Nokta Games put Supermarket Simulator into Early Access on 20 February 2024 and shipped the 1.0 build on 19 June 2025. You order stock on the shop computer, price every product against a market rate that moves daily, stack the shelves by hand and scan each item at the till until you can afford staff. Twenty six licences sit between you and the full catalogue of over 150 products.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Set most products at roughly 10 percent over the market rate
Set most products at roughly 10 percent over the market rate. Player pricing tests keep landing there because the margin on what sells outweighs the handful of customers who refuse, while a 20 percent markup produces enough complaints to cost you both sales and Store Points.
2. Open the pricing tab every in game morning
Open the pricing tab every in game morning. Market rates move daily, and a price you set last week can quietly drop below your own purchase cost without any warning on the shop floor.
3. Buy the storage room before you buy more shelves
Buy the storage room before you buy more shelves. Boxes stacked in the aisles physically block customers, and a restocker with nowhere to pull from is a wage with no output.
4. Hire a cashier before a restocker
Hire a cashier before a restocker. Scanning is the task that pins you in one spot during the busiest part of the day, while restocking can be done between waves at your own pace.
5. Plan the fridge and freezer footprint before buying the licence that needs them
Plan the fridge and freezer footprint before buying the licence that needs them. Chilled and frozen units eat far more floor space per product slot than a plain shelf, and unsold stock in the back earns nothing.
6. Read the customer thought bubbles instead of guessing
Read the customer thought bubbles instead of guessing. They tell you directly whether a price is being rejected or a product is missing, which is faster feedback than watching the end of day report.
7. Keep one aisle of cheap staples permanently full
Keep one aisle of cheap staples permanently full. Customers who cannot find anything they wanted cost you Store Points as well as the sale, so breadth of stock protects your level progression.
8. Install the anti theft antenna at the same time as you hire a security guard
Install the anti theft antenna at the same time as you hire a security guard. The guard depends on the detector to catch shoplifters, so hiring one without the other is a wage for nothing.
9. Take online orders during quiet periods only
Take online orders during quiet periods only. The delivery run pulls you out of the store entirely, and a queue that builds while you are on the scooter costs more than the order pays.
10. Expand the floor last
Expand the floor last. Shelves, a second checkout and staff all return money faster than square metres, and an oversized store with thin stock simply spreads your customers out.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Owner operator (A-Tier):
- Focus on Ordering stock on the store computer combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Checkout counter
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Cashier (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Shelves
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Supermarket Simulator's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Ordering stock on the store computer + Pricing against the daily market rate: Everything you sell is ordered from the computer in the back room, arrives as stacked boxes and has to be carried out and shelved by hand. Combined with Pricing against the daily market rate, each product shows a market price, and you set your own retail price against it.
Store Points and store levels + Licences that unlock product groups: Store Points come from customers buying products, from restocking and from keeping the place clean, and they push your store level up. When paired with Licences that unlock product groups, each of the 26 licences costs cash and needs a minimum store level, and it unlocks a group of related products rather than a single item.
Hiring cashiers and restockers scaling: Cashiers work a till so you stop scanning, and restockers pull boxes from the storage racks onto shelves. Both take a flat daily wage, which a busy shift covers several times over.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout counter | Cutting queue length, which is the main reason customers abandon a basket | Where every sale is finalised. |
| Shelves | Dry goods and the bulk of the early catalogue | The basic ambient stock fixture. |
| Fridges | Dairy and chilled lines once the matching licence is bought | Chilled display units required by dairy and other cold products. |
| Freezers | Frozen goods in a mid level store with room to spare | Frozen display units for the frozen product groups. |
| Anti theft antenna | Stores carrying high value products where shoplifters are eating the margin | The detector at the store exit. |
Location Efficiency
Shop floor (Store level 1 and up): The sales area you expand tier by tier as profits allow. Aisle spacing matters as much as shelf count, because blocked paths stop customers reaching the product they came for.
Checkout counters (Store level 1 and up): The till line at the front. One counter is fine while you are scanning solo, and a second is the difference between a rush hour and a walkout.
Storage room (Early store levels once cash allows): The back area where delivered boxes and metal racks live. Restockers pull from here, so an organised storage room is what makes hired staff actually productive.
The store computer (Available from day one): The management hub. Ordering, product prices, licences, employees and online orders all run through it, and it is where you should start every in game morning.
Local market (Any store level): An outside supplier you visit in person for deals the online catalogue does not match. It costs travel time, which is only worth spending on lines you sell in volume.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Pricing well above market on every product. Margin per sale goes up briefly, then complaints and walkouts drag daily revenue below where it started.
- Buying licences you cannot keep stocked. Each unlock costs cash and needs shelf or fridge space, and an empty display earns nothing while the money is gone.
- Leaving boxes on the shop floor. They block the paths customers use to reach products, so sales drop for a reason the end of day summary never spells out.
- Hiring staff too early. Wages are charged daily whether the store is busy or not, and a small shop makes more money with you working the till.
- Ignoring cleaning and trash. Store Points come partly from keeping the place tidy, and a dirty store slows the level progression that gates every licence.
Pro Quick Tips
- Set most products at roughly 10 percent over the market rate. Player pricing tests keep landing there because the margin on what sells outweighs the handful of customers who refuse, while a 20 percent markup produces enough complaints to cost you both sales and Store Points.
- Open the pricing tab every in game morning. Market rates move daily, and a price you set last week can quietly drop below your own purchase cost without any warning on the shop floor.
- Buy the storage room before you buy more shelves. Boxes stacked in the aisles physically block customers, and a restocker with nowhere to pull from is a wage with no output.
- Start with Cashier, switch to Owner operator when ready
- Invest in Checkout counter above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Shop floor → Checkout counters → Storage room → The store computer → Local market. See our maps guide
- Ordering stock on the store computer + Pricing against the daily market rate together are stronger than either alone
More Supermarket Simulator Guides
- Supermarket Simulator Supermarket Simulator Overview
- Supermarket Simulator Best Builds
- Supermarket Simulator Tier List
- Supermarket Simulator Walkthrough
- Supermarket Simulator Beginner's Guide
- Supermarket Simulator Weapons Guide
- Supermarket Simulator Combat Guide
- Supermarket Simulator Boss Guide
- Supermarket Simulator Maps & Locations
- Supermarket Simulator Crafting Guide
- Supermarket Simulator Classes & Characters
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