Grocery Store Inventory Software: 6 Must-Have Features [+ Top Providers]

Are you tired of throwing away wilted produce and spoiled dairy? Do you frequently run out of your customers’ go-to products? Are manual inventory counts and spreadsheet updates taking up hours of your valuable time? 

If these problems sound familiar, it’s time to invest in grocery inventory management software. 

This powerful tool tracks and analyzes how inventory moves through your grocery store, helping you make informed decisions to prevent stockouts, reduce spoilage, boost profits, and better serve your customers. 

In this blog, we’ll explore everything you need to know about grocery inventory management software — including the top six features to look for and our four favorite options. 

What Does Grocery Inventory Management Software Do? 

Managing inventory is one of the toughest challenges you’ll face as a grocer, but grocery inventory software is designed to do the heavy lifting when it comes to this complex task. 

Here are just a few benefits of relying on this tool: 

• Saves time: Counting items by hand, updating spreadsheets, creating purchase orders, and calculating your grocery store’s inventory KPIs can take more than 20 hours per month. Grocery inventory software automates these processes, giving you more time to focus on your customers and growing your business. 
• Increases profitability: Frequent stockouts and excessive spoilage can significantly dent your profits, but grocery inventory software alerts you when you have too much or too little of a certain product on hand — empowering you to proactively protect your bottom line. 
• Improves customer satisfaction: Grocery inventory software provides the insights you need to stock the right products in the right amounts and align your offerings with your customers’ needs and shopping habits. 

In short, inventory management technology makes it a breeze to keep your grocery store’s shelves and coolers stocked with the fresh, delicious products that customers actually want. 

Now, let’s look at the six features you need to accomplish this goal. 

1. Real-Time Inventory Tracking

Most importantly, your software should track inventory levels in real time. With this feature, you can see exactly what’s on your shelves and in your stockroom at any given time. 

With this data right at your fingertips, you can make smart moves to prevent stockouts and spoilage. For example, you can place timely reorders for items that are low in stock or offer strategic discounts on products near their expiration dates. 

We also recommend choosing a cloud-based system, which lets you access your inventory and sales records from anywhere, at any time. That way, you can monitor your stock levels and make adjustments even when you’re away from your store. 

2. Perishable and Weight-Based Inventory Management

As a grocer, you face unique inventory management challenges. 

First, you have to sell perishable goods like meat, produce, and dairy while they’re still fresh. Your grocery inventory management software should help you achieve this goal through lot control. 

This feature tracks batches of perishable items based on when they come into your store, helping you spot near-expiry items and take action to sell them before they spoil. 

Deli scale integration is another must-have feature that can help you tackle the tough task of selling items by weight. This feature simplifies your deli and butcher department operations by allowing your employees to prepare custom meat and cheese orders, weigh these products, print a barcode label, and ensure accurate inventory and sales tracking — all in one simple step. 

3. Automated Restocking

Keeping your grocery store’s shelves stocked can seem like a never-ending task — but the right grocery inventory management software can take it off your hands. 

Look for a system with integrated purchase orders and receiving. These tools detect when you’re running low on certain products, generate a purchase order to replace them, and allow you to print and send the order in one click. 

Once the new inventory arrives at your store, your software should make it easy to check the shipment and spot discrepancies between what you ordered and what you received. 

These automation features save you time and prevent the stressful scramble to avoid stockouts. 

4. Inventory Reporting and Analytics

Beyond simply tracking your stock levels, your inventory management software should help you adjust your grocery store’s product selection to align with customers’ shopping habits and maximize profitability.

Look for software that includes a powerful reporting and analytics suite and tracks metrics like: 

• Your inventory turnover rate 
• Your bestsellers and underperforming items
• Seasonal sales trends
• Spoilage and stockout rates
• Profit margins by specific item, category, and department

With these insights, you can tailor your product offerings, pricing, and ordering strategy to meet customers’ changing needs and increase your grocery store’s profits. 

5. E-Commerce Integration

The online grocery trend can be a game-changer for your store — but it can also make inventory management much more complicated. 

That’s why we recommend looking for inventory management software that seamlessly integrates with your grocery e-commerce platform. 

This ensures your inventory records reflect all your in-store and online sales, preventing discrepancies and helping you spot sales trends. 

6. Full POS Functionality

The final (and most important) requirement for your grocery inventory management software is full point of sale (POS) functionality. In other words, you should rely on one single solution to process your sales transactions, manage promotions, track inventory, and analyze your sales data. 

Investing in one comprehensive system has several benefits, including:

• Simpler onboarding: You and your team only need to learn how to use one system. 

• Better support: You can rely on one support team to answer your questions and help you solve problems. 

• More affordable: Investing in a single solution for payment processing and inventory management is often more affordable than paying for multiple tools. 
• No manual syncing: Using one software tool means you never have to manually sync data and compare your sales and inventory records across multiple systems. 

Opting for a unified solution will likely save you time, stress, and money — so don’t be afraid to make the switch. 

Grocery Inventory Software: 4 Top Options

Now that you know what you’re looking for, let’s start searching for the perfect grocery inventory and POS software for your business. 

Here are four options we recommend: 

• CATAPULT is an all-in-one grocery store software solution designed by ECRS. This provider promises to help you save time and boost profits with inventory features like scale integration, perpetual inventory tracking, suggested order amounts, and custom shelf label printing. 
• Markt POS is a unique POS solution built for specialty markets like butcher shops and delis. Its seamless scale and label printer integration, weight-based tracking, and perishable inventory features are game-changers for grocery stores that sell meat, fish, cheese, produce, or bulk goods like granola.
• Lightspeed is a POS system designed for retailers in all industries. While Lightspeed doesn’t offer many grocery-specific inventory management features, its powerful multilocation and e-commerce features make it a great fit for rapidly expanding businesses. Consider Lightspeed if you plan to open new stores or prioritize online grocery. 
• IT Retail is a comprehensive POS system created to help grocers track inventory, build a loyal customer base, and make more sales. With our software, you can track and adjust stock levels on the go, simplify the reordering and receiving processes, and get valuable insights to improve your inventory management approach. Plus, our team of industry experts is available 24/7 to help you make the most of these features.

Diving into the world of grocery store software can seem intimidating, so our number-one tip is to choose a POS provider that offers an all-in-one system, top-notch support, and industry-specific features. 

Get Started With the Best Grocery Store Inventory Software: IT Retail

Effective inventory management is an essential ingredient for grocery store success — but it takes the right tools. 

IT Retail includes all the features you need to track inventory in real time, prevent stockouts, reduce spoilage, make weight-based sales, and learn more about your customers’ product preferences and shopping habits. 

Discover how IT Retail can transform your day-to-day operations and boost your bottom line by scheduling your live demo.