Between running multiple departments, tracking different types of inventory, managing your team, and everything else, running a supermarket isn’t easy.
And if you use spreadsheets or a collection of different software to do it, it can make life even more chaotic.
That’s where supermarket point of sale (POS) systems save the day. Independent and family-owned supermarkets rely on their POS systems to be more efficient, raise profits, and stay competitive with big-box retailers.
But with so many choices, which POS system is the right fit for your store?
In this article, we’ll highlight the must-have features of a supermarket POS system and introduce you to popular options on the market.
Already know the features you’re looking for? Feel free to skip straight to our recommendations for the five best POS systems for supermarkets.
POS Systems for Supermarkets: Must-Have Features
A modern POS system makes it easy to process payments. But it can also reduce data entry and manual labor, maintain optimal inventory levels, manage employees, and track store performance.
Here are the key features to look out for when shopping for POS systems for supermarkets:
- Inventory management tools: Without a real-time view of inventory, you’re constantly reacting to stockouts, chronically overordering, or pricing your products too low. Inventory management software digitizes your stock list so you can stay on top of reorders, see pricing and profit margins, and reduce storage costs.
- Reports and analytics: Many grocery store owners only have access to basic sales data. Supermarkets need detailed views of performance by product category, peak hours, shrinkage sources, and other key performance indicators (KPIs) to make meaningful improvements and stay ahead of supply chain disruptions.
- Weight-based sales: Supermarkets need easy ways to price products by the pound and integrate with deli scales, scanner scales, and label printers for efficient checkout. Without these tools, many supermarkets experience long checkout lines as employees must manually enter product codes and prices.
- Expiration date tracking: Compared to other retailers, supermarkets carry a lot of short-dated inventory. Tracking expiration dates helps retailers plan discounts and avoid unnecessary food spoilage.
- Employee management: Supermarkets hire a mix of seasonal and full-time employees. Employee management tools help track hours, onboard new employees, and ensure staff only have access to the tools they need to do their jobs.
- Customer loyalty: Customer retention is a huge priority for specialty supermarkets in 2026. Built-in customer loyalty lets you sign up customers, manage points, and apply member discounts right at the register.
- Flexible payments: Customers expect fast and easy payment options at checkout. Modern POS systems let customers use their preferred payment method, whether it’s cash, credit or debit cards, or contactless payments.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it should give you an idea of what a supermarket POS system offers.
It might be intimidating to completely update your system at first, but trust us: Once you get over the initial learning curve, you won’t know how you lived without it.
Optional Features for Specialty Supermarkets
Depending on what kinds of products your supermarket sells, there are a few optional features to look for, including:
- Age verification tools: ID scanners and age verification improve checkout times and legal compliance when selling age-restricted items.
- High-risk payment processing: If you sell alcohol, tobacco, or other age-restricted products, you need to work with a high-risk payment processor.
- EBT payments: Not all POS systems can natively handle payments from SNAP benefits, requiring extra integrations or separate payment processors.
- Dual pricing: If you process a lot of cash transactions, dual pricing lets you provide a small discount to customers who choose to pay with cash.
Supermarket POS vs. Generic Retail: Pros & Cons
General retail and supermarket POS systems have a lot in common, but here are the main differences to keep in mind.
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Supermarket POS Systems |
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Top 5 POS Systems for Supermarkets
While features are important, we highly recommend scheduling demos with several providers to evaluate systems firsthand.
A system may look great on paper, but you might not like how it operates in person, or you might not get the quality support team you need. Remember: You’ll use this system every day, so take your time deciding.
Here are our six picks for supermarket POS systems in 2026.
1. IT Retail
At IT Retail, we’ve spent over 30 years helping grocery stores and supermarkets keep their customers happy with industry-specific features for managing inventory, marketing to customers, setting up discounts, and tracking employees. Our top-rated solution is an all-in-one option for small to mid-sized supermarkets.
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IT Retail |
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Our solution currently has 4.7 stars on Trustpilot, with reviews frequently praising the ease of use and customer service.
Pricing
We offer flexible pricing based on your business needs. Use our pricing configurator tool to get your custom quote.
2. Clover
Clover is a widely used, beginner-friendly POS system that includes order management functions for grocerants. While their software is easy to use, it lacks some of the flexibility and industry-specific features of other solutions on this list.
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Clover currently has a 2.4-star rating on Trustpilot. Reviews frequently praise the hardware but are mixed on the level of tech support.
Pricing
Clover’s standard pricing tier, which includes a touchscreen and customer-facing display, starts at $170/month.
3. Lightspeed
Based in Canada, Lightspeed supports thousands of retail operations around the world. With advanced inventory management and franchise-level visibility, Lightspeed is a great option for large, multistate supermarket operations.
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Reviews
Lightspeed currently has 4.2 stars on Trustpilot with reviews praising their features and ability to scale.
Pricing
Lightspeed’s Core plan is $149/month. Their cheaper Basic plan (which doesn’t include reports or customer loyalty) starts at $89/month.
4. Markt POS
Markt POS is a POS system created for grocers, specialty markets, grocerants, and small supermarkets. In addition to industry-specific features, Markt POS offers full Spanish language support for Hispanic grocers or supermarkets serving non-native speakers.
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While not listed on Trustpilot, Markt POS has a 5-star rating on Google with 60 reviews.
Pricing
Markt POS offers several pricing tiers based on your business size and needs. Use their pricing tool to learn more.
5. Square POS
Square POS is a highly flexible and affordable option, particularly well-suited for small businesses and those with significant online operations. Square POS is not a specialized solution but has many optional paid add-ons to let more advanced users build the exact POS system they need.
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Square US is currently rated 4.2 stars on Trustpilot, with many reviews praising the ease of setting up e-commerce and the user-friendly systems.
Pricing
Square Plus (which includes retail management) starts at $49/month, plus processing fees. Additional hardware and function add-ons are available at an added cost.
Want To See What IT Retail Can Do? Get in Touch
Upgrading your supermarket POS system is a big decision. The right choice for your business depends on:
- Your team's technical capabilities
- Current operational requirements
- Budget constraints
- Growth projections
- Existing technology infrastructure
Not every POS system is a good fit for every business — even ours! However, if you want to see what IT Retail can do for your supermarket, we’d love to hear from you.
IT Retail has spent over 30 years developing tools for independent supermarkets to succeed and compete against big chains.
With a focus on valuable, industry-specific features, we work closely with our customers to make sure they have everything they need to modernize their store, drive sales, and improve the customer experience.
Contact our knowledgeable sales team today to get a customized demo of IT Retail.
by Margaret Thacker
