Running a grocery store or perishable food business can be tricky. The overhead is notoriously high and the margins incredibly slim, but there are a few things you can do to improve your store’s efficiency and even earn higher revenues throughout the year. Even if you’ve been struggling in recent months, it’s still early in the year. As long as you start implementing new strategies right away, your next few quarters could be quite lucrative.
Here are a few great ways for you to take your grocery store to the next level this quarter:
Using a quality grocery store inventory software
Keeping track of every single item on every single shelf across your store can feel quite overwhelming if you’re not utilizing up-to-date grocery store inventory software programs. Thanks to these innovative systems, you will be able to significantly improve the way you keep track of your items across your store. With the right food inventory management software, you can cut down on inventory loss and decrease inventory management costs.
Explore the Benefits of Slotting
While this strategy isn’t viable for every grocery store, slotting has helped many grocery store franchises earn extra revenue to offset rising overhead costs. Slotting refers to the practice of charging food companies for the privilege of stocking their products on a store’s shelves. It’s a simple way to leverage supply and demand to increase revenue.
The Motley Fool reports on a study from the University of Northern Florida, which found that “there are more than 100,000 grocery products available for consumption in a given year, but the average store only has room to display 40,000.” Food companies rolling out new products may be willing to pay to secure your precious shelf space.
Start offering specialty food products
The specialty food market has been on the rise in recent years. In fact, dollar sales of the specialty food industry grew by approximately 15% from 2014 to 2016, totaling a substantial $127 billion across the United States. Stocking your grocery store with artisanal foods, fancy cheeses, truffles, edible seaweed, and other creative and eccentric specialty foods will appeal to both younger and high-income customers. These products will likely start flying off the shelves once foodies realize you are stocking them.
Focus on your digital brand
In 2018, even small-town grocery stores need to have a digital presence in order to succeed. You don’t have to constantly post compelling content on social media, but having a few accounts so you can stay in touch with your devoted customers can really strengthen your brand and improve your business. Simply create a Facebook and Instagram account, share a few behind the scenes photos, and interact with your followers as much as you can. While loyal customers may have clipped coupons in the newspaper in decades past, today your customers are more likely to find coupons online.
If you’re ready to learn more about grocery store inventory software, DSD software, and other aspects of improving your perishable goods company or grocery store, give Harvest Food Solutions a call today.