How can small and independent liquor stores stay competitive when prices are rising across the board?
In addition to passion and great customer service, the right point of sale (POS) system can help.
Far more than just a tool for processing payments, liquor store point of sale systems are helping small businesses modernize the customer experience, boost efficiency, and drive sales.
Here are seven easy ways that you can use your liquor store POS system to stay competitive and simplify your day-to-day.
Running a liquor store can feel like a tug of war, constantly keeping track of what’s running low and what’s overstocked.
Optimizing your inventory levels is crucial for cutting overhead, keeping customers’ favorites in stock, and boosting profits — but that’s easier said than done without having an up-to-date picture of inventory.
Related Read: 5 Alcohol Inventory Mistakes Your POS System Can Fix
That’s where the inventory management features of your liquor store POS system come in to save the day. Inventory management features give liquor store owners and staff an easy way to see current stock levels, prevent shrinkage, and streamline reordering.
One of the handiest features is setting automatic low stock alerts. Once you know the lead time of your suppliers, you can set reorder points for the right amounts based on sales history. That way, the minute you reach that threshold, you’ll be alerted and can resupply what’s running low with the click of a button.
Some experts estimate that a return customer will spend over 60% more than a new customer. In other words, bringing in new customers is great, but bringing old customers back is even better.
That’s why every independent liquor store should offer a customer loyalty program. Customer loyalty programs let customers earn points with every purchase, which they can redeem for discounts and rewards.
Perhaps most importantly, you can use the contact information you get to send out targeted offers to make coming back even more appealing.
To get the most out of your loyalty program you should:
The good news is you don’t need to invest in extra software to run a great customer loyalty program. Most modern liquor store POS systems come with options to create a customizable loyalty program built in.
Businesses “harnessing data” and “leveraging analytics” to make better decisions seem like something only available to big corporations — in reality, it’s a lot more accessible than you think.
Used correctly, they’re potentially some of the most powerful tools in your arsenal.
Every time you ring up a customer, input a discount code, send off a purchase order, or do a cycle count of your inventory, you’re generating a treasure trove of useful data that can be contextualized on the sales and inventory reports on your POS system.
These reports can show you quantifiable information about aspects of store performance like:
… and more.
This information can help you make more informed decisions and create a better shopping experience for your customers.
Related Read: The Best Liquor Store POS Systems: 7 Top Features & Providers
Speaking of useful data, one of the most important metrics to track is your top sellers. Knowing what your customers love about your selection will help you understand what type of inventory to invest more in.
For example, if you’re thinking of expanding your selection of whiskeys, a good place to start is to see what’s most popular. If you discover that your bourbon sells fastest, it might be worthwhile to invest in a wider selection. Diving deeper, you might then notice that bottles from independent distilleries are more popular than cheaper staples (and generate higher profits).
Suddenly, you have an opportunity to specialize and make more money.
This type of data can be used to:
Some systems, including Bottle POS, make this process even easier using a feature called auto ranking. Auto ranking takes all your sales history to categorize all your products from A to D, with A stock being top sellers and D being products that aren’t selling at all.
Getting a liquor license is hard enough — don’t risk fines (or losing it) by falling out of legal compliance.
When business picks up and you’re busy, checking every customers’ ID can slow things to a crawl. But if you let an underage or expired license slip through the cracks, it could be devastating for your small business.
To stay compliant without slowing down the line, use a POS system that integrates directly with an ID scanner. This lets you scan the barcode on an ID and instantly verify it, rather than manually entering or verifying a birthdate.
You can also limit access to key systems on your POS to certain employees to prevent fraud or employee theft.
We’ve all been there. Everything is running like clockwork and then without warning there’s a sudden spike in demand, and you’re left scrambling to get things restocked. Taking a reactive approach, you’re likely to only get your balance back after the demand has passed.
This is where demand forecasting and merchandise planning can help. Demand forecasting is using the sales and inventory data on your POS system together with external data (e.g., seasons, holidays, weather, events, game days, etc.) to spot recurring trends.
An example of the types of data you can access on Bottle POS' dashboard.
For example, imagine you own a package store in a college town. During football season, you see consistent spikes in sales of certain brands of beer and mixers. With that information, you can prepare to order extras in advance during football season, or even feature them in a display at the front of the store.
Demand forecasting is extremely useful to stay ahead of seasonal shifts and keep customer favorites in stock. While it’s not the same as having a perfect crystal ball, even basic demand forecasting will pay off for your business in the long run.
Customers love liquor store promotions and discounts — but that doesn’t mean that all promotions perform equally. While a big chain might have the money to throw ideas against the wall and see what sticks, small businesses have to be a bit more strategic.
Use the insights on your POS system to hone the perfect promotional strategy and improve the return on investment (ROI) for your store events and discounts.
By regularly monitoring the success (and failures!) of your promotional efforts, you can hone in on a strategy that works for your business.
Now that you know what a liquor store POS system can do, which one is right for your business?
While we wish we could say that our solution is perfect for everyone, that simply wouldn’t be true. Here are our top five based on different business sizes, priorities, and needs.
Bottle POS is the top-rated POS system that’s tailored specifically for independent liquor stores, wine shops, and beer stores.
Pros
While we may be biased, we are dedicated to providing the specific functions liquor stores need at a cost-effective package. Built by liquor store owners, Bottle POS offers many useful features like auto ranking, case break inventory, customer loyalty, and more to help small businesses thrive.
Cons
While our system is fully featured, it’s not as scalable or customizable for businesses needing highly specific integrations or franchise-level support.
Square is one of the most widely used POS systems thanks to its sleek hardware and easy-to-use interface.
Pros
Square is a highly affordable solution, with low-cost (or even free) plans for small businesses that process a low number of transactions. They also offer optional paid add-ons that let you add features as you need them.
Cons
Square is not an industry-specific solution, meaning that you may need to pay extra to get all of the features you need to run your store smoothly.
Based in Canada, Lightspeed offers a unified point of sale and payments platform for businesses around the world.
Pros
Lightspeed is a very powerful system with robust integrations and scalable features that let you manage multiple stores with ease. Their built-in supplier catalog and in-depth reports give you invaluable tools to maximize profits at every store location.
Cons
Lightspeed’s extra power comes at a price (literally). It’s the most costly option on this list, with its basic plan starting at $89/month. Additional features like customer loyalty and inventory reports are only available at higher-priced plans.
KORONA POS caters to retailers and quick-service restaurants with a comprehensive solution that includes robust marketing options.
Pros
KORONA POS includes many of the inventory and reporting features of a modern POS system in addition to some pretty unique customer relationship management (CRM) tools. KORONA can automatically manage customers’ purchase and contact history to send personalized offers through email and SMS.
Cons
KORONA’s software is originally from Germany, and many users note that certain aspects of it aren’t intuitive right away. It also has a higher learning curve than some of the other systems on the list.
Spirits POS is another solution that is made specifically for the liquor industry and has over 40 years of experience.
Pros
Spirits POS includes many advanced inventory features including the ability to separate products by vintage and track seasonal products, making it ideal for wine shops and liquor stores that sell specialty bottles.
Cons
Spirits POS’ comprehensive inventory features are extremely helpful but can be a lot to take in for new shop owners.
With tariffs, rising prices, and economic uncertainty, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to take every advantage they can get.
One of the biggest ways to level up your business is by having the right tools. Liquor store POS systems like Bottle POS can help make you more efficient, modernize the customer experience, and boost sales.
While we know choosing a POS system can be intimidating, we promise that the long-term payoffs are far better than any short-term discomfort.
Want to see if Bottle POS is a good fit for your business?
Schedule a custom demo with our experts today to learn more.
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