3 Tips for local butchers to drive growth

Consumers love barbecuing prime cuts of meat and slow-cooking rich, delicious roasts, and with last year’s stay-at-home orders, they were either forced to brush up on their home cooking skills or stock up on frozen food and takeaway meals. Local butchers should note that this trend has continued, and adjust their eCommerce strategy accordingly. 

Grilling outdoors is extremely popular in the U.S., with three-quarters of grill owners reporting that they like to cook outdoors even during winter. In addition to grilling, nine in 10 households in the U.S. report owning a slow cooker, and half own a pressure cooker. These two ways of cooking traditionally require fattier, cheaper cuts of meat that can be prepared on Sunday and reheated throughout the week.

Local butchers should be catering directly to these carnivorous consumers online by offering bespoke cuts from their own fully customized digital storefronts.

The Thrill of the Grill

Grill sales took off during the pandemic as cooped-up consumers sought to break the monotony of the kitchen and take things outside, though the main reason consumers report as to why they like to grill is the flavor it provides their food. 

There is no substituting the unique taste of food that has been cooked over an open flame, and that appears to be why the cooking method is so popular—especially for meat. With that in mind, when butchers sell meat online, they should have specific options in place that allow customers to select and customize exactly how they want their cut trimmed and seasoned.

When selling meat online, butchers should consider ways to upsell customers on their order by pairing popular items with other food items that pair well – like a tray of veggies and garlic butter for grilling, or a six-pack of local craft beer.

Low and Slow

Slow cookers are popular ways to make one big meal with minimal effort that can be eaten for days. Butchers should capitalize on this by devoting a section of their online store that sells meats perfect for slow cooking.

A great way to increase cart size for online orders is to create freezable pre-packaged roast kits that include all the ingredients required to make a fantastic meal. This could include the meat itself, marrow bones for a rich stock, carrots, turnips, and any herbs and spices required.

Slow cookers are also popular for making healthy soups that can be eaten for lunch throughout the week. Butchers should consider the work-from-home workforce and sell kits for slow-cooker soups. 

Under Pressure

As reported above, half of Americans own a pressure cooker. This old-school way of cooking picked up in popularity with the advent of the smartphone-connected InstantPot, which allows home chefs to whip up everything from curries to tacos, to pulled pork.

Given its versatility, butchers should stay on top of the latest cooking trends around devices like the InstantPot to see what recipes are trending with a gadget that most people have in their kitchen. By pairing their expertise with an online store that can generate consumer suggestions, butchers stand to benefit greatly from the digital revolution. 

The best way to do this is to utilize an eCommerce platform that is flexible enough to allow butchers to run online promotions, exclusive deals, and special discounts based on what’s trending with consumers at the time.

The meal-kit industry is expected to explode into a $20 billion industry in the next few years and local butchers can be on the front line of that revolution simply by offering fresh cuts of meat to the communities they serve bundled into an easy-order option through their online presence.

The best way to do this is to find an eCommerce platform that allows complete order customization for every cut of meat you sell, either packaged into these special bundles or sold separately in the normal, bespoke way that customers order from your counter.

If you’d like to find out more about how to get your butcher shop online with Local Express, we’ve created a handy guide to help you learn more.