Grocery Online Ordering: How Independent Grocers Get Started

Restaurants have had online ordering for years. Independent grocery stores mostly haven't, and when they do, it's often through a marketplace that lists them next to every other store in town and keeps the customer. That's a shame, because a neighborhood grocer has exactly what online ordering rewards: regulars who shop every week and know what they want.

This guide covers what a grocery online ordering system has to get right, how it differs from a restaurant menu, and how to launch it without turning the shop upside down.

Why grocery is harder than a restaurant menu

A restaurant menu has fifty items that are always available. A grocery store has thousands of products, some sold by the case, some by the piece, some by weight, and the stock changes every hour. Three things follow from that:

• Stock has to be live. If the website doesn't know the last carton of eggs sold at the counter ten minutes ago, someone gets a refund and an apology instead of their eggs.
• Products need more than one unit. A case of water received at the back door becomes single bottles on the shelf. The website and the register need to agree on both.
• Some items are sold by weight. Produce, deli and meat don't have a fixed price per item, so they need to be set up differently from packaged goods.

That's why the best setup is an online store that reads the same catalog and stock as your register, not a separate website you update by hand.

Pickup first, delivery when you're ready

Most grocers start with pickup. It's simpler: the customer orders, staff pick the items, and the bag waits at the counter. There are no drivers to schedule and no delivery fee to explain.

When you add delivery, decide four things up front: how far you'll go, what you'll charge, the minimum order, and whether larger orders get free delivery. Keep the radius tight to start. A driver who spends forty minutes on one order loses you money on it.

What customers expect at checkout

• Choose pickup or delivery, now or for a later time
• Pay online by card, or at pickup if you allow it
• Use the store's gift cards or loyalty points
• Get a message when the order is accepted and when it's ready

What it costs

Marketplace apps usually take a percentage of every order. Running your own online store costs a monthly fee instead, sometimes with a smaller per-order fee. With NEAPES it's $45 a month plus a 4% platform fee per online order, with the ScomsPOS point of sale included. Card processing is separate, as it is everywhere. Put your own numbers into our delivery app fee calculator to compare.

A simple launch plan

1. Clean up the catalog. Names a customer would recognize, correct prices, and photos for your best sellers. You don't need a photo of every can of tomatoes.
2. Set units and weights. Decide which items are sold by the case, the pack or the piece, and which by weight.
3. Turn on pickup. Pick a pickup window your staff can actually meet.
4. Do a dry run. Have two staff members place real orders and pick them. You'll find the confusing product names fast.
5. Tell your regulars. A sign at the till, a card in every bag and a line on your Google Business Profile.

The short version

A grocery online ordering system works when the website and the register are the same system: one catalog, one stock count, one set of prices. Start with pickup, keep delivery local, and let your regulars do the rest. See how it works on our grocery online ordering page, or read about the grocery store POS behind it.