The Market Al Fresca brings a taste of Italy to Tewksbury, Massachusetts.
This independent grocery store specializes in the staples of Italian cuisine — including organic produce, freshly-sliced meats and cheeses, and ready-to-eat options.
How do they do it all? By relying on IT Retail.
In this blog, we’ll share three critical ingredients of the Market Al Fresca’s success and highlight how they use IT Retail to make sales, manage their vast inventory, and stay profitable.
Buon appetito!
The Market Al Fresca’s IT Retail Journey
Let’s start at the beginning. The Market Al Fresca opened in 2018, and they inherited a point of sale (POS) system designed for restaurants.
Manager Alisa Nazaro quickly realized that this software wasn’t the right fit, especially when it came to weight-based sales of produce, deli meats, and prepared entrees and sides.
Alisa and her team invested in a new deli scale from Zebra, which recommended IT Retail on a shortlist of compatible software.
The rest is history! They decided on IT Retail and were thrilled with the easy setup process, seamless scale integration, and user-friendly interface.
Now, let’s take a closer look at three ways the Market Al Fresca uses POS software to craft an excellent customer experience.
1. They Sell Ready-To-Eat Foods
The Market Al Fresca offers a wide range of ready-to-eat options. From individual sandwiches to family-sized lasagnas, they provide customers with convenient, delicious meals.
Here are just a few things they make in house:
- Rotating pasta salads
- Made-to-order paninis
- Lasagnas and raviolis
- Seasonal staples like ham and turkey
- Pizzas
- Appetizers and produce trays
By selling these ready-to-eat options, the Market Al Fresca serves as a grocery store and restaurant, where customers can stop by to stock up their pantries and grab a quick dinner.
The Takeaway
Ready-to-eat foods are a popular choice among today’s busy grocery shoppers — but you don’t have to overhaul your product selection to take advantage of this trend.
Instead, focus on what your grocery store already does well.
For example, if customers flock to your deli department for gourmet sandwich supplies, start with a few premade sandwiches featuring your most popular cuts. From there, you can move on to offer made-to-order sandwiches and meal deals to capture the lunch rush.
Becoming a grocery store/quick-service restaurant (QSR) hybrid might sound intimidating, but IT Retail makes it easy. Our software includes built-in QSR features like menu modifications and kitchen printing, allowing you to take orders and prepare them accurately.
Related Read: 7 Popular Ready-To-Eat Foods To Stock in Your Grocery Store
2. They Make Accurate Weight-Based Sales
The Market Al Fresca’s typical customer comes in for a pound of pasta salad, three-quarters of a pound of mortadella, and a half-pound of provolone — all prepared to order.
They take a weight-based approach to selling these items for a few key reasons:
- Profitability: Inconsistently packaged products turn into pricing errors at the checkout counter. These mistakes erode profit margins that are already thin.
- Customer satisfaction: If customers expect a full pound of salami but receive 12 ounces, they might start shopping somewhere else.
- Inventory management: If deli associates frequently label a full pound of turkey as a three-quarter-pound package, they’ll run out of inventory too quickly and experience costly stockouts.
To protect their stock levels, profit margins, and reputation, the Market Al Fresca relies on Zebra scales and IT Retail’s scale integration feature.
The Takeaway
Want to improve accuracy in your deli, meat, and ready-to-eat departments? Let’s cover how to use these tools for smoother weight-based sales.
First, invest in a deli scale with a label printer. Check out Hobart and Zebra for commercial-grade options.
Then, make sure your POS software integrates with your new scale. This integration eliminates the need for manual entry, preventing errors and saving time at the deli and checkout counters.
When a customer places a deli order, your employee can prepare their meat or cheese, place it on the scale, and select the right product. From there, the scale will automatically calculate the price based on weight and print a barcode label.
Instead of entering the product type, reweighing, and calculating the price at the register, all your cashier has to do is scan the barcode.
Related Read: Deli Scales 101: What To Look for & Top 7 Options
3. They Closely Monitor Their Sales and Inventory Data
What’s the secret to the Market Al Fresca’s growth? They understand the data behind their business.
Alisa Nazaro, the store’s manager, says that IT Retail’s reporting and analytics features are some of her favorites. She uses this data to track inventory turnover, identify bestselling products, and understand customers’ shopping habits.
Monitoring these key performance indicators (KPIs) allows the Market Al Fresca team to stay profitable — even when challenges like low foot traffic or unexpected inventory issues arise.
The Takeaway
Data takes the guesswork out of running your grocery store — but tracking your inventory and sales records on paper or in scattered spreadsheets simply isn’t enough.
You need a powerful reporting and analytics suite to help you spot trends early. Here are some critical reports that IT Retail includes:
- Daily sales reports (plus hourly, weekly, monthly, and quarterly breakdowns)
- Product performance reports that reveal your bestsellers and underperformers
- Customer reports that show the average value, size, and frequency of purchases
- Vendor reports that help you stay organized and track wholesale costs
- Inventory turnover reports to help you stay stocked with the right products
- Profit margin reports that help you set profitable prices
Our software puts all this information right at your fingertips, empowering you to make more informed decisions to grow your business.
Bonus Resource: 5 Essential POS Reports Every Small Market Owner Needs
Write Your Grocery Store Success Story With IT Retail
Ready to follow the Market Al Fresca’s lead and partner with IT Retail? Our all-in-one POS solution is designed by and for grocery stores just like yours.
Our powerful, user-friendly software has all the features you need to manage inventory, market your store, and achieve profitability, including:
- Perishable and weight-based inventory tracking
- A built-in customer loyalty program
- Automated purchase orders and simplified receiving
- Advanced reporting and analytics
- Online grocery integrations
Plus, our team of grocery industry experts is available 24/7 to help you achieve your goals.
Get started by scheduling your live, personalized demo today!
by Sarah Hartsell
