Is your grocery store’s deli living up to its full potential?
This often overlooked department is more than a place to pick up ham and cheese; it can be a driving force behind full shopping baskets and high customer retention.
So, what do delis sell to achieve these goals?
In this blog, we’ll cover eight popular products to add to your deli department, helping you become your customers’ go-to spot for grocery staples and convenient meals. Plus, we’ll share four bonus tips to help you maximize your deli counter’s sales.
What Do Delis Sell? 8 Essential Products To Offer
If you want to become your neighborhood’s deli counter, you have to go beyond offering grocery staples like cold cuts and cheeses.
Expanding your selection allows customers to rely on your deli for a convenient, delicious meal — giving them a new reason to visit your store and spend more during each shopping trip.
Let’s look at the eight must-stock products to appeal to hungry customers:
- Cold cuts: A diverse selection of affordable and premium cold cuts should still be the foundation of your deli’s inventory. Make sure your case includes presliced meats and cut-to-order options of turkey, ham, roast beef, bologna, prosciutto, and more.
- Cheeses: A well-rounded selection of cheeses should complement your cold cuts. Include popular choices like American, Swiss, cheddar, provolone, and mozzarella — as well as some unique and artisan options to appeal to shoppers with sophisticated palates.
- Ready-to-eat sandwiches: Sometimes, your customers won’t have time to assemble a sandwich themselves. That’s why we recommend maintaining a solid selection of grab-and-go options. Stick with the classics here, like turkey clubs, Italian subs, and ham and cheese.
- Made-to-order sandwiches: Nothing tastes better than a fresh sandwich made just the way you like it. Stock breads, toppings, and condiments behind your deli counter to allow customers to order custom sandwiches.
- Charcuterie boards: Want to stay on trend and highlight your deli’s excellent selection? Consider offering premade or made-to-order charcuterie boards that include cured meats, cheeses, crackers, and more.
- Condiments: No sandwich is complete without a slather of mayo or a drizzle of mustard. Add a display near your deli counter featuring conveniently sized packages of popular sandwich condiments.
- Sides: Allow customers to make their sandwich into a full meal by offering single-serving sides like potato chips, salads, and fresh-cut fruit.
- Drinks and desserts: Don’t miss out on the chance to upsell customers and encourage them to enjoy a bottled drink and cookie alongside their sandwich and side!
Stocking these products will ensure your deli appeals to all your customers — whether they’re scrambling for a quick lunch or prefer to craft their sandwiches at home.
4 Bonus Tips for Curating Your Deli Department’s Selection
A perfectly curated product selection is only one ingredient for deli success — you also need the right tools and strategies. Let’s explore our top four tips for happy customers, high sales, and smooth processes behind the deli counter.
1. Embrace the Quick-Service Restaurant Trend
Today’s customers are dining out less frequently, which means they’re constantly on the lookout for affordable, convenient meal options.
Offering ready-to-eat and made-to-order sandwiches, wraps, and salads in your deli department fulfills this need and gives your grocery store another stream of revenue.
Running a quick-service restaurant (QSR) from your deli counter might sound intimidating, but the right tools can help. We recommend investing in a point of sale (POS) system specifically designed for grocery store/restaurant hybrids.
This tool will help you build a menu, take orders for made-to-order sandwiches or cold cuts, modify items to customers’ preferences, and send tickets to a kitchen printer to ensure sandwiches are prepared quickly and accurately.
Related Read: What Is the Best QSR POS for Grocerants? 5 Top Picks
2. Master the Art of Upselling
Want customers to add more items to their shopping baskets when they stop by your deli? Offer deals they can’t say no to.
Bundle a made-to-order sandwich or wrap, side, drink, and dessert for a special price. This type of promotion encourages customers to “make it a meal” instead of just purchasing their entree.
You can also upsell deli products by updating your floor plan and designing attractive displays. Place a variety of chips and single-serve sides, individually wrapped cookies and brownies, and chilled bottled drinks right next to your deli counter to prompt impulse buys.
Along with increasing your grocery store’s average basket size, this approach helps customers see your business as a true QSR — not just a grocery store.
3. Manage Deli Inventory Like a Pro
You might have the perfect product selection on paper, but that doesn’t matter if your deli is constantly running out of your customers’ favorites. Cut-to-order meats are usually sold by weight, making them more challenging to track.
A deli scale and printer that integrate seamlessly with your deli’s POS system can simplify weight-based inventory management and speed up your store’s checkout lines. These tools eliminate tedious and error-prone manual entry, ensuring your customers are always charged the right amounts and that every sale is deducted from your deli’s stock records.
That way, you’ll know when you have too little or too much of a product on hand, giving you the chance to run a strategic promotion or replenish your stock before a stockout strikes.
4. Know Your Customers
What do successful delis sell? They curate their offerings to their customers’ unique tastes.
In other words, designing your deli’s selection isn’t a one-time project. Instead, you should stay ready to change what’s in your case to match your customers’ wants and needs.
Your POS system’s sales records are the best way to learn about your shoppers and their preferences. Check them regularly to identify your bestsellers and your slowest-moving products.
For example, let’s say your sales reports reveal a spike in sales of prosciutto and pastrami and a dip in demand for classic options like turkey and ham. In this case, you might expand your offerings of luxury meat options and launch promotions on your less popular products to ensure adequate inventory turnover.
Take Your Grocery Store’s Deli to the Next Level With Markt POS
Ready to turn your grocery store’s deli into a real money maker? We can help.
Markt POS is an all-in-one POS solution specifically designed for specialty grocery stores and delis. With our software, you can manage perishable inventory, sell items by weight, and run your deli counter like a QSR. Plus, features like promotion management and a loyalty program can help you grow your customer base and make more sales.
Schedule your personalized demo of Markt POS to see these features (and more) in action.
