be used to do demand forecasting and trend analysis.
This is how grocery stores get accurate demand forecasting using grocery store POS. With accurate demand forecasts, grocery stores can fulfill customers’ needs and provide them with effective customer service.
5. Fasten Checkouts:
Today everybody is in a hurry and needs fast service when it comes to almost everything. Customers doing groceries need express service without any hassle of waiting in long lines. Grocery store POS is a digital tool as swift sales processing integration that processes sales.
Grocery stores either used barcodes for item scanning and adding them to the cart or used manual input to add them. Modern-day grocery store POS like CISePOS generates barcodes for product identification. Once the barcode is scanned the POS fetches all the details regarding it and charges the customer accordingly.
While the sales operations are happening the grocery store POS updates the inventory with the sales and generates receipts for the customers with all the details. This is how customers get quick service with easy processing of sales.
6. Use Of AI, BI, And ML:
Artificial intelligence, Business intelligence, and Machine learning are the modern-day technologies that are evolving in almost every digital application globally. These technologies empower technology for decision-making and business operations with lesser human input.
Over the years, AI and ML makes POS learn through the data and automate many business tasks. Although these grocery store POS are quite expensive, they are quickly getting popular. Amazon Go is a popular example of how AI and ML work.
These technologies provide a completely new experience to customers, with no or minimal input from human machines doing most of the activities.
7. Self-Service Options:
Self-service grocery store POS is also known as KIOSK POS. You may have seen this technology in McDonald’s or any other international food chain, where you can punch your order yourself and complete the payment.
These technologies are getting popular in grocery stores and self-service options can be seen in grocery stores. Mobile grocery POS is another example of a grocery store POS. Customers getting into a grocery store with complete over their purchase make them come again.
In Pakistan, this idea is yet to be implemented on a large scale but it is implemented globally with successful operations.
8. Multiple Payment Methods:
Any customer that visits a grocery store wants independent payment options, they need multiple payment methods so that they can easily make payments at their convenience. Cash, card, QR scan, or online payments are some of the most used payment methods that are used by grocery stores nowadays.
Grocery store POS has multiple payment integrations so that you can entrain your customers at your convenience. Advance grocery store POS like CISePOS has some additional payment features like credit sales as payment options.
Moreover, you can also split the sales payment into various modes to accommodate the customers as per their demands.
9. Dynamic And Detailed Inventory Management:
The supply chain is the most important section of grocery stores. To run a seamless grocery store it is important to take care of your inventory stocks. A grocery store has thousands of products with hundreds of categories and subcategories.
To provide an enhanced experience to customers a grocery store has to keep tight inventory management. For that reason grocery store POS is one of the tools that has been used by grocery stores to manage their inventories.
Grocery store POS keeps a record of all inventories that transfer in and transfer out of the store. It also allows you to transfer inventories into your multiple branches. Grocery store POS also allows you to keep an eye on your resource wastage.
With detailed inventory management, grocery stores can keep up with their customer’s expectations and provide them the service that they demand.
10. Dedicated Customer Relationship Management (CRM):
In today’s business management customer data is the most important thing to manage effective grocery store operations. Grocery store POS like CISePOS has a dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) module.
The CRM module keeps customers’ data, the data is used during receipt printing and analyzing what kind of customers visit your customer’s store which helps you keep an eye on your in-demand items.
The data collected through this module is then used for marketing and promotional purposes. Grocery store POS allows users to manage, collect and use the data as per their needs and align a database for customers.
Is It Really Worth Money To Have A Grocery Store POS?
Here a question arises, is it really worth investing your time and money in a grocery store POS? Yes, it surely is. Grocery store POS is a one-window solution that your business needs to do full business management operations.
Grocery POS vendors offer various integrations and plan that you can use at your disposal. Grocery store POS is a complete solution providing efficient operations to grocery stores. You can always find a suitable integration for your business needs in an affordable pricing structure.
CISePOS | A Complete Grocery Store POS Software:
CISePOS is a dynamic POS software that has various utilities for different businesses. Grocery stores are major contributors to the retail industry and CISePOS being a retail software has the most users in the grocery store industry.
You can select between various subscription plans to choose what you find best for you. With detailed inventory management, dedicated accounts management, and sales management you can bring transformation to your grocery store as per modern standards.