Being a small business owner is always tough, but managing a liquor store comes with unique challenges.
Success depends on keeping the shelves stocked with the perfect selection of spirits, maintaining a lasting relationship with your regular customers, and protecting your liquor license by staying compliant with the law.
Sounds overwhelming, right? We’re here to help.
Keep reading to learn about three must-have tools and get our top three tips to save you time, smooth out your operations, and increase your sales. Cheers!
Managing a Liquor Store: 3 Tools You Need
You wouldn’t make a cocktail without the right spirits and mixers, so why would you try to run your liquor store without the right equipment?
Let’s explore three tools that can help you stir up small business success.
1. A Point of Sale System
If you only invest in one tool from this list, let it be a point of sale (POS) system.
Your POS system is your most valuable ally in managing your liquor store. Beyond facilitating the checkout process and processing secure sales transactions, a liquor store POS system tracks your inventory in real time, monitors your store’s financial health, and lets you offer sales-boosting promotions.
Whether you need a grand opening-worthy POS system or are on the hunt for an upgrade pick for your longstanding store, your best bet is to choose a solution designed with the liquor industry in mind. Look for one that includes unique features like case breaking and built-in age verification.
2. An All-in-One Scanner
A reliable, all-in-one scanner is a must-have for managing a liquor store. This tool plays a critical role in the checkout process, performing two key functions: ensuring that spirits are rung up correctly and that customers are of legal drinking age.
First, let’s talk about barcode scanning. Rather than ringing up items by hand at the checkout counter, your cashiers can simply scan each bottle’s barcode and let your POS system take care of the rest. Your inventory and sales records will be error-free, and your customers can rest assured that they were charged the right price for their selections.
The right scanner can also protect your liquor store from the threat of underage sales. Simply look for one that can scan barcodes and IDs, so you can stay compliant with the law while speeding up the checkout process.
3. Security Tools
Preventing theft is one of the most challenging aspects of managing a liquor store. Whether you’re dealing with shoplifters or employee theft, security issues can put a significant dent in your profits.
That’s why security should be a priority when it comes to your liquor store tools.
Upgrade your in-store lighting and install security cameras above your checkout counter and your entrance and exit to deter and catch shoplifters. If your budget is tight, consider purchasing decoy cameras or anti-theft signage.
Preventing internal theft is a little trickier, but there’s good news: your liquor store POS system probably has features to detect suspicious employee behavior. Just make sure your software includes activity monitoring, customizable access permissions, and shrinkage tracking.
Managing a Liquor Store: 3 Helpful Tips
As a liquor store owner, your to-do list is miles long — which is why efficiency should be your number-one priority.
Here are three tips to help you make more sales with less effort.
1. Embrace Automation
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a liquor store owner is relying on manual processes. Counting inventory, creating purchase orders, and calculating your profits by hand wastes time and leads to errors.
That’s why we recommend embracing the power of automation. Here are a few examples of how automation can simplify your operations:
- Inventory tracking: Instead of counting bottles by hand, rely on your liquor store’s POS system to track your stock levels.
- Purchase orders and receiving: Your POS system should detect when you’re running low on a certain product and automatically generate a purchase order to replace it. Once the new shipment arrives, your system should update your inventory records.
- Automated ranking: Instead of guessing what your customers want, your POS system should monitor your sales trends and give you a ranked list of your products, revealing which spirits are flying off the shelves and which are collecting dust.
Putting these powerful features to work can save you time, ensure perfectly stocked shelves, and help you understand your customers’ preferences and shopping habits.
2. Train Your Staff
In an ideal world, you could supervise your liquor store’s operations around the clock. While that’s not quite a reality, a well-trained, trustworthy team of employees is the next best option.
Here are a few key topics to cover during employee training:
- Why and how to provide excellent customer service
- How to verify customers’ ages during the checkout process
- How to use your POS system to process sales transactions, check inventory levels, and enroll customers in your loyalty program
- How to answer customers’ questions about your liquor selection and tips for making great product recommendations
- Your liquor store security policies and how to spot and handle shoplifting or other illegal activity
Team training shouldn’t just be part of the onboarding process. Instead, plan regular training sessions for all of your employees to keep everyone up to date about your liquor store’s goals and operating procedures.
3. Connect With Your Customers
Most of our tips so far have been about simplifying your day-to-day operations, but efficiency is only one part of the equation for liquor store success. That’s why marketing is another vital aspect of managing a profitable liquor store.
Marketing might sound time-consuming or complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few straightforward but effective ways to connect with customers and boost your sales:
- Launch a customer loyalty program: Encourage customers to save and spend more by letting them earn rewards points, unlock discounts, and enjoy special perks when they shop with you.
- Offer enticing promotions: Bring more customers through your door and increase their basket size with deals and discounts on your most popular products.
- Experiment with e-commerce: Selling liquor online sets your store apart from the competition and helps you attract new customers.
The right liquor store POS system should make it a breeze to put these strategies into action. Look for a solution that offers a built-in customer loyalty program, flexible promotion options, and seamless e-commerce integration.
Master the Art of Liquor Store Management With Bottle POS
Ready to see how these tips and tools can transform your liquor store? Then you need Bottle POS.
Our all-in-one POS solution provides all the tools you need to manage your liquor store, including reliable hardware and powerful software to help you process secure transactions, verify customers’ ages, track inventory levels, and more. Plus, innovative automation and sales-boosting marketing features can help you take your store to the next level.
See Bottle POS in action by scheduling your live demo with one of our liquor industry experts!
