5 ways farmers can grow their business with retail technology

5 ways farmers can grow their business with retail technology - By Alistair Wright, Product Director of The EPOS Bureau, part of ClearCourse

Technology is playing a vital role in helping farmers diversify, enabling them to expand operations and deliver engaging, customer-focused experiences. Many are branching out with farm shops, cafés, and Pick Your Own services, creating new revenue streams and building stronger connections with their communities.

Retail diversification is increasingly seen as a smart growth strategy. According to Savills, 40% of surveyed farm shops offer online shopping, 80% have added cafés, and 40% provide Pick Your Own experiences. However, while interest is growing, many farmers remain hesitant about embracing the technology behind these ventures.

Concerns around upfront costs, digital skills, and integrating new systems with existing operations are common barriers. Uncertainty about data privacy and how to analyse digital performance can also deter farmers from fully committing to retail tech. However, in a tough post-Brexit economic landscape that’s being reshaped with tax hikes, getting comfortable with technology is becoming essential to unlock access to new markets, improve efficiency, ease labour pressures and generate new revenue streams.  

Whether you’re just beginning your retail journey or looking to take your offerings to the next level, businesses of all sizes often face similar hurdles when integrating new technology. To support your journey, here are five key considerations that will help you align technology with your strategy, manage costs, and get the most from your retail investment:

• Develop your strategy before deciding on the tech

When expanding your business offerings, it’s easy to let technology lead. You might want to start with something you’ve seen other farm retailers adopt - like self-service tills or tablets that offer contactless payments. But real success starts with strategy, not tech. Start with the basics. What are you going to sell? How are you going to sell it? How are you invoicing? Once you’re clear on your goals, you can identify the right tools to support them and within budget. This is where a good technology partner can be invaluable. The right partner will take time to understand your business, help you make cost-effective decisions, and ensure new systems integrate smoothly with how you already work. The most successful diversified businesses combine big ideas with solid execution and that begins with a plan grounded in strategy, supported by the right tech and people.

• Build Technology integration into your planning - don’t leave it too late

Another essential part of the planning process is thinking early on about the technology infrastructure - don’t leave the tech until last and then work out how it fits in with everything else. Starting from the very beginning, getting a bird’s-eye view of your business and working out where technology makes sense to integrate, is also a better way to determine where the growth opportunities really lie. It might be by updating stock management with an integrated platform to save time and improve accuracy, or maybe implementing integrated scales on your tills to improve the flow of how customers pay for goods. Technology shouldn’t be an afterthought, it should be there as a key component of the planning process. 

• Invest in team training - it takes longer than you think 

One of the biggest challenges I see from customers is underestimating how long it takes to train staff on updated systems when they expand into retail. Often teams will be given an hour of training on how to use something like a digital tablet for taking payments, but in reality, this is something everyone in the business needs to be familiar with and able to use. A “one and done” approach isn’t going to be as effective as dedicated training and refresher sessions for all team members. The “change management” process often seen in  bigger businesses is something small businesses, like rural enterprises, are having to manage as they’re increasingly adopting the technology used by big brands to deliver great customer experiences. Getting this right will maximise your investment and impact. 

• Build your market solutions piece by piece 

As nimble businesses, farmers are able to expand and grow their business in innovative ways quickly, powered by their deep understanding of what their customers and the local community need. When exploring new retail opportunities, it’s important to understand how technology can facilitate this, support your business strategy and reduce friction. You might not need every technology solution all at once to do this, but rather build your different routes to market as you go. It might be starting with a single platform to manage your inventory digitally if you’re opening up a farm shop, and then adding an automatic labelling feature, or a customer analytics tool. Start slow, be considered and really tailor solutions to your growth goals. 

• Learn from your peers

Farmers are deeply connected in local communities, and when it comes to expanding your business, learning from peers is often the best way to make decisions. Talking to fellow farmers who have already expanded their business to include retail opportunities can give you valuable insights, whether it’s about the practical implementation of new systems (and the time required to do so!), managing costs or working out consumer preferences, your peers offer real-world advice that can help you decide what technologies to explore for your own business. Maybe you share similar goals or business strategies with your peers, and a conversation can help you understand what technology they used and how to repeat mistakes they may have made along the way. 

Retail diversification - powered by technology - is a great way for farmers to generate new revenue streams and connect more meaningfully with local communities.

By starting with a solid plan, integrating technology early, investing in team training, building your technology solutions gradually, and learning from fellow farmers, you’ll be better positioned to grow your business with confidence. 

Diversification isn’t about doing everything at once. It’s about doing the right things at the right time for your business. With the right technology in place, you can stay agile, remain competitive and move confidently toward your business goals.