Retail

As any retailer knows, getting your product safely to the customer is vital for fostering trust and loyalty. At the same time, going overboard on shipping supplies will lead to heightened materials and shipping costs, which deter shoppers and cut into your bottom line. The challenge of packaging is to find the most secure, cost-effective method for getting your goods to your customers in one piece. This guide is for small retailers looking to find the best way to ship products. Here, we will look at different shipping containers, cushioning options, and how to seal and brand your packages—no matter the shape and size. We will also look at cost estimates so that you can predict how much you need to spend on packaging materials. 1. Choose the Right Container: Boxes and Mailers The first step to successful shipping and packaging is to choose containers that will be the right size and material for your products. For the majority of cases, you will be looking at either mailers or boxes at this step. For the best shipping, you want your merchandise to fit snugly in its container. Using the smallest box possible will help you save on shipping and materials costs and prevent your items from getting tossed around in transit. Remember, however, most items will need some sort of additional packaging materials, and more delicate products will need a lot of cushioning to stay secure. Consider the fragility of your products and the space that extra padding will take up when selecting your shipping containers. Additionally, different types of products need different levels of durability from their shipping containers. For example, at my store, we used simple polyethylene mailers with no additional cushioning materials to send clothes to customers. However, if we needed to ship jewelry, we would use small tight, cushioned boxes to avoid damaging our more delicate items. Here, we will look at the different types of shipping containers so that you can choose the best option for your business and save on shipping costs. 2. Select Cushioning and Void Fill Once you have chosen the containers that make the most sense for your merchandise, you will then select your cushioning materials. Void fill or cushioning is designed to keep your product safe and prevent them from getting damaged in transit. Here, we will take a look at the kinds of different cushioning materials that are available and examine uses, as well as the typical cost and pros and cons, of each. 3. Consider Fragile or Irregular Items There are some items that require special care so that they arrive at their destination safely. Here, we will look at how you should best handle irregular goods. Multiple items: If you’re packing multiple items, you may need to wrap items individually with a thin layer of foam or bubble wrap to prevent scratching, then fill the remaining spaces with peanuts. Delicate items: You’ll want to use a combination of Styrofoam sheets, Bubble Wrap, and peanuts. Use the Styrofoam sheets to line the perimeter and create a buffer—Bubble Wrap on the actual product and peanuts to fill the rest of the space. Sharp edges: It’s important to cover any sharp, protruding edges on your item(s) by putting them in another box within the container, folding a thin layer of cardboard over the edge, or using double wall boxes. Rugs, fabric, or wallpaper: Be sure that you do not fold items that should not crease. Rather, roll them up and use long tubular or rectangular boxes to ship. 4. Purchase Tape and Labels Once your product is packed away, it is time to seal and label your package before you send it off. The first thing that you will want to do is acquire the right kind of tape based on the material of your shipping container. For cardboard, there is a variety of  specifically designed to seal cardboard boxes. If you do use lots of cardboard, you should also invest in a tape gun to expedite and simplify your process. Otherwise, mailer options typically have self-adhesive strips, making your life easy. Once your package is sealed, you can begin to label and brand your parcel. Most importantly, you will need to adhere postage or a stamp to a visible spot on the top of your package. From there, you can add decor and branding, as you like. Branding might look like attaching a sticker with your business name or using decorative tape with your logo. It might also look like . While custom packaging might cost a bit more than a standard box or mailer, it is a great way to reinforce your brand. Typically, you can expect to spend anywhere from $1.00–$18.00 per box, depending on how much ink you use and the size of the container. Bottom Line There are a slew of options when it comes to shipping materials, and choosing the right packaging material will ensure that your parcels arrive in a cost-effective and safe manner. From the container you choose to put your items in and the cushioning materials to the labels and branding, doing shipping effectively takes time and consideration. Using this guide, you can learn more about the best shipping material options on the market and to choose the best methods for your business. You May Also Like ... How to start a retail business See the best places to buy shipping supplies

A ghost kitchen is a delivery-only restaurant that relies on third-party delivery platforms or other online ordering sites for sales. It does not have dining rooms; it exist as a “virtual brand” entirely online. Starting a ghost kitchen is a low-cost way to launch a restaurant brand, and our guide covers 13 steps—from creating a concept and branding your business, to coming up with an ordering strategy, sourcing suppliers, and your brand going live. The ghost kitchen concept has been developing since the early 2010s, but consumer demand for food delivery in 2020 led to an explosion in ghost kitchens. You can run an independent ghost kitchen from a freestanding commercial kitchen space and a shared commercial kitchen, or sublease space from an existing restaurant. In most cases, starting a ghost kitchen will cost a lot less than opening a traditional restaurant or starting a food truck. Here’s how to start a ghost kitchen in 13 steps: 1. Create Your Concept The first step to getting your ghost kitchen off the ground is choosing a concept. Your ghost kitchen concept is, essentially, your menu and your brand name. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants, ghost kitchens’ names and menus need to be optimized to perform well in online searches. Think about it: hungry customers search online ordering sites for a specific dish they are craving. If they love the food, they will be more likely to search for your restaurant if the name is memorable and reminds them of the dish they loved. A chicken wing concept is more likely to attract repeat orders with a name like Wing King rather than Third Street Bistro. There are a couple of steps to creating your ghost kitchen concept. Research your customer: Consider who the most likely customer is in your area. If you are in a college town, that could be students. If you’re in the suburbs, families with children might make more sense. Consider that your likely customers will probably order for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Consider travel: All food from ghost kitchens travels to the customer. Consider the distance your food is likely to travel and the time it will take to make the journey. For example, in a busy city, it may take twice as long for your food to travel short distances at the height of the dinner rush. So, think about foods that stand up to transport. Pizzas and wings are a popular option for this reason. Curries, empanadas, and chicken sandwiches are also excellent choices. Draft your menu: Create a group of dishes that will travel well and appeal to your likely customers. If you rely on third-party ordering and delivery platforms, you don’t need to worry about designing a menu layout at this point; the sites all have standard templates. On the other hand, if you’ll be using your own online ordering website, you’ll need to design a menu layout later. Name your ghost kitchen: Your ghost kitchen name should be catchy, be easy to read on a page of search results, and mention the type of food on your menu. To get your creative juices flowing, check out our restaurant name generator. 2. Incorporate Your Business and Set Up a Bank Account Once you’ve settled on a concept and a name, you’ll need to get some business bits out of the way. If you are adding a ghost kitchen as an additional revenue stream to an existing restaurant, you can skip this and move to step 3. But if you are operating as a new, independent ghost kitchen, you’ll need to incorporate so that your business can be licensed and insured. 3. Brand Your Business Now that you have some of the dry business stuff out of the way, it’s time to get creative. Your ghost kitchen needs an eye-catching logo that is easy to read in search results and will look good printed on bags, stickers, and to-go containers. You don’t have to be a creative genius yourself; you can hire freelance designers easily via websites like and . You can find freelancers in virtually every price range, but you should plan to spend anywhere from $50 to $400 for a logo design. For ghost kitchens, getting a complete brand kit is also a good idea. A brand kit typically comes with multiple copies of your logo that are optimized for various social media platforms, printed media, and website use. A brand kit for a ghost kitchen might also include stickers for sealing to-go bags, business cards, and menu designs that you can use in social media ads. Brand kits tend to be pricey, but you can generally find them for around $350 to $800, depending on the designer’s skill level. 4. Find a Location Ghost kitchens can be housed in freestanding, independent delivery-only kitchens, shared commercial kitchen spaces, or sub-leased restaurant kitchens. Freestanding, delivery-only kitchens are the most expensive. You’ll need to buy all of your equipment and secure all required licenses, and you may need to secure building permits. Shared commercial kitchen spaces are easier to find in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic encouraged a boom in commercial kitchen construction, and ghost operators can now find spaces in co-working kitchens built especially for ghost operations by , , and . You can also find general commercial kitchen spaces in your area by checking sites like the and Commercial Kitchen for Rent. Suppose commercial kitchens are filling up in your area. In that case, you can reach out to restaurants that operate during limited hours (breakfast only, dinner only, etc.) and ask if they would be interested in subletting their kitchen to you in the off-hours. 5. Get Permits, Licenses, and Insurance Like any restaurant, your ghost kitchen will need several permits and licenses from your local fire, health, and tax authorities. Some permits are tied to the building itself and require site inspections. If you operate your ghost kitchen from a new, freestanding, independent location, you’ll need to obtain these. If, however, you sublease from an existing restaurant or lease space in a shared commercial kitchen, you’ll want to verify that the kitchen has the proper permits in place before laying down rent and security deposits. On the other hand, if you are adding a ghost concept to your existing restaurant, your existing licenses should cover your ghost operation. 6. Raise Funds (If Needed) Ghost kitchens are generally a low-cost affair, but costs can climb up to $30,000. If that is outside your budget, you’ll need to raise funds. Crowdfunding is a great option, as is reaching out to friends and family for contributions or loans. If you plan to approach a bank for a small business loan, you should create a business plan to strengthen your loan application. You can find detailed instructions and a template in our guide How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan. Most ghost kitchens are housed within existing commercial kitchen spaces, so it is entirely possible to open a ghost concept without building or renovating a kitchen space. However, many ghost kitchens may discover that they need additional storage, especially if the business is busy. For example, if your chicken wing concept takes off, you may need to purchase additional freezers or reach-in refrigerators to hold enough stock for weekend rushes. If you work in a shared commercial kitchen like , you may also need to supply your own equipment. 7. Take Mouthwatering Food Photos Mouthwatering food photos are an absolute requirement for ghost kitchens. To encourage new orders, your food needs to stand apart from competitors on the same ordering site. It is a good idea to hire a professional food photographer to assist. Costs range from $500 to $50,000, depending on your market and the photographer’s popularity. You don’t need a photo of every item on your menu; great images of your top five to 10 items are usually enough to get started. The lowest cost option, of course, is to take the photos yourself. If this is your only option, keep these food photography tips in mind: Choose a simple background: Nothing should distract from your food. When in doubt, a white plate on a bright background is a good idea. Focus on the food: Sides of sauce and garnishes are fine, but for your online ordering menu, you don’t want extra items like cutlery, wineglasses, and hands in the shot. Use even lighting: Good lighting does a lot to make a dish look appetizing. If you don’t have access to lighting equipment, photograph your food under natural light, diffused with parchment paper (which any kitchen should have on hand). If your menu is filled with common comfort foods, you might be tempted to use stock images. If your finished dish doesn’t look like the image, however, your customers may be disappointed, and you may get many complaints and requests for refunds. Your food images should look like your actual finished dishes—and they should look as good as possible. 8. Decide Your Ordering, Payment, and Delivery Strategy There are three basic ways to accept online orders and payments and deliver your food: third-party platforms, direct internal systems, or a hybrid strategy. One of the most compelling aspects of a ghost kitchen business is extreme flexibility. You can start with one ordering and delivery strategy—say, relying on third-party platforms exclusively—and shift to another as your business grows. The most straightforward online ordering, payment, and delivery strategy for fledgling ghost kitchens is to sign up with third-party platforms like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats. The platforms handle your online orders, process payments, send delivery drivers, then deposit your portion of the revenue into your business bank account. Like many small business solutions, third-party platforms have pros and cons, though. Signing Up With Third-Party Platforms Signing up for third-party platforms is easy, and the contracts are nonexclusive. Most ghost kitchens rely on several third-party delivery platforms to boost their visibility. You can list your ghost kitchen on every third-party platform that operates in your location. When you sign up with , , , , , or others, you will be prompted to enter your restaurant information, like hours and phone number, along with your menu and sometimes menu photos. To speed the sign-up process, you’ll need to have a few things handy: Your location address, phone number, and email address A PDF copy of your menu or a web link to your menu Business bank account information EIN You start by navigating to the platform site and finding the area designated for “merchants” or “partner restaurants.” Most platforms’ signup pages operate similarly, so let’s take a look at DoorDash as an example: Most third-party platforms grow so quickly that they cannot maintain an accurate list of all the ZIP codes they service. In most cases, you’ll have to begin the sign-up process to see if the app operates in your area. However, once you enter your business address, the system will generally let you know if its service is unavailable in your location. Recently, third-party platforms like DoorDash and Grubhub have carved out varying levels of delivery service. On those platforms, ghost kitchens can choose to use the sites only for online ordering and handle deliveries with an in-house driver team. Alternatively, ghost kitchens that accept online orders and payments via their own online ordering site can hail third-party drivers on-demand for a flat rate per order. Some sign-up sites will prompt you to choose delivery preferences as well. Setting Up Direct Online Ordering and Delivery Setting up direct online ordering and delivery is more involved than signing up with third-party delivery platforms, but not by much. We’ll walk you through the process using . It is a good fit for ghost kitchens because it integrates with Square’s POS, includes online payment processing, and is free to use when you create a Square account. All you pay are the card processing fees. There are additional fees for delivery, which we’ll explore in detail below. Square supports two options for delivery: on-demand third-party delivery or in-house delivery. For on-demand third-party delivery, Square integrates directly with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Postmates. Square charges $1.50 per third-party delivery, and the platforms charge their own rates separately. Square also has tools for map-based driver dispatch if you want to manage a team of in-house drivers. The driver management tools cost $0.50 per order—which is nice because you only pay for what you use. If you upgrade to the Square for Restaurants POS, you can integrate with multiple third-party delivery platforms as well and receive all of your online orders on one central tablet. The baseline POS is free and has no long term contracts, so it’s a good fit for ghost kitchens. You can see more by visiting . 9. Consider Additional Software Any third-party delivery platform you work with provides you with a tablet to receive orders. In some cases, you can also receive orders via your merchant portal on mobile devices you already own. Keep in mind, though; you’ll get a tablet for each platform you work with. So if you work with three different platforms, you’ll have three separate merchant portals and potentially three different tablets. Operating with multiple tablets for several delivery apps has earned an industry nickname, “tablet hell.” Beyond cluttering your prep areas, “tablet hell” has other drawbacks. These platform-provided tablets don’t contain other software to support your business, log employee hours, keep track of your inventory, or collect customer data. To streamline your ghost kitchen operation and prepare it for growth, adding a point-of-sale (POS) system is a good idea. In addition to a POS, your ghost kitchen may also benefit from: 10. Source Suppliers Ghost kitchens operate with tight margins and a high volume of sales. You’ll need to open accounts with wholesale distributors to keep your kitchen supplied with food, beverages, and takeout containers. Because storage space can be limited in a ghost kitchen, look for suppliers that deliver to your location multiple times per week so that you don’t overtax your refrigerators and freezers. In addition to your menu ingredients, you need to think about how you will package each food for travel. Will individual burgers be packaged differently than combo meals? Do you have a plan for keeping French fries crisp and soup hot? The slideshow below can give you some inspiration. Since 64% of consumers said it is important for packaging to be recyclable and 74% of consumers stated they would pay more for sustainable packaging, we focused on eco-friendly options. 11. Hire and Train Staff Your ghost kitchen needs at least a few staff members to keep up with order flow during busy times. Ghost kitchens tend to have primarily kitchen staff, though you may choose to self-deliver your food, in which case you’ll also need delivery drivers. Depending on your culinary ability, you may also need to hire a chef to develop your recipes. According to CloudKitchens, most ghost kitchens employ a staff of two to four employees. 12. Market Your Ghost Kitchen Third-party delivery platforms offer multiple marketing tools that can boost your kitchen’s visibility on their sites. Take care to read the fine print of these marketing deals, though. Preferential marketing placement that lists your kitchen above others serving similar foods or offers free delivery often incurs a higher commission rate. These marketing tiers are an excellent way to reach new customers, but make sure that the rates and contract length make sense for your business. You can also market your ghost kitchen on social media sites. Instagram and Facebook get the attention of a ton of foodies and are home to a massive number of food influencers. At an absolute minimum, your brand should have accounts on both Facebook and Instagram. You can purchase ads on either site, set maximum ad budgets, and target users with a specific interest in your type of cuisine in your city. To drive sales, you can include direct links to your online ordering site on your accounts and even on individual posts. It may even be worthwhile to offer a free meal to local food Instagrammers to boost your ghost kitchen’s visibility. 13. Go Live! With your menu, branding, and staff in place, you’re ready to start receiving orders! Don’t be discouraged if your first days or weeks are on the slow side. It may take a couple of weeks before you see some sales volume. In your downtime, design some social media ads and interact with local food influencers on Instagram to help drive future orders. As your orders start to come in, keep an eye on what is selling and solicit customer feedback. One of the most appealing aspects of a ghost kitchen is its flexibility. You can shift your menu or pivot your operation quickly if something isn’t working. Be flexible, and be ready to add new concepts to your kitchen as consumer tastes change or you get a fresh menu idea. You’ve already done the hard work, so adding your next concept will be a piece of cake. Bottom Line Ghost kitchens are an exciting, low-cost way to enter the restaurant industry. These virtual restaurants only require a small staff and about half the permits and 10% of the capital required for a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant. The best way to keep your ghost kitchen profitable is to leverage the tools provided by third-party delivery platforms to grow your own in-house ordering and delivery streams and log customer data to help you grow your operation. You May Also Like … How to Start a Farm-to-Table Restaurant How to Start a Food Truck Business

A shopper profile is a description of a customer or set of customers. It usually describes a business’ target or ideal customer and can include demographic and geographic information as well as interests and purchasing patterns. Essentially, everyone shops differently and thus has different shopper profiles. Maybe your customers enjoy browsing slowly or perhaps they stick to a list and are in and out. Shopper profiles identify different buying behaviors and what ultimately drives a customer’s decision to make purchases. Understanding your shoppers’ profiles—how they shop and what drives them to buy—will help you cater your store’s shopping experience to your unique shoppers’ needs and increase sales. Here we will go over eight types of shopper profiles, including their general characteristics and needs. Use this information to identify the types of shoppers that come to your business so you can understand them and create an environment that will facilitate purchases. 1. The Bargain Hunter Most retailers regularly encounter bargain hunters in their shops. Also called discount shoppers, bargain hunters are usually armed with coupons or discount codes, know when all of the best sales are, and rarely buy without some sort of deal in hand. Whereas some shoppers are looking for something sentimental, the bargain hunter’s purchase will be primarily determined by price and a sense that they are saving money. The Bargain Hunter’s Needs As you might have guessed, what bargain hunters need is sales and deals. If you find that you have a large bargain shopping demographic at your store, you will need to create a pricing strategy or rewards system that allows you to constantly provide offerings that will satisfy your shoppers’ quests for deals. How to Market to the Bargain Hunter Unlike other shoppers, bargain hunters are not after a particular item, nor are they loyal to a specific brand. Price is their most important purchasing factor, and they will shop around, wait, and compare prices to find the best deal. While the simple solution to this would be to run constant sales, this will cut into your margins and may leave you at a revenue loss. When deciding how you want to appeal to your bargain hunters, be sure that you have a budget in mind and can maintain your profit margin while still presenting discounts. To appeal to bargain hunters, retailers can: Host sales on a predictable schedule: Many retailers have clearance sales on certain days of the week; for example, Express regularly has 40% off sales online from 6 p.m. to midnight on Sundays. Use promotional pricing strategies: Promotional pricing is a marketing strategy that uses bundles, gift-with-purchase, or discount pricing to drive more sales while also providing shoppers with a good value. Try anchor pricing: This is another pricing strategy where you display the original price and your own to demonstrate that your price is better without necessarily having to run a sale. Clear out end-of-season merchandise: Most retailers have some leftover inventory at the end of the season; appeal to bargain shoppers by hosting a heavily advertised end-of-season sale to help move old products and make room for new ones. Organize flash sales: Choose a typically slow or quiet time of day or day of the week to host a limited-time sale where shoppers can get a discount on their total purchase. This will draw your bargain shoppers in when you traditionally have low sales. Offer points and rewards: In addition to traditional sales, you can also create a loyalty or rewards program where customers automatically get rewarded for shopping and can use their points to get money off their purchases. 2. The Browser If you have a brick-and-mortar store, especially one that has a lot of foot traffic, you are probably very familiar with shoppers that are “just looking.” Browsing customers, sometimes called wandering customers, are shoppers who are not looking for a particular item or to purchase from a specific location. They happened to come across your store and are curious as to what you have to offer. For example, my boutique was in a popular walking neighborhood with lots of shops and restaurants. We would constantly get individuals and groups of people that were just exploring and not necessarily looking to buy. The Browser’s Needs Typically, the browsing customer is motivated to make a purchase based on an experience or a connection. For example, a browser might come across a candle with a smell that reminds them of their childhood. Or, they might talk with a sales associate for an hour about a fancy cheese and then buy it because they know its history and have formed an attachment. Ultimately, these emotional connections are what drives the browser to make purchases. Browsing shoppers are especially common in gift and souvenir shops, boutiques and apparel stores, bookshops, and any kind of hobby shop. They also might just be killing time. Consider how you can foster an emotional or special experience in your store without interrupting your browsing shoppers. How to Market to the Browser The best thing retailers can do with browsing customers is to make them feel welcomed and keep yourself available if anything arises, but ultimately leave them alone. To appeal to the browser, market your goods so that they have a story or foster connection without you having to intervene and make it obvious. When working with browsing customers, retailers should: Provide a warm welcome: Browsing customers don’t respond well to pushy sales tactics, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore them. Even if a customer is “just looking,” say hello, offer assistance, and inform them of any sales or promotions. Have a comfortable environment: Retailers should pay close attention to the lighting, music, cleanliness, and overall presentation of their store; wandering shoppers are more likely to spend time (and possibly make a purchase) in a store that is neat and inviting, rather than harsh or unorganized. Design an effective store layout: Since browsing customers are not directly interacting with store associates, your store layout and signage serve as the primary guide; make sure popular, profitable, and bestselling items are prominently displayed. Offer small trinkets and easy-to-transport items: Even if shoppers are just browsing, small gifts or trendy items can still catch their attention; be sure to have an assortment of items that are eye-catching and easy to carry, as well as clear signage that illustrates product benefits. Browsers are often out and about, so small things that they can take with them will be an easier sell for this shopper. Create product stories: Market your products so they have a story and people see them as more than just goods. Use signage and create displays that show how your products can fulfill a need or want and fit into your customers’ lives. Allow for self-sufficient shopping: Allow browsers the space they need to explore and don’t interrupt their shopping experience by making sure that they can find all the answers to their questions without working with an associate. Write instructions and answers to frequently asked questions on flyers and signs, label everything, and ensure your store is navigable. 3. The Showrooming Customer One of the biggest perks of in-store shopping is testing out products in person for quality, color, fit, etc. However, sometimes shoppers test in person only to then buy online. This practice is known as “showrooming.” This type of shopping is particularly popular among people in the market for furniture, appliances, or other large, expensive products that are supposed to last. While large companies like Ikea have molded their entire business model on the showrooming customer, showrooming can be problematic for small businesses because often, shoppers will view your product only to purchase it from another retailer at a lower price. The Showrooming Customer’s Needs The showrooming customer uses their in-store experience to get a feel for the product, scout out its price, and ensure that they are making the right decision. They then choose to purchase online to get an easier shipping and handling process and the best price. If you can give the showrooming customers peace of mind and simplify their shopping process, you will meet their needs and convert them into an in-store sale. How to Market to the Showrooming Customer In addition to meeting the needs of their showrooming, retailers need to offer these customers incentives to shop in-store or with their specific brand. To appeal to showrooming customers, retailers should: Sell specialized or unique products: The easiest way to ensure that customers don’t purchase online from a competitor is by selling products they can only get from your store. Merchandise such as private label products, custom-made items, or pieces from local suppliers are great options for creating exclusivity around your products. Start a loyalty program: A points-based rewards or loyalty program will incentivize shoppers to purchase from your business instead of a different online store because they can eventually earn discounts or free products. Offer product customization: Offer free in-store monograms or engravings on certain products or with a minimum purchase to incentivize shoppers to purchase in-store. Have a user-friendly website: Not every customer will buy in-store; make sure your online store and social media profiles are up-to-date and user-friendly so shoppers can still buy from you online. Offer warranties and price matching: Showroomers are often searching for the best deal and assurance that they are getting a good product. Show them that you can provide solutions to those apprehensions with product warranties and price matching. Streamline a hassle-free shipping and handling process: Make yourself competitive with online retailers by offering shipping and local delivery services so that customers don’t have to worry about transporting items themselves. Offer assembly services: Set yourself above the online big-box stores by offering assembly services for relevant products. Remember, showrooming shoppers are looking for ease, so cater to that need. 4. The Impulse Buyer Impulse shoppers make unplanned purchases based on items that appeal to them in the moment. I am sure that you have been in line at the grocery store or convenience shop and have grabbed a pack of chips at checkout. That is an impulse buy. Typically, impulse shopping is often buying small items that catch people’s attention. It can also, however, be retail therapy or emotional shopping. This type of impulse buying generally involves large purchases with little forethought. The Impulse Buyer’s Needs Whereas other shoppers have clearly defined needs, the impulse buyer operates not on necessity but rather on impulse. This makes impulse buyers’ needs hard to predict, but we can capitalize on their general buying habits. As previously mentioned, impulse buyers gravitate toward small, typically inexpensive things that they can tack on at the end of a purchase without much thought. If not small and inexpensive, then the other kind of impulse buyer tends to make spur-of-the-moment larger purchases. Creating an attentive staff, good product displays, and an easy-to-shop space will help cater your in-store experience to the impulse shopper’s needs. Another important thing for the impulse buyer is their in-store experience. If your merchandising and branding do not spark their interest, the impulse buyer won’t bite. Create a fun experience and help foster emotional attachments to your products to ensure the impulse buyer is happy and engaged. How to Market to the Impulse Buyer Retailers can appeal to impulse shoppers by having friendly and helpful store associates, forging product connections, simplifying the buying experience, and using smart merchandising. Retailers looking to cater to impulse buyers can: Tell the story behind the product: Small businesses have the advantage when it comes to selling products with a story; highlight local makers and other small businesses or products that have a specific tie to the local community so that shoppers experience an emotional connection with the products in your store. Make it easy to buy: Since impulse shoppers are buying on a whim, they want to make their purchases quickly and easily. Lines will turn the impulse buyer away, so ensure you have adequate registers or equip your staff with mobile checkout devices so that no impulse sale is lost due to traffic flow. Use labels, signs, and instructions: You can simplify the impulse buyer’s shopping experience through clear product labels and instructions. Make your store easy to navigate and engage with—the impulse buyer isn’t going to be asking for help to make their purchase, so make sure they don’t have to. Train an attentive staff: An attentive staff will make all the difference for the big-ticket impulse buyer. By making product suggestions, helping with sizing, and overall accelerating and simplifying your customer’s experience, your staff will be able to better capitalize on the impulse shopper. Place small, inexpensive items by the register: The register is one of the top places the impulse buyers make their move. Line your register with small, inexpensive items that people can add to their carts on a whim. 5. The Mission-Driven Shopper Mission-driven buyers are on the hunt for particular products or are shopping from a list. They are even sometimes called “list shoppers” because they so often come with a physical litany of things they want to buy. Others have termed them “need-based” and “reluctant” shoppers because, for them, buying is driven strictly by need and not because they necessarily enjoy shopping. The Mission-Driven Shopper’s Needs Overall, mission-driven shoppers want their shopping experience to be easy, fast, and to fulfill their needs. Remember, shopping is not something the mission-driven customer enjoys, so anything you can do to make their experience pain-free will boost their loyalty to your brand and make them more likely to return. How to Market to the Mission-Driven Shopper The need your marketing should be addressing for the mission-driven shopper is ease. Offering services that will streamline your shoppers’ experience and merchandising so that things are easy to find will ensure that your business is ready to facilitate easy, pain-free shopping. To appeal to mission-driven buyers, retailers should do the following: Offer buy-online, pickup in-store (BOPIS): Time-crunched shoppers often choose to purchase from stores that let them place orders online and pick up the same day. Offering pickup services will also completely cut out all of the actual shopping for a mission-driven buyer. Have gift guides ready: Make shoppers’ lives easier by offering gift guides and other inspirational materials that will take the thinking out of shopping and make your customers’ shopping missions easier to accomplish. Utilize cross-merchandising: Shoppers in a hurry will appreciate items conveniently placed, such as bread by the deli counter or limes next to the beer display. Consider what items are typically purchased together and merchandise them near each other for convenient shopping. Have a clear store layout: Having an easy-to-navigate shop primarily comes down to the store layout that you choose. Be sure that you create good traffic flow and clear lines of sight so your store is easy to shop. 6. The Indecisive Patron Indecisive shoppers are looking to make a purchase but are reluctant or hesitant to do so because of price, information overload, or insufficient information. I know I ran into this type of shopper all the time at my store. They would try things on, but struggle to make a decision and constantly make excuses as to why they shouldn’t buy the piece. Ultimately, I learned that the best way to appeal to the indecisive shopper was to be hyper-attentive so that I could calm any hesitations and answer any questions before they got into their own heads. The Indecisive Patron’s Needs What the indecisive shopper needs is someone or something to boost their confidence. Anything that you can do to make the indecisive shopper feel more assured of their selection and give them a slight push to make a purchase will help calm their hesitation. You want to be sure, however, that you do not push the indecisive shopper too hard and end up making them uncomfortable. Remember, this shopper wants to purchase something, so you should offer helpful nudges without creating an irritating experience. Meet hesitation with assurance, but if you are getting firm negative responses, move on and try suggesting another product. How to Market to the Indecisive Patron When working with indecisive shoppers, retailers need to serve as quasi-personal shoppers or shopping guides for these customers. Indecisive shoppers have high purchase intent; they just do not know the right product yet. Having top-notch customer service associates is crucial for appealing to indecisive shoppers and securing a sale. When working with indecisive shoppers, retailers should: Ask questions: Determine the shopper’s buying needs by asking open-ended questions about who and what they are shopping for so that you can give precise recommendations. This will allow you to provide better solutions to their problems and calm any hesitations. Give honest advice: Shoppers who have a hard time making a final purchasing decision will appreciate honest advice, including personal experience or feedback from other customers. Telling someone that a piece is unflattering or giving them a piece of honest advice will build trust and result in more sales. Use visuals and/or data: Signage and marketing tools that display features and benefits of the products will help shoppers weigh their options and better understand your products. Feedback on bestsellers, product comparisons, pricing information, and expert reviews will all help make the indecisive shopper more assured and ready to purchase. Have a flexible return policy: Having a return policy or warranty can help assuage any fears of the product not living up to expectations. Offer product suggestions: As we know, the indecisive shopper has strong buying intent; they just might not know exactly what they want. Offering product suggestions will help your customer feel like they are getting the best products put in front of them and will help them find something they will feel secure about. 7. The Educated Consumer With increasing access to product information, many of today’s shoppers fall into the educated or well-informed shopper profile. The educated shopper researches products or a store’s inventory online, reads customer reviews, and scans general pricing information before visiting the store. They also typically have an idea of what they want to buy by the time they make it in. The Educated Consumer’s Needs While the educated shopper can be tricky to help they do have a few needs that you can use your marketing to address. The educated buyer wants to see the online products that you have in-store. Additionally, even though they have done research, the educated buyer will still want to ask questions to be sure that they really understand your products before making a purchase. For example, at my boutique, we would often get customers who clearly had viewed our website or social media pages before coming into the store. In this case, they always had questions and wanted to see the exact pieces they had been eyeing. By furthering their product knowledge and giving them a chance to see the items in person, we were able to elevate their in-store experience and satisfy their need for understanding. How to Market to the Educated Consumer The biggest thing you need to provide the educated buyer is a cross-channel shopping experience that adds value to what they already know. This includes continuously updated websites and merchandising displays, in-store only products or services, and very knowledgeable sales staff. When working with the educated customer, you should: Keep your website and store up to date: Most educated shoppers will check out your store online before coming in so they can see your stock and get an idea of what they want to see. To avoid disappointment, you want to be sure that the things you offer online are also available in-store and that your website is up-to-date with all your new offerings. Offer a great value: Since educated shoppers typically already know about pricing and features, these factors won’t wow them. Offer something extra like product customization, exclusive features, a special member price, or at least information that they wouldn't have been able to find elsewhere. Provide a positive shopping experience: Many shoppers return to retailers not because of their product selection or even price point, but rather because of the overall experience they had shopping with you. Your customer service, loyalty program, and merchandising will make or break your shopper’s time in your store, so enhance those elements to create something memorable and positive for your shoppers. Equip your staff with product knowledge: Be sure that your associates are experts on your products and can answer any questions and provide a level of expertise not found through online research. At my store, for example, we had a binder with product information that included sizing, typical life cycle, styling suggestions, and compositions. Associates could reference and study the binder in their spare time so that they were ready to answer any customer concerns. 8. The Loyal Customer Loyal customers, or regular customers, are every retailer’s favorite. The loyal customer is someone who visits your shop often and makes regular purchases. You might even know them by name and have a rapport with them. The loyal customer is a particularly important shopper profile subset due to their potential for profitability. In fact, loyal shoppers are the most valuable type of customer, with one frequently reported statistic indicating that loyal customers spend an average of 33% more than new shoppers at every visit. The Loyal Customer’s Needs To keep loyal customers happy, retailers should recognize their loyalty and treat them like VIP customers every time they come in. This will create an incentive to continue to be loyal and maintain an affiliation with your brand. At my store, for example, we had several women who came in almost every week to see what new merchandise we had gotten. I always made sure to address them by name and pull styles that I thought would flatter them. This helped to continue to foster their loyalty and rewarded them for choosing our brand. How to Market to the Loyal Customer Marketing to the loyal customer is all about making them feel special for their loyalty. They already like your brand and the experience you have to offer, so it is up to you to elevate their experience with special treatment and rewards. Reward your regular customers: Host events or promotions and offer exclusive rewards for your loyal customers to let them know they are appreciated. Start a referral program: Regular shoppers are likely already referring friends and family to your store. Start an official referral program to track your top-referring customers and reward them for boosting your business. Ask for their input on new products: Send out a survey or hold a focus group with your loyal customers to get their feedback on new or potential products. They will love being involved in the process and you can purchase those new products with confidence knowing customers will buy them. Make an effort to get to know your loyal customers: With a little time, it's not hard to identify who your loyal customers are. Create a list with their names, style profiles, general needs, and shopping styles that all your associates can access. If you can demonstrate that you value your loyal customer as much as they value your business, you are sure to impress them and continue to strengthen their loyalty. Create a loyalty program: Rewards shoppers for what they are already doing and continue to build their loyalty with a loyalty rewards program. Bottom Line As a retailer, you will run into all kinds of shoppers, all with their own unique needs and behaviors. Learning which types of customers most often visit your store takes time, but identifying your shoppers’ profiles will be the first step to creating an in-store experience that will serve them and, by extension, your business. Use this guide to help you identify what kinds of shoppers frequent your business and watch as you meet their needs and get the sales rolling. You May Also Like ... How to Start a Retail Business

The point of purchase (POP) and point of sale (POS) are two important transactional elements of every retail store. Although some people use the terms interchangeably, POP and POS don’t mean the same thing. So what’s the difference? The POP is the point at which a shopper decides to buy an item, and the POS is where they pay for that item. POP displays promote products and build awareness, while the POS system processes transactions and helps you manage other parts of the business. Let’s take a closer look. POP and POS in Brick-and-Mortar Stores Point of purchase: The POP is the location where the customer makes their decision to purchase a product. Despite how it sounds, the point of purchase can be anywhere in the store—not just where the transaction takes place. You’ll typically hear POP used when talking about in-store displays and marketing strategies. Point-of-purchase display: A POP display is signage or merchandise that captures a shopper’s attention. You commonly see POP displays at cash registers or where customers are waiting to make a purchase. POP displays can also be endcaps, shelves, cardboard signs, and other in-store signage and visual merchandising. Point of sale: The POS refers to the moment (including the time and place) when a customer makes a purchase. Essentially, the POS is where the transaction actually happens. Point-of-sale system: A POS system is used in in-person selling environments. It refers to the hardware and software that actually administers and processes the transaction. Hardware might include a card reader, barcode scanner, receipt printer, computer or mobile device, and cash drawer. The software handles payment processing, inventory management, warehousing, and accounting. The POS system is also sometimes called the POS terminal or just the POS. POP and POS in Ecommerce Stores POP: Although they serve a similar purpose, in-store and digital POP displays are different. Ecommerce POP displays could be anything from branded shopping apps and pop-up deals during checkout to sample-size products. Online retail is rapidly evolving—expect to see new ways to deploy digital POP displays in the near future. POS: The POS is no longer limited to the register and checkout counter. Now, mobile (mPOS), ecommerce, and omnichannel have extended the POS’s footprint—the sale can take place just about anywhere. Online, many POS systems have integrated payment options for various credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, digital currency, gift cards, subscriptions, payment installments, and more. The Role of Point of Purchase in Retail Sales In retail, the POP plays a few roles. It’s meant to capture the attention of customers, educate them about your product or offerings, and encourage them to make a purchase. POP displays can also emphasize branding and contribute to the customer experience. Lego and Wonderful Pistachios both have recognizable aisle POP displays. Source: System Design Studio (L) and Fixtures Close Up (R) POP displays are strategically placed and typically promote “nice-to-have” items or impulse buys. For example, if you ever walk into a Marshalls or TJMaxx, you’ll see the POP displays by the registers full of small, tempting items that are easy to pick up and add to your cart. Most people don’t visit stores specifically for the POP display items but many walk out having purchased one. POP displays are an easy way to increase average order value (AOV) or move aging stock. They also give you an opportunity to test new ideas. For example, you can roll out a POP display in a single store to see if it’s effective before investing in rolling it out in all your locations. Tips for Creating POP Displays That Stand Out You want your POP displays to educate buyers and inspire them to make a purchase. Here are some tips to keep in mind when building your POP displays: Choose highly trafficked areas of your store. Use a foot traffic analysis tool to understand how shoppers move through your space, including where they spend the most time. Target areas with high dwell time to increase POP engagement and sales. Promote small or seasonal items. POP displays can promote almost any product, but impulse buys or small necessities (e.g., batteries or hand sanitizer) are the most common items. Try new tools and technologies. In-store POPs are evolving far beyond cardboard cut-outs and signs. Now, retailers can get detailed insights into how shoppers move through their store and target in-store customers on mobile devices using Bluetooth technology. You can even create your own mobile app—one report found that mobile app adopters make more purchases. Analyze and optimize your POP displays. Using the data from your POS system, you can see how well your POP displays perform. Make adjustments based on these insights to improve performance. Optimizing the Point of Sale to Drive Additional Purchases Let’s start with the traditional take on the POS: the checkout counter. Every customer that ends up in the checkout area will have encountered your products at the POP or POS displays. Take advantage of that opportunity by making the checkout process simple and enjoyable for customers. Vocal Promotion In addition to physical displays, associates can talk to customers about popular products or promotions. Keep in mind that pushy promotional scripts or tactics often put off customers. Stress-Free Transactions The POS should be a quick, simple, and stress-free experience. With an advanced POS and well-trained staff, you can speed up the checkout process. Plus, mPOS options give associates the chance to meet customers where they’re at—on the floor. This means no waiting in line and fewer reasons to reconsider the purchase. Personalized Shopper Recommendations You can also use the POS to get to know your customers and offer personalized recommendations based on their information and behavior. POS technology allows for customer relationship management (CRM), loyalty programs, gift cards, discount codes, and other promotional options to drive more sales. Self-Checkout In some scenarios, like grocery stores, POS technology allows shoppers to self-serve. Customers who might not be feeling social or who might feel self-conscious about their purchase are more likely to add more to their cart if they have a self-checkout option. How POS Systems Connect the Point of Purchase and Point of Sale To keep up with customers’ expectations and how quickly retail is changing, all of your systems have to work together. Businesses increasingly need their tech systems to “talk” to each other. That means choosing integrated systems or connecting them with custom API solutions. If you’re wondering how to use a POS system to analyze and optimize both your POP and POS, there are a few key features and capabilities to look for: Inventory Management Most POS systems have some inventory features. Many allow you to create and manage SKU numbers, bar codes, product categories, supplier profiles, shipping labels, and other important product information. Many POS systems will also track stock levels across all of your commerce channels. This brings together your POS and POP displays by syncing inventory levels and alerting you when there’s an issue, like if an item is selling out quickly or not selling fast enough, giving you enough leeway to adjust. Selling out: You’ll either want to reorder quickly (some POS software can do this automatically) or add some sort of messaging that the items are selling out soon. Not selling: You might consider adding those items to the POS and POP displays or encouraging employees to promote them. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) With your POS system, you can collect customer information with every interaction. You might get customer names, phone numbers, ZIP codes, or email addresses and add that to the POS system—the perfect information for loyalty programs, birthday gifts, and more. Your POS system will also track customers’ purchase history, including how much they spend, what they buy, which payment methods they’ve used, which location they’ve shopped, and if and when items were returned, among other behaviors. You can use these insights to create your POS and POP strategies. Segment your customers based on similar behavior and create displays based on your most valuable segments. For your online store, this helps you create insight-driven, targeted digital marketing initiatives. Reporting POS systems break down sales data in detail—noting exactly when items are purchased and who made the sale, among other information. Advanced POS systems also drill down into where the purchase decision was made. Reporting data from your POS system can tell you many things, including: Which items are popular from POP displays Which POP displays are most effective When and where customers make the purchase decision, the actual POP Sales upticks or drops in relation to POP displays Which employees are responsible for the most sales How quickly products sell when in a POP display vs not in a POP display Which displays shoppers interact with most Omnichannel Today, customers have so many touchpoints with businesses. And even though they may be interacting with you on a multitude of channels at different times and days, it’s important to always provide the same level of service and the same experience regardless of where or how you’re engaging with the customer. Your POP and POS come into play here because they can help create that seamless experience in your permanent store, at events and pop-ups, on social media, via email, and on your online store. Shoppers expect their entire experience to be seamless. Transparency, data security, multiple payment options, and a good user experience are musts for small businesses. Recent research found that 18% of US online shoppers have abandoned an order in the past quarter due to a lengthy or complicated checkout process, and 17% abandoned because they didn’t trust the site with their credit card information. This is especially important because consumers no longer take a linear path to purchase. There are many research channels and other touchpoints that happen in a nonlinear fashion before a customer feels compelled to make a purchase. New technologies integrate various business tools and systems to centralize data and provide well-rounded analyses about your POP and POS. Bottom Line The POP and POS are two key drivers in every retail store and can improve the customer experience and sales for your business when used effectively. It’s important to understand how they compare so that you can leverage the power of both to optimize your retail business. Learn how to get more from your POS with the resources below. POS Trends & Technologies Shaping the Future of Retail Benefits of Using a POS System Top POS Marketing Ideas to Maximize Sales Shopping Cart Abandonment Statistics 14 Visual Merchandising Techniques

is a browser- and app-based delivery management system for small to enterprise-level restaurant, retail, and courier businesses. Starting at 29 cents per delivery, GetSwift offers real-time managing, dispatching, and tracking capabilities. It integrates with several point-of-sale (POS) systems, and you can build additional integrations via the platform’s open API. When to Use GetSwift GetSwift is designed to help small operations grow and scale their businesses. The user-friendly dashboard and driver app lets you connect to your customers with a clean and professional-looking system. In particular, we recommend GetSwift for: Shops and restaurants that manage in-house drivers: GetSwift’s robust and affordable plan makes it a perfect fit for small stores and restaurants. It’s one of our favorite delivery software for restaurants. Businesses that use various delivery methods: GetSwift’s user-friendly system tracks couriers who deliver by truck, car, bike, and foot, or via public transportation. Businesses with varying delivery demands: GetSwift is a credit-based, pay-as-you-go system. So, if you have a month with no deliveries, you will not be penalized and will keep your remaining balance. Delivery operations that need fleet management: You can direct multiple fleets of drivers or couriers who operate out of different stores from your GetSwift dashboard at no additional cost. When to Use a GetSwift Alternative Businesses that need free delivery management software: GetSwift has affordable pricing and a 30-day free trial—but it’s not free. If you need a free tool, check out . Businesses that need barcode scanning with delivery management: Businesses that need barcode scanning to manage deliveries and products should look into . Restaurants that want a POS with built-in delivery management: GetSwift integrates with a few POS systems, but if you want a restaurant POS system with built-in delivery management, try . GetSwift Overview GetSwift Pricing GetSwift offers two subscription levels: Professional and Enterprise. You have to reach out for custom pricing, though plans start at 29 cents per delivery plus your custom quote. The Professional level subscription costs 29 cents per delivery and comes with a driver app, unlimited users and jobs, automated dispatching, route optimization, real-time tracking, and proof of delivery tools. You also get live ETAs, unlimited integrations, driver incentives, and customer feedback tools. Higher-volume businesses can get an Enterprise membership with a custom quote from the GetSwift sales team. Enterprise membership comes with all of the Professional-level tools plus priority customer service and custom-built integrations. There are no setup fees or long-term contracts, and you can cancel at any time. Another nice feature for small businesses: If you don’t make any deliveries for a month, you won’t be penalized or charged. Your balance will remain the same, and you can use your credits when you’re ready. GetSwift also has a 30-day free trial. GetSwift Features GetSwift offers more features in its lower-tiered plan than other platforms. The baseline subscription gives you unlimited users and delivery tickets, automated dispatching, route optimization, driver tracking, proof of delivery, and more. We’ll cover key features like delivery below, but some of GetSwift’s additional standout features include: Free trial: If you want to test the platform before you commit, GetSwift gives you a 30-day free trial period for 250+ orders. Pay-as-you-go pricing: To pay for GetSwift, you add credits to your account. Your credits deplete as you use the service. Once your balance gets low, they’ll send you an alert. The credits never expire, so you won’t be charged if you have a month with no deliveries. Cash management: GetSwift allows you to track cash payments from your dashboard. At the end of a shift, you can settle up with your delivery team. Comprehensive online tutorials: GetSwift offers extensive online training resources for merchants and drivers to help you get up and running. The step-by-step tutorials are helpful and easy to follow. You can also submit a support ticket if you need additional assistance. GetSwift Integrations GetSwift integrates with online ordering and ecommerce platforms and several POS systems like Clover and Square. GetSwift restaurant integrations include: Clorder Eat24 EatNow Foodkit GloriaFood GrubHub JustEat Menulog Menuu Mobi2go OrdersIn GetSwift’s retail integrations include: BigCommerce Magento Shopify Squarespace Wix WooCommerce WordPress In addition to the retail and restaurant platforms, you can also integrate Trello, Google Sheets, JotForm, TypeForm, and Zapier. GetSwift Delivery Management Customer alerts: Send live tracking maps, ETAs, and SMS message updates to customers. Manual or automated dispatch settings: Choose the settings that make the most sense for your business and drivers. You can limit the dispatching radius and cap the number of tasks a driver can accept. Delivery confirmation: Drivers are required to collect a customer signature and attach an image, which is sent to the customer directly after the delivery. This improves the customer experience and mitigates issues like missing items or chargebacks. Manage fleets: If you operate multiple brick-and-mortar spaces, you can supervise and dispatch fleets from several locations and stores directly from the GetSwift dashboard. You can manually upload orders, upload a spreadsheet, or use the automatic integration from your compatible online ordering system or POS. GetSwift will send the orders to whichever dispatched drivers are most available from both a location and capacity standpoint. If you have the resources, you can also build on the API for your own custom tools. The dashboard tracks all current and future orders in real time so your team can see everything that’s going on. The reporting suite captures your daily data, providing details about every order, including average delivery time, location statistics, and driver performance. You can analyze the information via the dashboard or export the data to another platform. GetSwift also has proof-of-delivery features. You can choose for all handlers to gather a signature or photo or take notes to help alleviate any issues. Once the delivery is complete, your customer will receive notice of delivery with the selected options. GetSwift Driver Management Smartphone driver app: The driver app alerts drivers to new orders and provides directions with the most efficient route. Real-time tracking: GetSwift’s dashboard shows up-to-the-minute drivers’ locations. There are even alerts for when a driver is running late so you can proactively manage issues. Messaging: Automated, hands-free SMS messaging keeps the drivers and customers in close communication during delivery. If needed, the driver and customer can communicate with one another directly through the app. Driver route optimization: GetSwift uses a routing algorithm to evaluate and select the most efficient routes. This feature lowers fuel costs and delivery times. Vehicle variety: Manage couriers traveling via truck, car, scooter, bike, or foot. Cash payments: Track any cash payments from your dashboard. You can also offer cash bonuses, float cash, or settle up at the end of a driver’s shift. The free GetSwift app allows drivers to manage their daily schedule, track completed orders, and customize their personal account page. If your business takes cash payments, drivers can use the digital cash register and track transactions directly through the app. The user-friendly app has the resources and information necessary to complete deliveries promptly. GetSwift also owns Scheduling+, which is fully integrated to handle driver scheduling and payroll. This feature is free for Enterprise subscribers and $4/user for Professional memberships. Drivers enter their availability so you can schedule shifts accordingly. Drivers can also clock in and out, and you can adjust the pay rates for each driver. You can even prevent staff from going into overtime by setting up alerts for when they’re within a range of hours. To make payroll easier, you can export your data to major payroll providers. GetSwift Customer Management Real-time delivery tracking maps: Enable customers to track their driver in real time. White-label branding services: GetSwift manages all deliveries from the back end, which allows your branding to be the focal point. SMS text messaging: Automated messages and updates are sent directly to the customers. Customer feedback: Customers can receive feedback forms via SMS messaging. Information on GetSwift’s customer management tools is slightly limited in comparison to its competitors (like lack of driver ratings and order archives). However, GetSwift does provide a white-label customer experience. Your customers will receive live updates throughout the order, including a branded live tracking map that provides ETA updates via SMS, email, or webhooks. Additionally, you can enable GetSwift to automatically send proof of delivery directly to the customer with a signature, image, and any notes regarding the transaction. To receive customer feedback, you can send forms to all or a selection of customers through messaging. The responses are stored in your dashboard, which allows you to assess the information and improve your operations. GetSwift Ease of Use Online resources: Detailed videos and tutorial guides for merchants and drivers are available on GetSwift’s website. Accessible API codes: Easily locate API codes to build custom integrations. 24/7 customer service: Reach customer service anytime via chat or email. Multiple language support: The driver app is available in four different languages. The GetSwift platform aims to be simple and easy to use. The dashboard allows you to manage your entire delivery enterprise from one screen and is organized and easy to read. The main navigation page lets you see all available drivers, jobs, and the data snapshot of deliveries, average delivery time, and cancellations. To add additional integrations, GetSwift provides you with detailed API codes via their website. For custom integrations, you must subscribe to the Enterprise plan. Most small business owners may need to work with an IT specialist to ensure the coding is correct. Driver App Ease of Use Drivers can download the free GetSwift driver app from Google Play and App Store. They can choose to operate their app in four languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, or Portuguese). The driver app is easy to use and includes a live algorithm that finds the most efficient driving route. If you need more support, GetSwift offers detailed step-by-step instructions and video tutorials to teach drivers how to use the interface. GetSwift Customer Support GetSwift’s customer support team is available 24/7 via web chat and email. The website contains a comprehensive support guide for both merchants and drivers, complete with videos and step-by-step instructions to help troubleshoot any issues. If you need additional support, you can submit a support ticket through your customer account. You can track the status of the tickets from the portal as well. GetSwift Alternatives What Users Think of GetSwift The GetSwift platform is generally well-reviewed. Small business owners note the system's simplicity, tracking accuracy for delivery and drivers, and affordable pricing. Capterra: GetSwift earned a rating of 3.7 stars based on 13 user reviews. G2: Only two reviewers comment on G2, giving GetSwift 5 out of 5 stars. Software Advice: Reviewers have mixed feelings, with 12 users weighing in with an average 3.58 out of 5 stars. Apple App Store: Drivers gave the GetSwift software 3 out of 5 stars on average from 44 reviews. Google's Play store: Users rate the drivers’ app 3 out of 5 stars out of 314 reviews. Reviews from merchants and business owners are primarily positive and highlight the automated customer messaging and easiness of the system. Most criticisms include suggestions on software improvements and customer service assistance. However, quite a few drivers seem to have issues with the app. Reviews note the system bugs with crashing, location issues, and phone compatibility. Bottom Line GetSwift is a robust delivery management software system for small businesses. The pay-as-you-go pricing format is an excellent way for stores and restaurants to control their costs. With a customizable interface, GetSwift looks and feels like a more extensive operation. Through real-time driver tracking, fleet management, and several online ordering integrations, GetSwift can also support higher-volume courier, retail, or restaurant businesses. To see if GetSwift is right for your business, visit the GetSwift website for a 30-day free trial.

Imonggo is a straightforward POS system for small shops that need strong inventory tools and a points-based loyalty program. It doesn’t offer as many features as the software on our best POS systems list, but it’s easy to use and has international sales features. It integrates with Shopify or offers a simple online store for free that syncs with Imonggo’s in-store app. It has a limited free plan, but at $30 a month for the full plan and unlimited use, it’s a bargain compared to most systems we look at. When to Use Imonggo I’ve reviewed dozens of POS systems, and I like Imonggo’s straightforward approach. It comes off as a simple software, but as I dug in, I found a lot under the hood. Nonetheless, most of the top-rated POS systems offer more—even Square, which is free with its flat-rate payment processor. Imonggo is constantly improving and adding features, however. We recommend it for: Mom-and-pop stores wanting a low-cost solution: Imonggo is inexpensive and simple to use. In fact, it makes our list of the best free POS systems. Mom-and-pop stores or small shops may find it meets their needs (such as upgrading from a cash register) without adding a lot of extraneous features or bells and whistles. Tourist shops or stores with international clientele: While the software is only available in English, Imonggo can work with multiple currencies and tax systems and even has a space for tracking customer nationalities, which are very rare features. When to Use an Alternative Stores wanting employee tools: Imonggo can track sales commissions, but it does not have time tracking, pay, or tips tools to help with payroll, plus it doesn't do scheduling. If you need time tracking and payroll management, try . Restaurants: While you can sell food with Imonggo, it does not have table management, reservations, or kitchen display functions. Check out our best POS software for restaurants for better choices. Stores wanting a mobile app: Imonggo is working on a mobile application, but other than the iPad download, it’s not there yet. Instead, check out our list of the best mobile POS systems for Android or iOS, which includes systems like Square and Lightspeed. Growing retail businesses: You will likely need more power than Imonggo can offer. We like for storefront operations, but offers the best solution for multichannel selling. Convenience and liquor stores: You’ll want specialized features to handle things like age verification as well as bottle tracking. See our picks for the best convenience POS systems and best POS systems for liquor stores. POS Nation, KORONA, and IT Retail make both lists. Imonggo Overview Imonggo Pricing Imonggo has simple pricing: Free for the limited plan or $30 per month, per branch, for the Premium plan. The free plan limits features and the number of users and does not come with live customer support. (You can, however, still access the knowledgebase.) The paid plan is about half the price of most POS systems we’ve evaluated. There’s also a 30-day free trial. Imonggo Hardware Imonggo does not sell POS hardware. It can work on an iPad, laptop, or desktop computer. You can use any receipt printer or even a regular office printer. It recommends the Dymo LabelWriter 450 for generating barcodes. Card readers come from your payment provider. Imonggo Features Imonggo is easy to set up and use. Sign up for a plan or free trial, put in your store information, and start adding your inventory. You can also add an online store, shipping information, customers, and more. Register & Checkout Imonggo is a browser-based POS system, meaning you can download it to your iPad or use it on a computer. It allows barcode scanning, or you can look up items by category. It processes discounts in general or by item; can accept split payments, gift cards, and different currencies; and prints receipts. Imonggo has layaway tools for handling deposits and partial payments, gift certificate processing, loyalty points management, and more. Imonggo’s latest version, Store V4, records sales even if you lose your internet connection, storing sales in the database to upload when the connection is restored, and looking up the information from the browser database as opposed to the cloud. It includes cash movements in the till, and a Z Reading feature that takes a snapshot of the transactions made on each store that you can use as an end-of-shift report for each cashier. Payment Processing Imonggo integrates with Worldpay (formerly Vantiv), Authorize.Net, Stripe, and PayPal for payment processing. According to Imonggo’s website, Stripe is used for subscriptions, while PayPal is the credit card alternative. Authorize.Net, PayPal, and Stripe all made our list of best payment gateways for 2021. Worldpay is not on our lists of recommended merchant services. It does not post its rates online but does require a three-year contract with early termination fees and other charges like a PCI compliance fee. You will need to integrate—and in some cases, contract—with these providers for payment processing. If you prefer a free POS system with built-in credit card processing at no obligation, consider Square. Ecommerce Imonggo offers two ways to sell items online. First, you can create your own online store for free via Imonggo. It will automatically sync your inventory and create a simple store you can customize with your logo. You can set up locations, currencies, and zones for international sales. You can promote your store with a QR code that you can download and use on your website, marketing materials, or elsewhere. If you have more complex ecommerce needs, you can also integrate Imonggo with Shopify so that you can sell items there and in your store, and inventory amounts will reflect in real time. Inventory Imonggo inventory keeps track of your products whether you sell them online, in-store, or both. On the back end, you create products with names, stock numbers, descriptions, retail prices, barcodes, and images. By using tags, you can create categories. (Other POS software have category and subcategory fields, but using tags is not unusual.) You can set minimum and maximum quantities to be used in reports like low-stock alerts, including decimal quantities when selling items by weight or volume. You can allow cashiers to change prices, such as with a damaged item. There are also buttons to mark items as popular—a nice option for your website—and exempt items from taxes. You can also upload items in bulk via CSV file. Imonggo allows you to create kits, which have a unique inventory designator, and compositions, which record each individual item in that item’s inventory. Use kits for such things as gift baskets, while compositions are more like sandwiches or custom bicycles. From the Stockroom setting, you can acknowledge receipt of items from suppliers and add those items to the inventory. You can also record returns to suppliers, adjustments in or out, and physical count. If you have multiple stores, there are tools for transferring products as well. Unlike some POS systems, you need to create your own purchase orders when you run low on stock. You can designate employees to create purchase orders and have management edit and approve if you wish. Customer Loyalty Imonggo lets you track customer information, from name and birthdate to nationality, contact information, company information, and memberships. You can also mark a customer as tax-exempt, such as if they purchase for their nonprofit, and make notes. This information shows up in the customer tab. Once you have a customer put into the system, you can put them into groups. Groups are usually for memberships in loyalty programs, and thus let you assign point earnings and conversions. Imonggo does not have email marketing functions. For marketing, consider Lightspeed, Revel, or UpServe. Reports The Business Reports section is sparse compared to most POS systems. However, it does give you reports for gross and net sales, items sold, transaction history, top products, top sellers, payments and discounts, collected deposits, loyalty points, and other sales-related issues. It does not have employee reports like time sheets, tips that you’d need for payroll processing. If you are interested in this function, check out Square (which has an add-on) or Toast (for restaurants). The Z reading reports record transaction information like count, start/end dates on invoices, beginning/end amounts for the reporting period, sales quantity and amount, returns, discounts, payment types, layaways, and more. It’s a good report for end-of-shift accounting. Mobile Apps Aside from the Imonggo POS application for iPad, it has a sales dashboard for Android that lets you track daily, weekly, and monthly sales, transactions, and taxes. It’s working on an inventory app for viewing and adjusting your inventory. As of this writing, there were only a couple of reviews on Imonggo apps in either the Google or the Apple app stores. Imonggo Ease of Use Online tutorials Illustrated knowledgebase 24/7 live chat customer support (with the paid plan only) Imonggo has a clean interface that uses a lot of dialog boxes and typing information. The online tutorials are well-illustrated and take you step by step but are direct. You won’t find a lot of extra information or tips in the knowledgebase, but you will see how to get the primary functions done. Customer support is only available in the paid plan, but it is 24/7 via live chat. There is also an online chat where you may be able to get general questions answered as well. Imonggo puts out updates or improvements to its software every two to three months; it posts about the changes on the website, so it’s easy to know what’s new. This is great for those that want a product that’s constantly improving. Imonggo Alternatives If you’re not sure Imonggo is right for you, see how it compares with our top POS services. What Users Think of Imonggo There aren’t a lot of reviews of Imonggo on third-party review sites. Of those, all the users said the software was easy to use. One appreciated the offline feature, while others praised the inventory tracking and ability to switch between stores to see reports. Noted problems included an outdated design and lagging that resulted in entries getting recorded twice. TrustRadius: 8 out of 10 based on 1 review. G2: 3.5 out of 5 based on 2 reviews. Bottom Line is an easy-to-use POS system with international commerce capabilities and an online store. While not the most feature-rich POS program we’ve reviewed, it’s reasonably priced and has all the tools needed for a small shop. There’s a free plan that limits users, products, and transactions, but if you are just starting out, it could be a good choice. Sign up for the free plan or the 30-day free trial and see if Imonggo is right for your business.

A ghost kitchen is a food service business that prepares food for delivery only. Ghost kitchens—sometimes called cloud kitchens, virtual restaurants, or dark kitchens—can be free-standing commercial kitchens or operate as a “virtual brand” that shares kitchen space in a traditional, brick-and-mortar restaurant. Ghost kitchens tend to have a shorter development timeframe and lower upfront costs than full-service restaurants. Market research firm Euromonitor predicts that the global market for ghost kitchens will reach $1 trillion by 2030. Types of Ghost Kitchens Just as there are various types of restaurants, there are different types of ghost kitchens. Businesses as diverse as food truck brands and massive national restaurant chains are experimenting with the ghost format. Each brings unique ideas to the virtual restaurant concept. Ghost kitchens tend to fall into three major categories: The ghost kitchen concept is still actively evolving, so these categories are not set in stone. Some ghost operations blend aspects of all three kitchen types. And while most ghost kitchens sell their food exclusively on third-party delivery platforms like and , others opt to deliver their food themselves. Ghost kitchens are not a new phenomenon; they emerged during the late 2010s when third-party delivery companies became popular. Early ghost concepts were launched by large restaurant chains that hoped to meet consumer demand for delivery without overwhelming their busy restaurant kitchens. Those ghost kitchens tended to be freestanding commercial kitchens where large brands like The Halal Guys routed all their delivery and to-go orders. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced restaurants across the United States to close, ghost kitchens took off on a whole new level. Why Are Ghost Kitchens So Popular? Ghost kitchens are popular for two main reasons: they are less expensive to open than a traditional restaurant, and major companies are investing major dollars in them. Ever since the Euromonitor report announced that staggering $1 trillion market forecast, investment dollars have poured into ghost kitchen concepts. By the end of 2020, there were approximately 1,500 ghost kitchens in the United States. Considering that third-party delivery sales grew by 116% year-over-year, and C3 Kitchen claimed to have opened 200 ghost kitchens themselves, there could be hundreds more ghost concepts that figure failed to count. How Ghost Kitchens Make Money Like all restaurant businesses, ghost kitchens make money by closely managing their costs and profit margins; ghost kitchens just have slightly different costs to wrangle. For example, a ghost kitchen’s labor costs are lower than a traditional restaurant, but they have the added costs of delivery fees and take out containers to contend with. Depending on the style of online ordering and delivery a ghost kitchen chooses, the cost can vary from 15% to more than 30% of every order. To turn a profit, successful ghost concepts must: Attract a high volume of orders: Most ghost restaurants rely on the visibility boost that third-party platforms provide. Though some free-standing ghosts deploy an extensive social media marketing strategy instead of paying commission fees. The desire to attract orders is why comfort food (such as crispy chicken, pizza, and burgers) appears on many ghost menus. Price their menus competitively: Customers pay delivery fees for ghost kitchen food, so a menu that is priced too high can give customers sticker shock. Count their costs correctly: In addition to rent, the cost of food, and delivery fees, ghost kitchens need to budget for takeout supplies and storage space. Marketing tends to be a bigger expense when your business cannot rely on foot traffic. And while ghost restaurants have smaller staffs than traditional restaurants, they still have some labor and payroll costs to manage. Ghost Kitchen Pros and Cons There are a lot of benefits to opening a ghost kitchen versus a traditional restaurant. The most attractive reason to open a ghost kitchen versus a traditional restaurant is the lower upfront cost. Ghost kitchen platform CloudKitchens claims the upfront investment is around $30,000. Compare that to the $100,000 to $2M that it costs to open a full-service restaurant, and it's easy to see why restaurant owners are excited. Other pros of opening a ghost kitchen include: Shorter opening timeline: Whether you work with a commercial kitchen platform or rent existing restaurant space, your ghost kitchen typically has all the equipment you need to get started. Lower tech costs: Third-party delivery platforms provide you with tablets to receive incoming orders and handle all the online payments. So if you use third-party platforms exclusively, you might not even need a point of sale system (POS). Fewer required permits: Ghost kitchens only need the bare minimum of restaurant permits. You’ll need to file for basic restaurant permits like tax ID numbers and health department licenses. But ghost kitchens don’t need all the building permits and liquor licenses that full-service restaurants do. Smaller staff: In the face of rising labor shortages and the prospect of a higher minimum wage, the small staff required to run a ghost kitchen is incredibly appealing. Menu flexibility: Since your ghost brand is virtual, you can change your menu, pricing, or name at any time. Or add a side menu for a new concept from the same kitchen. Lower risk: Traditional restaurant leases and software subscriptions ask you to commit for three to 10 years. If your business goes bust, you’re still on the hook. Ghost kitchen terms are much shorter, sometimes even month-to-month. Of course, there are cons to ghost kitchen ownership, as well. They include: Marketing challenges: Ghost kitchens need to hustle to put their business in front of customers. Buying marketing packages on third-party platforms or investing in social media marketing will take time and money. High commission fees: Third-party platforms charge between 15% and 30% on every order. That can add up quickly. But you can sidestep these by offering pickup or creating an in-house system for online ordering and delivery. Increased payment processing fees: If you choose to handle ordering and delivery in-house, you’ll likely pay higher processing fees for online credit card payments since they are more prone to fraud. No sales boost from alcohol: Most new ghost kitchens don’t have liquor licenses. And even if you have one, many cities restrict alcohol delivery. Lack of customer data: Third-party platforms do not share your customer data. The only way to pitch promotions and deals to drive future orders may be to purchase pricey marketing packages from your delivery platform. No direct customer interaction: Many restaurateurs gain energy from seeing happy customers enjoying their food. Beyond the interpersonal interactions, however, ghost kitchens lose some control over their customers’ experience. For example, if you work with third-party platforms, you won’t even control when a customer receives a refund. Not ideal for rural locations: Ghost kitchens need a high volume of orders to be profitable. Rural areas may lack the customer base to support a ghost operation. Ghost Kitchen Outlook So, are ghost kitchens the future of restaurants? Well, they’ll definitely be a part of it. The same report that forecast $1 trillion in ghost kitchen sales by 2030 projects that ghost kitchens will account for 50% of worldwide takeaway food service. Additional research from the National Restaurant Association found that 77% of adults plan to order takeout or delivery in the coming months. And from January to December 2020, 33% to 52% of consumers said that they weren’t ordering takeout or delivery as often as they’d like. So there is a lot of pent-up demand, especially for independent restaurant concepts; 64% of diners prefer to order delivery directly from a restaurant rather than a third-party platform. However, new ghost kitchen operators should also be aware of some risks. For example, that same National Restaurant Association study found that 72% of adults feel it is important to order delivery from restaurants they can visit in person. And some market analysts expect ghost kitchens to be even more competitive than traditional restaurants, estimating that up to 80% of the ghost brands will fail. The most sustainable future for ghost kitchens may be institutional settings like college campuses and airports. Large-scale hospitality operations like hotel chains and co-working spaces are also promising prospects. Bottom Line Whether you call them dark kitchens, cloud kitchens, or virtual brands, ghost kitchens are an exciting opportunity for small restaurants to test new concepts and expand to new markets. Ghost kitchens also provide a low-cost way for new restaurant businesses to get off the ground. If you hope to open a ghost concept, you should take note of the risks, however. The market is expanding rapidly, which can lead to inflated lease prices and increased competition. But if you control your costs and actively market your brand, you’ll be well on your way to running a profitable ghost restaurant. You May Also Like... See our recommendations for the best online ordering systems for restaurants Choose a delivery software or POS system with integrated delivery management for your ghost kitchen

Leasing a commercial property for your restaurant allows you to get your business off the ground without buying a building. Restaurant leases typically run from five to 10 years and may include a series of industry-specific clauses. Onerous restaurant leases are a common cause of restaurant closures, so it is important to get the most favorable terms when you are renting a restaurant space. A restaurant lease is a long-term, binding contract. You will absolutely need an attorney to review letters of intent and draft lease clauses. You don’t have to break the bank to find one. The Business Advisory Plan offered by legal services site LegalZoom is priced at $36 per month and gives you access to local business attorneys who can advise you on everything from your lease to your business structure. You can visit LegalZoom for more information. Your restaurant location will be the single most impactful decision you make when you are starting a restaurant. Some restaurant owners choose to buy a space when they find a good one, but the cost of buying commercial property can be prohibitively high for small restaurants. You can lease restaurant space at a much lower upfront cost. Leases allow your restaurant the flexibility to move if the location isn’t right. Leasing typically saves you money you would otherwise spend on property taxes as well. It's easier to move or close your business if you're tired of running a restaurant at the end of your lease . If you decide to go with a commercial lease you want to consider the remaining steps we discuss below. Many unique phrases pop up in the course of discussing commercial leases in general. Our article How to Lease Commercial Real Estate: The Ultimate Guide contains a comprehensive list of them. Restaurant renting, however, has specific language that can be quite different from a traditional retail or office rental situation. It is important to understand these before negotiating a restaurant lease. Start date of rent: Many restaurant landlords will waive restaurant renting payments during your restaurant build-out. Typically you can get 60 to 90 days, or until you open for business, whichever comes first. Liquidated damages: If a landlord’s failure to make repairs delays your restaurant opening, they may owe you for your time and lost revenue. Liquor license contingency: If part of your restaurant business is tied to your ability to obtain licenses like a liquor license, you can note this in your lease. Then, if you are not approved for the necessary license, you can get out of the lease. Kick-Out Clause: This language allows you to terminate the lease if your gross sales fail to meet a pre-negotiated dollar amount by a set time. Sub-Lease Agreement: The ability to sub-lease to another tenant is useful. If your restaurant is struggling, you can find another business to take over the space from you. Exclusive use: If you are located in a shopping center or mall location, an exclusive use clause prevents the landlord from placing a similar tenant near your restaurant. Kiosk/ Food truck protection: Another concern for restaurants in shopping centers is direct competition from kiosks or food trucks. This is similar to the exclusive use clause, but directs language toward food trucks or kiosks being parked within a certain distance from your restaurant. In addition to these terms, there are two major factors that you should know about before ending a conversation about restaurant leases. Clauses like burn-offs and percentage rent are common in most restaurant leases. They both have a lot of ins-and-outs to consider, so let’s explore them in more depth. Burn-Off Clauses Restaurants—especially new ones—are widely considered to be a risky investment. That can make a property owner skittish about renting to a restaurant. So commercial landlords tend to request large security deposits or personal guarantees from you and any principal business partners. While this protects the landlord from your restaurant defaulting on the lease, it can increase your costs and negate any work you have done to separate your personal assets from your business. Most restaurant leases split the difference by adding “burn-off” clauses to protect the landlord from defaults while limiting your personal obligations to a certain timeframe. For example, a Security Deposit Burn-off clause requires your landlord to return a portion of your security deposit after your restaurant has been a tenant in good standing for a certain amount of time, or when your restaurant reaches an agreed upon level of sales. A Personal Guarantee Burn-off clause rolls back any personal guarantees that the original lease required of you or your business partners. A typical Personal Guarantee Burn-off clause terminates the personal guarantee after your restaurant has paid rent without defaulting for three years. Percentage Rent This term is the most important to understand. Most restaurant leases include language that entitles your landlord to a percentage of your “gross sales” as part of your monthly rent. The usual request is for 7% of your gross sales after you pass a set sales amount, ( $100,000, for example). These clauses are pretty universal, and nearly impossible to avoid. You and your attorney should still try to get it removed. If you can’t remove it, you should negotiate this clause heavily. The importance of negotiating the percentage rent of a restaurant lease cannot be overstated. Sharing your sales information directly with your landlord (as a percentage rent clause essentially requires you do) will make it more difficult to negotiate favorable terms when it comes time to renew your lease. There is a reason that so many restaurants close at the five and 10 year points. These are typical times for rent re-negotiations. Most percentage rent negotiations focus on the definition of the term “gross sales.” It may seem like a straightforward term, but there are ways to refine it: Subtract credit card processing fees: Restaurants pay 3-5% of most credit card transactions to payment processors and often never see these fees hit their bank account. This should be a straightforward adjustment to make. Ensure that refunds and discounts are excluded: Sales that were discounted or refunded should not be counted toward your gross revenue. Offer a dining discount: Offering your landlord and their property managers a dining discount is a gesture of goodwill. Combined with the strategy above, it can also help decrease the definition of your gross revenue. Tips and gratuities: Any tips or gratuities paid to your employees should stay out of your gross revenue calculations. Sales of furniture or equipment: If you sell some equipment that you don’t need—like an espresso machine or a load of glasses—these funds should not be counted as revenue. Depending on your location, restaurant style, and attorney’s abilities you may find other ways to further define what should and shouldn’t be included in the gross revenue figure that is used to determine your percentage rent figure. There are three types of restaurant lease brokers: leasing agents, tenant brokers, and dual brokers. A leasing agent represents the property owner, or landlord, of a commercial building. He or she earns a commission based on the units they rent to businesses. Tenant brokers represent you in your search for the perfect restaurant location. Some states allow a third type of broker, a dual broker. A dual broker is a neutral broker who helps you and the landlord navigate the lease negotiation. The best strategy for finding a lease that is favorable to your restaurant’s interests is to work with a tenant broker. You will have to pay their fees, but a tenant broker can translate lease conversations into plain language for you, and will offer you advice and guidance. Since leasing agents represent the landlord’s interests, they cannot recommend terms that would be more favorable to you. Dual brokers must remain neutral and cannot advise you directly, either. In most cases, you can find a local tenant broker by doing an internet search for your location and the phrase “commercial real estate tenant broker.” A local broker will have local knowledge of good locations, and may have also negotiated leases with your prospective landlord on previous occasions. Sometimes, especially in small markets, you may not be able to find a tenants’ broker. In this case, a business attorney is even more valuable. If you can find one that handles a lot of restaurant business clients, even better. You can search legal service websites like LegalZoom and IncFile, or ask other restaurant owners in your area for recommendations. Restaurant leases are 20 to 40 pages long. Unlike residential leases, commercial landlords are under no obligation to phrase them in conversational language that is easy to understand. The best strategy for securing a favorable commercial lease is to work with a business attorney. Any money that you spend on an attorney now will save you money and headaches in the future. If your restaurant and operating budget are small, look for an attorney that will work with you on an hourly fee basis. Small restaurants that are owned by women, people of color, recent immigrants, or veterans may be able to find business attorneys via local legal aid organizations or law schools. You can find such resources in your area by checking the  website. You can also find a local attorney through asking fellow restaurant owners for recommendations. Legal services websites like LegalZoom and IncFile also maintain databases of attorneys that you can search by location and specialty. Defining your restaurant’s needs before you begin looking at spaces will help you and your broker move quickly when considering different spaces. Your specific needs will vary based on your restaurant type. There are some general features to consider when comparing restaurant spaces to rent: Square footage: Typically, the larger your square footage, the higher the rent will be. Also, a bigger location means your sales will need to be higher, since heating, cooling and other costs will also be more expensive. Determine the size you need, and stick to it. Use-ratios: Depending on your restaurant type, you will need varying amounts of space for your staff and your customers. Most full-service restaurants use 30-40% of their square footage for the kitchen, and 60-70% for dining space. Parking: If customers can’t park easily near your restaurant, they won’t dine with you. Make sure the space you are leasing comes with a designated parking area, or room for a valet stand. Drive-thru: Especially in the age of social distancing, drive-thru windows are priceless. If your concept needs drive-thru capabilities, ensure that the space has enough space to add one. Ventilation: This is a major consideration for your cooking equipment, fire safety plans, and for maintaining a sanitary environment for your customers and employees. If you have wood burning ovens or smoke-producing equipment, ventilation is doubly important. Entrances and exits: A best practice is to have separate entrances for your customers and employees. If you are considering space in a shopping center or mixed use building, you’ll also want to inquire about loading docks for suppliers and location of dumpsters for garbage disposal. Create a list of features that your restaurant must have versus features that are simply nice to have. For example, a pizzeria must have a pizza oven (and the necessary ventilation for one). If you are developing a zero-waste restaurant concept, a designated place for recycling and composting materials would be a must-have. In either scenario, a horseshoe bar with track-lit cabinets might just be nice to have, though not necessary. Defining your needs can also create opportunities for flexibility. Depending on how far you have developed your restaurant concept, you may prefer to re-conceptualize your business based on an available space. For example, suppose you find a great location with favorable lease terms and a flexible landlord, but it is 80% kitchen and only 20% dining room space. It might be worthwhile to re-conceptualize your full service pan-Latin restaurant as a quick-service, grab-and-go concept. Renovations are common in restaurant spaces. The commercial property you are leasing may already be outfitted with a commercial kitchen. Or you may be the first restaurant tenant and need to install the necessary equipment yourself. Depending on what type of modifications are needed, you or the property owner will be responsible for paying for them. It is important to think about the renovations you need now, as well as future modifications you may need. Capital Improvements Capital Improvements are repairs or renovations that will forever change the property and increase its market value. Typically landlords pay for all capital improvements because the landlord will benefit from them even after your tenancy expires. Examples of capital improvements would be replacing roofs or updating the building’s plumbing or electrical systems. Non-Capital Improvements Non-capital improvements are alterations to the space that are specific to your restaurant business. These are improvements that future tenants may not need or want. Non-capital improvements might be Italian glass light fixtures that compliment your Italian restaurant theme. New Construction Spaces In raw spaces, the landlord pays for any structural work that needs to be done. It is the landlord’s building after all. Water lines, electrical lines, and ventilation systems for the building fall under the landlord’s jurisdiction. Connecting your specific equipment, however, is usually at your expense. So, for example, the landlord covers the cost of installing main water lines, but you would pay to extend that water line to connect to your ice machine. Future Improvements You may have plans to expand or shift your operation during the terms of your lease. For example, you may plan to start your business as a straightforward deli operation, then expand to catering in the next few years. In this case, you would want to expand the prep area of your kitchen and possibly add a separate entrance to load out large orders on rolling carts. Make sure that the space will be able to grow with your business before you sign on the dotted line. A Note for Franchisees If you are opening a franchise of a larger restaurant, you may be required by the franchisor to open your restaurant on a certain date. Your franchise agreement may include penalties for delays. If this is the case, you need to ensure that any repairs your property owner is covering are tied to that same date or earlier. Your attorney should draft a clause in the lease agreement that ensures the property owner will be responsible for any penalties you incur due to their construction delays. A Letter of Intent (LOI) is a letter that is written before the signing of a lease that memorializes the terms you and the property owner have discussed. A LOI can be drafted by you, the property owner, or either of your attorneys. The wisest move is to have your attorney write the LOI. If negotiations fall through and you don’t continue with a lease agreement, the LOI could be considered legally binding in some places. Your attorney will ensure that your letter of intent is free of any binding language that could paint you into a corner. If the property owner (or their attorney) drafts the LOI, have your attorney look it over before you sign. If there is any language that you feel is unclear, or suggests that you have agreed to something that you do not agree to—such as paying for certain repairs, or future rent increases—let the property owner know in writing. Your tone doesn’t need to be harsh, but it is important to record your disagreement over the terms in writing. Remember, an LOI is part of the lease negotiation process. If there is anything about the LOI that you disagree with or understand differently, don’t sign it. Have your lawyer request adjustments. If the landlord gets impatient with you, remind yourself that it is better to lose a potential location than to be locked into an unfavorable restaurant lease. Bottom Line Leasing a restaurant space has many advantages over buying a location. Leases cost much less upfront and allow your restaurant to be more flexible. Commercial leases are more involved than residential ones and do not come with the same degree of consumer protections. Negotiating terms with the landlord is an expected part of the lease process. When you are pursuing a restaurant lease, it is imperative that you have an attorney on your side to negotiate favorable terms for your business. is the nation’s leading provider of online legal solutions. In addition to a searchable database of attorneys in your area, LegalZoom also offers a Business Advisory Plan for $36 per month. Visit LegalZoom to check out its full range of services.