The Indian grocery market incorporates a wide variety of products including household essentials, personal care products, beverages and food. Grocery market plays an important role in boosting the country’s economy and its market size is anticipated to grow by USD 310 billion at a CAGR rate of 8.1% between 2023-2028.

Consumers nowadays are choosing the convenience of online grocery shopping, leading to a growth in demand for e-commerce platforms and multiple delivery models. Omnichannel mass merchandisers such as VasyERP leads the market by integrating both online platforms and retail grocery stores. Moreover, they concentrate on delivering smooth buying experience by facilitating contactless transactions. The future of grocery is a perfect combination of retail and e-commerce. As per the reports, there are approximately 12 million grocery retail store outlets in India which is a very competitive market to open a grocery store.

So, are you also planning to start a grocery store business? Then this blog will assist you with step-to-step guide to start a grocery store and create a competitive-edge in the retail industry.

What is a Grocery Store?

A grocery store in India is a kind of retail store that sells a wide range of food products including fruits, vegetables, canned and frozen foods. Grocery stores are also known by the name of supermarkets or food stores in India. Grocery stores are a definition of convenient destination that fulfills the grocery requirement of every individual.

How to Start a Grocery Store Business?

Here are few steps to consider before starting a grocery store business:

Step 1: Choosing an Appropriate Business Model 

Before planning to open a grocery store business, select a suitable business model and create an effective plan after proper research and analysis. For creating a grocery store business plan consider the following factors:

• Store Type: Will you open a brick-and-mortar store or a hybrid store with both online and offline stores? 
• Size: You can decide for a small, large or medium size store depending on budget and variety of products you want to sell. 
• Target Audience: Understanding target audience – are they working professionals or families – from urban or rural areas. 
• Finance and Capital: Calculate the financial needs and decide how much money you will require. 
• Competitor Monitoring: Understand the strategies of direct or indirect competitors to optimize your marketing policy. 
• Value Proposition: An attractive value proposition will help you to compete in the market. For eg. Offering free home delivery or providing discounts after purchase of a certain amount will add value to your customers. 
• Operational Plan: Opening and closing hours of the grocery store defines an effective operational plan. Also, who will run the store and the individual must have particular information about the strategies to run the store on a daily basis. 

By analyzing the above factors, it becomes easy to create an effective grocery store business plan

Step 2: Store Location 

Choosing an ideal location for your grocery store is half the battle won.

• Try locating grocery stores in crowded places i.e residence area of a city or town, making it easy for customers to reach for quick shopping essentials. 
• Also ensure that the store is located on the ground floor and it has sufficient space to accommodate several customers at a single time.
• The store must have a proper parking space for easy transportation. 
• A grocery store near to commercial areas, restaurants, and banks is preferable as there will be more frequent visits. 

Thoughtfully considered grocery business plan adapted for the Indian market, helps you in informed decision-making and guaranteed success.

Step 3: Completion of Legal Formalities

Opening a grocery store requires proper licenses and permissions. Legal documents will provide customers with trust in your business. There will be a requirement of safety protocol and a challan, a rental agreement that the local municipality will collect from you. Fire safety and health department permits are also required. Other documents that you will need to open a grocery store retail outlet are:

• Get a trade license from the municipality which needs to be renewed between January 1^st and March 31^st. 
• Registering business under ownership option, a partnership firm, or a proprietorship. 
• Register business under the shops and Establishment Act of 1953. 
• FSSAI license which needs renewal every 5 years.
• Tax-based registration of TAN, GST number, etc. 
• Advertisement permits from municipality
• Commercial vehicle registration if you are planning for home deliveries. 

After getting all the required permits, you are liable to open your own grocery store. 

Step 4: Renting or Buying your Own Store

Renting or owning a retail space both have its own benefits and drawbacks. So, whether to rent or buy own space all depends on the individual’s investment plan. Hence, it is necessary to priorly fix the budget and the grocery business plan and then decide to lease or own the space for a retail grocery outlet.
You will have less control over space while renting a retail store space, also you will have less responsibility for financial commitment. However, owning a retail store location will provide you with entire control over the space, but will also require sufficient funds upfront. Once decided you can contact a broker or search for possible properties online.

Step 5: Purchase the Required Equipment

Equipment plays an equal role with a proper grocery business plan. It is impossible to run a grocery store without buying necessary equipment. List of some crucial purchase includes:

• Refrigeration and Freezers
• Display boxes 
• Cash drawers
• Weighing scales
• Barcode scanner 
• Printers and labelling machines
• Signage
• Stools and ladders 
• Cleaning supplies 
• Shopping baskets 
• Product Shelves 
• Cameras
• Fire extinguisher
• Smoke detectors

Step 6: Purchase Modern Grocery POS Software

Modern and robust POS systems help to easily manage your store operations. Few of the features of VasyERP’s grocery billing software includes inventory management, employee management, customer loyalty programs, simplify billing process, custom label printing, generate barcodes, and a huge database.
Also, it is possible to print approx. 1.5 lacs bills per day resulting in maximizing efficiency and automating the task. Also, with built-in reports and analytics features, you can monitor everyday sales of your business.

Step 7: Shelf Management and Stock Arrangement

Maintaining and updating inventory in real-time can be a challenging task. Hence, it is necessary to choose the appropriate ERP software with a proper inventory management systemhttps://www.vasyerp.com/best-erp-for-retail-stores-india that can reduce human errors, avoid stockouts and overstocks. Product placement and category management are important to align your grocery store operations. Create a strategy to arrange and by properly placing the products and utilizing your shelf space effectively. This will result in enhanced sales, improved customer satisfaction, increased customer retention ratio, and improved workforce efficiency.

Step 8: Hiring Staff

For a retail grocery store, staff plays a role in retaining customers. Staff members who are pleasant and friendly with proper sales knowledge, excellent communication skill, and capability to adapt to a new technology can directly affect your sales. Also, it is necessary to use an effective billing and inventory management system that is easy for your staff to handle all the billing operations in your absence. Since employees are the face of your grocery store, ensure that they provide a friendly atmosphere with consumers.

Step 9: Pricing Structures

Monitoring customers and providing them products with competitive pricing is the key to boost your business sales. Using VasyERP’s grocery store billing solutions, you can send alerts to consumers regarding the latest offers and discounts, and can also create loyalty programs to retain more customers. Adapting to fluctuations in product pricing and preferences of target audience can greatly affect pricing decisions. Hence, it is necessary to stay alert and continuously identify growth opportunities.

Step 10: Brand Promotion

After a proper business plan execution, you must start creating a place in the market by announcing a unique brand name and logo before advertising. Use the internet and other platforms for brand promotion. Create a website and social media page in which you can display your products, offers, promotions and discounts to attract more customers. You can also launch referral credits to get new customers. Simply follow the above 10 steps, to start a grocery store. You can also get in touch with our experts and ask for assistance to use our grocery store POS software to manage grocery business without any hassle.

Optimize Your Grocery Business with VasyERP!

Grocery business is a profitable business with maximum ROI and requires minimal effort and investment. From choosing the appropriate location to managing inventory and delivering exceptional customer service, every small step is important in establishing grocery store business.

To align grocery store operations and boost sales efficiency, investing in smart retail management delivers comprehensive cloud-based ERP solutions customized as per grocery store requirements. VasyERP’s omnichannel e-commerce store delivers features like inventory management, billing automation, POS integrations and customer loyalty programs. This POS solution saves more time reducing human errors.

Whether you are thinking of opening a supermarket or a small grocery store, considering the right plan and latest technology will help you beat the market.
Any Queries? Visit VasyERP Solutions and get a free consultation today!