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The grocery industry is experiencing exceptional growth and transformation with technology today, and one key trend is omni-channel ordering. By enabling multiple ordering channels - both online and in store - for the same products, grocers can boost sales, reach new customers, increase customer satisfaction and streamline in-store operations for their team. But many grocers haven’t unlocked additional order channels for high-sales departments, such as the Deli.
According to FMI’s The State of Fresh Foods, 2022 report, in-store meat and deli departments accounted for 17% of total food retailer sales, 12% and 5% respectively, equating to $102B in 2021. Of that $102B, only 15% came from online sales. That’s 85% of meat and deli sales left on the table for potential online conversion. But how do grocery retailers go about bringing their deli counter online? Continue reading to learn how.
The deli counter is the tried and true department where customers know they will receive quality products, prepared to their specifications, from a knowledgeable staff member. But how many times have you seen a line at this counter, staff members rushing around and other customers getting impatient?
By offering pre-ordering for the existing meats and cheeses you sell, you can help your staff reduce in-store preparation, unlock online ordering for a huge assortment of items and give your customers another ordering channel that feeds into your same order management system.
Chances are your grocery store offers a standard selection of pre-made salads, sides, freshly butchered meats and seafood. Your customers have come to expect these items when shopping with you, so why not enable online ordering for these items?
Customers now expect to have a seamless online-to-in-store experience, but many grocers neglect their general deli, meat and seafood items when thinking of e-commerce. These items are often seen as differentiators by customers, so creating another avenue for visibility and ordering could serve to boost sales and customer satisfaction.
Many communities center their holiday meal celebrations around a special protein. And with the hecticness of daily life, more and more customers turn to their local grocers to help simplify this planning process and source their bird, roast or ham from them.
Better track your key holiday items, provide a better in-store fulfillment process and enable online ordering for your customers by using an order management system like FoodStorm.
Not all order management systems are created equal. But when you partner with a company that builds software specifically for the grocery industry, you can rest assured that the nuances in your processes and workflows have been taken into consideration.
No matter how you offer your weighted deli items, either by approximate weight ranges (such as Thanksgiving turkeys), by incremental weight (such as shaved deli meats) or by approximate weight (such as lobster tails), FoodStorm can help you manage, sell and fulfill these items.
By bringing more of your deli assortment online, you open up these items for additional consideration by your online customers. Whether through a general e-commerce website or through FoodStorm’s prepared foods-specific storefront, enabling online ordering is crucial. By using FoodStorm’s prepared foods-specific storefront, retailers enjoy features such as self-controlled live menu updates, quantity limits, and even store-specific rules for retailers with multiple locations.
As the labor shortage continues, many retailers are looking for ways to bridge the gap while ensuring their customer experience is not impacted. Deploying an in-store kiosk in the Deli, Meat and Seafood Departments can help. FoodStorm’s kiosk software allows in-store customers to view your menus, place their orders and even pay via attached payment terminal. And the best part is you can have multiple kiosks in the same store, each showing specific menus if desired.
The Deli no longer needs to live in the technology and efficiency dark ages. Partner with the grocery prepared foods experts at FoodStorm and see your sales grow, customer satisfaction swell and in-store operations become smoother than ever.
