Offering online grocery delivery and pickup is no longer optional for independent grocers, no matter the size of your store.
Millions of Americans rely on delivery or curbside pickup for their weekly groceries, and expectations for convenience keep rising.
Taking your store online means thinking through expenses, inventory management, and marketing efforts that impact every part of your business — not just online sales.
This article walks you through practical guidance for setting up your online store, assessing customer demand, and managing order fulfillment so your online operations work effectively alongside your in-store business.
U.S. online grocery sales reached a new monthly record in August 2025, climbing to $11.2 billion — a nearly 14% increase year over year. More households are shopping online, both with higher order frequency and bigger average order values.
About 40% of shoppers order groceries online weekly, and average order values reached $174 in 2024. Nonperishable packaged foods, personal care items, and home care products dominate online baskets, with households of different sizes showing different priorities for fresh versus packaged goods.
These trends show why online ordering and delivery can’t be an afterthought — but stores should also consider the following before offering it to their customers:
Even with careful planning, it’s important to set realistic expectations.
Adoption tends to be gradual, with most grocers reaching meaningful traction after roughly six months. Early revenue usually supplements in-store sales rather than replacing them, and stores must actively invest in labor, marketing, product photography, and online payment processing to keep online operations profitable.
With these factors in mind, let’s break down some of the biggest challenges and considerations for online ordering and delivery so you can make the best decision for your store.
Offering customers the option to order groceries online makes shopping easier for them while providing your store with valuable operational and marketing data.
Your grocery point of sale (POS) system tracks online orders, shows peak pickup and delivery times, identifies top-selling products, and reveals how promotions influence customer behavior.
Related Read: How To Set Up a Point of Sale System for Your Grocery Store: 8 Simple Steps
Other benefits include:
Your POS system can track order frequency, average basket size, top-selling products, and fulfillment times to show exactly how online ordering affects your store.
Use this data to schedule staff for peak pickup or delivery windows, change reorder frequency for high-demand items, and adjust promotions — all while calculating ROI from online sales.
Even with the clear advantages of grocery e-commerce, online ordering can add operational demands that strain staff and resources if you’re not prepared.
Before launching, consider potential challenges like:
Your POS system helps manage staff, inventory, and workflows, showing exactly where adjustments are necessary to keep online operations aligned with your store’s daily functions.
Online grocery ordering offers real opportunities, but it also comes with operational and financial demands. Comparing the potential benefits and challenges side by side helps independent grocers make informed decisions about whether to launch an online store.
| Benefits | Potential Costs | How To Address |
| Reaching new customers: Expand beyond your immediate area. | Setup costs: These include platform fees, photography, labor, and payment processing. | Start with a limited online menu or delivery radius to reduce upfront costs. |
| Serving customers better: Increase repeat purchases through online convenience. | Time investment: Most stores require an average of six months to gain traction. | Track early adoption and adjust marketing to encourage repeat orders. |
| Controlling quality: Fulfill orders in house for produce, meat, and specialty items. | Operational demands: Online sales require staff for picking, packing, and delivery. | Monitor staffing needs and adjust shifts based on order volume. |
| Operational insights: Get data to help with inventory, pricing, and promotions. | Competition: Larger grocers may deliver products faster and at lower cost. | Focus on unique products, bundles, or niche offerings to set your business apart. |
| Testing promotions safely: Run online-only deals first to assess performance. | Ongoing maintenance: Online sales involve regular updates to products, inventory, and promotions. | Use POS reports to track ROI and identify best-performing items. |
Testing your store’s readiness can start small — offer a limited delivery area, a select set of products, or a single fulfillment method to gauge customer demand and operational capacity before scaling things up.
After you’ve decided to implement online ordering at your grocery store, the next challenge is to keep customers coming back.
To maintain momentum, focus on:
POS data can show which items sell fastest, which loyalty rewards customers redeem most, and where substitutions occur — helping you adjust staffing, inventory, and promotions. For example, fresh bakery items may sell faster online, guiding restocking schedules or targeted promotions.
Related Read: Grocery Store Inventory 101: The What, Why, and How for Inventory Success
Online ordering touches every part of your store — staffing, inventory, promotions, and customer retention.
A grocery-specific POS like IT Retail handles it all with no upfront cost for online ordering. It tracks online and in-store orders, monitors top-selling products, manages peak pickup and delivery times, handles loyalty rewards, and keeps perishable inventory organized — all without disrupting in-store operations.
Built by grocers, IT Retail prevents overselling, keeps inventory in sync, and supports loyalty rewards and online promotions. Try out our free pricing calculator to set up the perfect system for your store.