by You have planting, harvesting, and livestock management down to a science. Your farm store is overflowing with delicious meats, produce, and dairy, and customers flock from all over town to try your farm-fresh goods.
So, what’s next?
If you only sell your products in person, you limit your customer base to those who live nearby — capping your farm’s potential for growth and possibly leaving you with more perishable goods on hand than you can sell.
Fortunately, there’s a clear path forward: Leverage the power of e-commerce to expand your farm’s reach, grow your customer base, and boost your sales.
In this blog, we’ll explore how to use your farm point of sale (POS) platform to launch your online operations and future-proof your family farm.
Why Should You Sell Perishable Goods Online?
While farm stores and farmers’ markets are traditionally the meeting places for farmers and community members, the rise of e-commerce is changing the game.
Instead of waiting for customers to visit your farm and make an in-person purchase, you can let them browse your goods and place an order from the comfort of their homes — making it easier than ever to enjoy farm-fresh goods.
Offering pickup and delivery services makes shopping with you more convenient for your local shoppers, but you can cast an even wider net by offering nationwide shipping for customers across the country.
Diving into the farm e-commerce space might seem complicated, but there’s only one tool you need: a farm POS platform that lets you make sales online. Let’s take a closer look at what your farm POS platform can do.
What Can Your Farm POS Platform Do?
Your POS system plays a critical role in your farm store’s day-to-day operations. It processes sales transactions, tracks inventory levels, and generates sales reports — all vital functions.
But if you want to start making online sales, you need a tool that goes above and beyond these standard features. Specifically, you’ll need a complete farm POS platform equipped to manage your in-person and online sales.
This powerful platform should let you create a website, manage online orders, and create a top-notch experience for your customers.
How To Choose a Farm POS Platform for In-Person and Online Sales
Your farm POS platform should meet two key requirements.
First, it should be an all-in-one, complete platform that allows you to seamlessly manage your in-person and online sales.
Second, it should be designed with farms in mind. Since you’ll mostly make weight-based sales of perishable items, you need an industry-specific platform built to handle these complexities.
Along with meeting these two criteria, your farm POS platform should have the right selection of features. Let’s explore the standard POS functions you’ll need:
- Payment processing, which handles in-person and online transactions quickly and securely
- Inventory management, which monitors your farm’s inventory levels and makes weight-based sales a breeze
- Reporting and analytics, which give you insights into your farm’s sales performance, bestselling products, and customers’ shopping behaviors
- Customer loyalty, which helps you build your customer base by offering incentives on repeat purchases
Your farm POS platform should also be fully equipped to manage your online operations with features like these:
- Website builder, which makes it simple to list your products for sale online and educate shoppers about your farming practices
- Order management, which lets you fulfill online orders through local pickup and delivery and nationwide shipping
- Subscriptions, which give you a steady flow of sales and keep your customers stocked up on all their favorite farm-fresh goods
Choosing a farm POS platform with all these features will put you on the path to a profitable, efficient farm-to-fork operation.
What’s the Best Farm POS Platform?
Are you ready to start selling your farm’s goods online? Your next step is clear: You need a farm POS platform.
Luckily, you don’t have to look far to find one. GrazeCart is a complete farm POS platform designed with farms just like yours in mind.
GrazeCart includes everything you need to sell perishable goods online, including seamless sales transactions, robust inventory management, and detailed reporting functionalities.
Learn how GrazeCart can help your farm grow by starting your free, two-week trial today.