What began as a collaboration between family farms in the mid-1990s has grown into US Wellness Meats, an online natural grocery serving all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Specializing in grass-fed beef, lamb, and bison, pasture-raised poultry, and heritage pork, the company maintains their commitment to regenerative farming practices while operating multiple channels: an ecommerce store, a local retail location called Grassland Market, and a state-of-the-art distribution center.
After successfully transitioning their ecommerce operations to Shopify, the team recognized an opportunity to transform their retail experience as well. By implementing Shopify POS at Grassland Market, they've created new possibilities for growth while maintaining the flexibility their unique business model demands:
With Shopify POS, Grassland Market has seen:
- Decreased time spent tracking marketing program signups thanks to streamlined marketing integration and data collection
- Enhanced inventory management and customer insights
- Improved analytics for more informed business decisions
- A foundation for future local online ordering and pickup for customers located within two-hour radius of store
The Challenge: Finding a more comprehensive POS solution
Before Shopify POS, Grassland Market operated on Clover, a point of sale system that lacked the analytics and customer insights needed to grow their retail presence. "Clover didn't provide us with the analytics, data, and marketing tools that Shopify provided right out of the box," explains Brent Jarvis, Marketing Manager at US Wellness Meats. Even basic inventory management was problematic, with stock levels often inaccurate and no way to track customer behavior.
Marketing efforts were particularly constrained by these limitations. Without proper integration between systems, the team had to manually track marketing program signups and customer data. This made it difficult to understand customer preferences or make data-driven decisions about their retail operations.
While the retail store represented a smaller portion of their overall business compared to their thriving ecommerce operation, the team recognized the potential for local market growth. However, their existing system provided neither the tools for expansion nor the foundation for modern retail features like online ordering and local pickup.
The Solution: Shopify POS provides flexible retail functionality
After seeing success with Shopify's ecommerce platform, the team recognized how Shopify POS could transform their retail operation at Grassland Market.
After a year under our belt with Shopify as our ecommerce platform, we recognized the benefits the POS portion would bring to the retail store.
Rather than attempting to force-fit their retail and ecommerce operations into a single store, the team made the strategic decision to maintain separate Shopify stores due to differences in inventory, pricing, and customer bases for their online and retail businesses. This approach provided the flexibility they needed while still allowing them to leverage their existing product data. They were able to export their ecommerce product offerings and utilize existing data like SEO information, tags, and categories to speed up their retail setup.
Marketing integration has been particularly transformative. Where previously the brand had to manually track marketing program signups, they can now fully integrate these efforts with Shopify POS. "Our marketing team knew how to integrate and utilize their marketing platform with Shopify, so now the marketing sign-ups are fully integrated rather than manually tracked, which saves time for the team," says Brent.
Using Shopify POS has also created new possibilities for local market growth. The retail team plans to offer online ordering for pickup and potentially local delivery, enabling customers within a two-hour radius to save on shipping costs by picking up their orders in-person at Grassland Market.
The Results: New possibilities for retail growth
The move to Shopify POS has created new possibilities for retail growth at Grassland Market. The team now has access to valuable analytics they never had before, enabling them to track discount usage, identify top customers, and better understand buying patterns.
Marketing efforts have become more streamlined and data-driven. With automated program signups and better customer tracking, the team can now maintain closer relationships with their local customer base. This foundation will support their plans to launch an online presence for Grassland Market, allowing local customers to browse products online and eventually take advantage of pickup options that could save on shipping costs.
Looking ahead, Grassland Market plans to expand their local offerings with curbside pickup and local delivery options. "This will allow our local customers to see our product offerings, and create cost savings for customers that live two hours or less away to pick up rather than have us ship it to them," explains Brent. With Shopify as their retail technology foundation, they're well-positioned to grow their local presence while maintaining the highest levels of product quality and customer service that their customers have come to expect.