Online Grocery Software: 10 Challenges, Solutions, & Providers

Today’s customers buy over 36% of their groceries online — and even customers who prefer to shop in person like browsing a store’s selection on the website before they visit.

In other words, to keep your grocery store profitable and bring in new customers, you need to take it online. However, that’s easier said than done.

The right online grocery software ensures you reap all the benefits of online sales without paid add-ons or complicated workarounds.

In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about taking your grocery store online, including:

• Common roadblocks small groceries face with online sales
• Why offering online shopping options is important in 2026
• Best practices for online sales and curbside pickup
• Top online grocery software providers

Let’s jump in.

Top Challenges of Bringing Your Grocery Store Online

Many grocery stores survive with a website that’s “good enough” — but good enough may be losing you potential customers. But you shouldn’t rush it, either. A slapdash plan for your online grocery can easily backfire in the form of lost trust, high costs, and wasted time.

Here are some of the most common mistakes grocery stores make when taking their business online — and how to avoid them.

1. Using Multiple Systems

Sometimes, when brick-and-mortar businesses want to go online, they see it as an “add-on” service. Instead of updating their whole system, they use their existing point of sale (POS) system to run the store, then pay for a separate e-commerce platform to manage online sales.

But while this approach might seem easier on the surface, it has major drawbacks. Here are some of the biggest issues that arise when using multiple systems to offer online sales:

1. If multiple systems don’t share inventory information, it can lead to inaccurate product information and stock levels, which creates headaches for customers and staff.
2. Having a standalone service to manage your online store creates a separate online entity, watering down your chance to show up higher in local search results.
3. Managing your in-store and online sales on separate systems creates more work (and more chances to make mistakes).
4. Customers who shop both in store and online will find things like customer loyalty and purchase history separated, making for a clunky and disorienting shopping experience.
5. Employees will need to check multiple systems to arrange in-store pickups or prep deliveries.

In other words, adding online shopping may boost your sales, but a bad implementation will eat up that additional revenue in the form of added labor — and if your online grocery is too hard to use or has inaccurate stock, then people likely won’t use it at all.

The Solution

Use a comprehensive POS system that manages both in-store and online sales. This way, your physical store and online store share a back office, so you won’t need to relearn a new system or manually make updates when you have new products or change pricing.

Related Read: 5 Grocery Store Markup Strategies To Increase Profits

2. Not Using the Right Delivery Partners and Packaging

Offering local delivery options in addition to in-store pickup is a great way to expand your customer base and drive sales — but with so many perishable items, not just any shipping service will do.

If you use an unreliable shipping partner and food doesn’t arrive quickly or in good condition, you’ll lose money and trust.

The Solution

Using trusted cold shipping partners is key to ensuring every order arrives fresh — just make sure to factor in the added shipping and packaging costs into online pricing. Use your POS system to create separate e-commerce pricing or set minimum order limits to protect your margins for online sales.

If you can’t afford or aren’t ready to ship perishable items, you can limit online purchases to shelf-stable items (while still listing your entire stock online).

3. Not Preparing or Training for Different Fulfillment Types

Adding online shipping adds a whole new set of processes for picking orders, prepping shipments, and tracking stock levels. Unless all orders filter through a single system, it’s easy for details to fall through the cracks.

Imagine prepping an order for pickup too early and a customer arriving to find wilted, lukewarm produce — or arriving to find the order isn’t ready yet.

The Solution

As your grocery store adds more sales channels (e.g., online shop, InstaCart), prepare a game plan before each service goes live. Put together a few sample orders to make sure the technology is working as expected and to iron out any kinks.

Also, take the time to train staff on the process for receiving orders, packing orders (if you’re shipping food), making substitutions, and order timing.

4. Managing Substitutions and Customer Expectations

Many of us who shop for groceries online have experienced this: Our requested can of tomato paste is out of stock, so the store has to make a substitution. When you know about it in advance, it’s not a big deal — but no one wants to be surprised with a substitution they didn’t know about after they get home.

The Solution

Having an inventory management system that syncs your in-store and online inventory goes a long way toward preventing these scenarios, but some substitutions are inevitable.

Set up a clear process for communicating with customers, and use a system that flags any potential issues automatically. It’s always best to overcommunicate with customers — don’t make assumptions. What seems like a reasonable substitution for you might be unacceptable for a customer. Let them choose.

To save your staff time and effort, you want a system that automatically notifies customers when:

• Their order is received.

• Their order is prepared (and if there are any substitutions).

• Their order is ready for pickup or out for delivery.

For successful online sales, the process should be as transparent as possible.

5. Having a Website That’s Outdated or Hard To Use

For many customers, the first impression of your business is your website. If it runs poorly, lacks detailed product information, or looks outdated, people will assume the worst, even if your physical store is perfectly laid out.

The Solution

Start with the basics. Use a website template that’s responsive (meaning it works on a computer screen and a phone) and avoid using any pictures with a file size over 1MB for your business or product images. If you need to make the pictures you have smaller, you can use free services like Tinify.

Integrating your POS system and e-commerce also allows you to pull product pictures and information (e.g., department, descriptions, etc.) directly from your back office into the website without having to build out each page manually.

Investing in a good-looking and responsive website is a must for modern grocery stores. If you don’t have the time or expertise to build a website yourself, many POS providers offer white-glove website creation.

6. Not Having a Solution That Supports Hot Food and Retail Sales

Many local grocery stores sell a mix of grocery retail and prepared foods, like deli sandwiches or hot meals. Unfortunately, many e-commerce systems are built to handle one but not the other, forcing owners to either cut half of their business from online sales or use multiple systems.

Neither option is ideal. This is why grocery store owners that sell prepared food should invest in systems that:

• Allow for menu creation for prepared foods.
• Let customers add modifiers when buying online.
• Print online orders directly to your kitchen printers.

While some basic systems let you add prepared food sales later, you usually have to pay for them. Look for systems that natively do both to save money and make order management easier.

Why Your Small Business Needs Online Grocery Software

Online grocery software is becoming a necessity for small businesses. U.S. online grocery sales increased 26% year over year in 2025, and that isn’t slowing down.

Even if you don’t have the resources to start delivering groceries (something that’s still dominated by big chains), even listing your stock online or offering in-store pickup can help you capture more business.

Still not convinced? Here’s what you can do with the right online grocery software.

1. Match Shopper Expectations

These days, people expect businesses to be online — and that includes grocery stores. Offering online sales helps modernize your grocery store to meet these expectations.

Either way, investing in a modern grocery e-commerce solution helps deliver the connected experiences customers want. And since many small grocers offer higher quality products compared to their big-chain competitors, it allows you to offer something unique.

2. Boost Brand Visibility

Building a solid online presence is a critical step in any effective marketing plan — even if your business is a small, neighborhood favorite, new customers will likely find you online.

These days, a strong online presence isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a must-have. A whopping 35% of all product searches start online, and 66% of customers disregard a business that doesn’t have a strong online presence.

A basic website may not be enough to draw in customers, though. Part of what makes online grocery options so convenient is that they provide a comprehensive list of available products, so customers don’t have to guess what’s in stock.

The more visible your store is online, and the easier it is to buy from you, the more you can boost visibility (and sales).

3. Enhance Your Marketing and Product Choice

We’ve talked extensively about how in-store customer loyalty programs aren’t only a sales tool, but a useful way to understand customer behaviors and send out tailored offers.

An online grocery store offers the same advantage, giving you more data points to back up your instincts and make smarter stocking decisions. You can combine in-store and online customer information to create even more detailed customer segments, too. You can then send personalized deals that actually interest them.

The more ways you have to connect with your customers, the better. A seamless online grocery experience gives you more opportunities to understand your best shoppers.

Launching an Online Grocery: Best Practices

Yes, adding online grocery shopping options can be a challenge — but it doesn’t have to be. The right technology and processes give you all the benefits of e-commerce without the stress.

Here are some best practices to follow to make your journey to online grocery sales a smooth one.

Adding online sales to your grocery store is a lot like adding a new department. It may take some training and adjustments to get it up and running, but with the right game plan and some patience, it’ll feel like a natural part of the store in no time.

4 Top Options for Online Grocery Software

A successful online implementation starts with the right technology. At minimum, you need to use a POS system with a built-in e-commerce solution or an integration to sync inventory with a separate e-commerce solution.

Here are our top four recommendations for online grocery software providers.

1. IT Retail — Best All-in-One Solution for Small Grocery Stores

IT Retail is our all-in-one solution built for both in-store and online grocery stores, international markets, and food co-ops. With native e-commerce functions and a variety of optional third-party integrations, IT Retail gives you flexible options for bringing your store online while modernizing your in-store operations.

Standout features:

• Standalone e-commerce functionality, plus integration support for third-party e-commerce platforms or third-party delivery services
• Unified in-store and online customer loyalty to allow customers to earn rewards no matter where they shop
• Intuitive reports and analytics to spot trends, monitor sales, and track promotion effectiveness
• Built-in marketing and communication tools to send tailored offers to customer segments
• Detailed inventory and supplier database to manage item descriptions, pricing, low-stock alerts, and more

Pricing: We offer flexible pricing options starting at $49/month.

2. GrazeCart — Best for Farm Stores or Butchers That Sell Primarily Online

GrazeCart is an online grocery software solution designed to help small business owners sell fresh food online. Built by farmers, GrazeCart excels in catch-weight sales, with user-friendly ways to sell items like meat and cheese, along with subscription options that don’t require deposits.

Standout features:

• Flexible options for pickup and delivery, allowing you to use your own delivery fleet or a nationwide carrier
• Robust inventory management to add detailed information for homemade or custom products
• An easy-to-use website builder that helps you craft an engaging online experience for your customers
• Subscription capabilities to generate repeat business and increase customer loyalty

Pricing: GrazeCart offers custom pricing starting at $89 per month.

3. InstaCart — A Popular Third-Party Service That Handles Orders for You

If you want to bring your store online but don’t have the staff or aren’t ready to manage a website yourself, InstaCart could be a great option for you. InstaCart uses your POS system’s inventory data to list your store in their popular grocery store directory, and sends out pickers to your business to fulfill orders.

Standout features:

• A built-in base of millions of active users to put your store in front of
• Simplified fulfillment that handles the order and sends pickers to your store to prepare orders for you
• Modular e-commerce suite to add Instacart features to an existing website

Pricing: Contact InstaCart to get an overview of how they apply fees and set minimum order pricing for their pickup orders.

4. Wave Grocery — A Sophisticated (but Standalone) Solution

Wave Grocery builds powerful, omnichannel e-commerce solutions specifically for grocery stores. Though they are a standalone solution, they offer sophisticated and branded websites, mobile apps, and more — creating experiences that rival any big chain.

Standout features:

• Flexible options to choose which channels you want, including websites, mobile apps, picker apps, and loyalty apps
• Smart product replacement features and location directories to speed up the fulfillment process
• Phone ordering options that filter through your normal inventory and sales systems

Pricing: Wave Grocery starts at $600/month.

Take Your Store Online, your Way

Giving your customers convenient online shopping options is key to staying competitive and delivering the modern shopping experience customers expect. But when you take your store online, don’t rush forward with half-baked solutions that make your life harder.

Set yourself up for success with IT Retail, our all-in-one solution for simplifying grocery store sales and operations. Backed by over 30 years of collaboration with small grocery stores, we’ve created a flexible system that lets you go online, your way — whether it’s setting up a standalone site, partnering with a third-party service, or using an advanced e-commerce platform.

The best part? We do the hard work for you. Just tell us the what, how, and where of what you want to sell — and we take care of the rest.

Try our Build and Price tool today to create your perfect system, including online sales options.