Supermarket Together is DeadDevsTellNoLies' co-op shop management game, released on 9 August 2024, and it runs up to 16 players inside one store. You order stock, set prices against the market, stack shelves, work the tills and chase shoplifters, with difficulty scaling to how many people are connected. Solo works, but the game is designed around the moment four players realise nobody restocked the dairy fridge.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best builds, equipment worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Franchise Points board
Levelling the supermarket through checkouts pays out Franchise Points, which you spend on a blackboard of perks. Most perks cost a single point while the heavier ones, such as extra employee slots and Recycling Courses, cost several.
Ordering and restocking loop
You order boxes on the store computer, they land in the storage room, and somebody has to move that stock onto the shelves before customers walk out. Storage Shelves hold the surplus, and upgrades push total capacity toward 49,000 items.
Product pricing
Each of the 300 plus products has a reference market price and you set yours against it. Price well above it and customers abandon the item; price at or slightly under it and volume carries the profit.
Employee hiring and job roles
Eighteen employees are available across seven jobs: cashier, restock, security, technician, packaging, manufacturing and storage. Each Employee perk on the Franchise board unlocks one more hire, and staff improve as they work.
Shoplifters and store security
Thieves walk in looking exactly like customers until they pocket something. An employee assigned to Security guards the entrance with a broom, and metal detectors plus CCTV cover what one person cannot watch.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our Supermarket Together combat guide.
Builds Overview
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cashier | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Restocker | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Security | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Technician | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Storage Handler | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our Supermarket Together builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Equipment Guide
| Equipment | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Product Shelf | The basic floor unit, holding one product type per section. | Widening the range every time the Franchise board unlocks new products. |
| Double Fridge | Twice the frontage of the Basic Fridge for chilled goods, which is where drinks and dairy volume lives. | Stores whose chilled aisle runs dry before the restocker gets back around. |
| Storage Shelf | Back room racking. | Any store past its first expansion, ahead of buying more floor shelves. |
| Checkout Counter | Comes in left and right variants so you can build a till bank customers can actually queue at. | Adding a second and third till the moment queues reach four customers. |
| Production Machine | Costs 7,500 and turns the manufacturing department into a source of own brand products carrying better margins than resold stock. | Established stores with a spare player free to run the back room. |
Product Shelf: The basic floor unit, holding one product type per section. Shelf count rather than stock level is usually what caps early revenue, because an unlisted product sells nothing.
Double Fridge: Twice the frontage of the Basic Fridge for chilled goods, which is where drinks and dairy volume lives. It also empties twice as fast.
Storage Shelf: Back room racking. Without enough of it, deliveries stack on the floor, nobody can find anything and the whole restock loop grinds down.
Checkout Counter: Comes in left and right variants so you can build a till bank customers can actually queue at. Checkouts drive store levelling as well as income.
Production Machine: Costs 7,500 and turns the manufacturing department into a source of own brand products carrying better margins than resold stock.
Full breakdowns in our Supermarket Together weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Produce Section | Store level 1 onward | Steady footfall, cheap restock cost |
| Pharmacy Department | Mid game store levels | High margin per shelf section |
| Electronics Department | Later store levels | Largest revenue per sale, biggest theft exposure |
| Storage Room | All store levels | Capacity toward 49,000 items, faster restock loops |
| Checkout Area | All store levels | Franchise Points, income throughput |
Produce Section: Fruit and vegetables: low unit price, high turnover, and the shelves that empty first on a busy day. It is the department that teaches you how fast restocking has to be.
Pharmacy Department: Unlocked later through the Franchise board. Small items with strong margins per shelf section, which makes it excellent value for the floor space it occupies.
Electronics Department: The big ticket goods. Highest revenue per sale in the store and also the aisle shoplifters head for first, so it wants camera coverage before it wants more stock.
Storage Room: Where every delivery lands. Its racking, not your bank balance, is the real limit on how much stock you can keep moving, and upgrades push capacity toward 49,000 items.
Checkout Area: The till bank, the entrance and, once unlocked, self checkouts. Every scan feeds store levelling, so this small patch of floor generates the Franchise Points that pay for everything else.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Franchise Points come from levelling the store through checkouts rather than from raw profit, so keeping tills moving is the fastest route to perks. A player standing at a register out-earns the same player wandering the aisles.
- Storage capacity is the hidden bottleneck. Deliveries that will not fit jam the restock loop, so buy Storage Shelves in the back room before spending on extra floor shelves you cannot keep full anyway.
- Pricing above the market reference figure loses customers straight away. Sitting a few percent under it moves far more volume, and volume is what levels the store and pays out Franchise Points.
- Take the Employee perks on the board early. Each one unlocks a hire, and a single restocker working full time is worth more than any individual speed upgrade you could buy instead.
- Agree roles before opening rather than during a rush. The standard four player split is one on tills, one restocking, one on ordering and pricing, and one covering security and cleaning.
- Shoplifters look identical to customers until they take something. A Security employee with a broom at the entrance, plus metal detectors and CCTV, catches most of them without anyone sprinting across the shop floor.
- Difficulty scales with connected players, so a store four people ran comfortably becomes chaos at eight. Add tills, shelves and staff before you invite more people, not after they arrive.
- The manufacturing department needs at least two Research machines at 3,500 each before it produces anything worth selling, so treat it as a mid game project rather than an opening purchase.
- Demolish interior pillars once the money is there. They chop the floor plan into awkward pockets and force customer paths into loops that slow checkout throughput for the whole store.
- Footfall perks such as Wifi Connection and Air Conditioning only help if you already have the shelves and staff to serve the extra customers. Buy capacity first and demand second, never the other way round.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Buying more floor shelves while the back room is already overflowing with unplaced boxes.
- Pricing everything well above the market figure and wondering why the store empties out.
- Leaving tills unmanned during a rush until queues grow long enough that customers give up.
- Hiring staff without first taking the board perks that make those staff faster.
- Inviting eight players into a store built for four, then losing money to abandoned baskets.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players can play Supermarket Together?
Up to 16 in a single store, with difficulty scaling to the player count. Solo is fully supported, and you can raise difficulty manually if you want the pressure without the people.
How do I earn Franchise Points?
By levelling the supermarket through checkouts. Points then buy perks on the blackboard, from extra employee slots to Recycling Courses and Logistics, with most perks costing one point and the strongest ones costing several.
What is the best early purchase?
Storage Shelves and the first Employee perks. Storage keeps deliveries flowing, and a hired restocker frees a human player to handle ordering and pricing, which is where the real decisions live.
How do I stop shoplifters?
Assign an employee to Security so they guard the entrance with a broom, then add metal detectors and CCTV as the store grows. Electronics is the department thieves target hardest because the unit values are highest.
Does the game have an ending?
No, only bigger stores. Progression runs through store levels, the Franchise board, up to 18 employees across seven jobs, and storage capacity that eventually reaches 49,000 items.
More Supermarket Together Guides
- Supermarket Together Best Builds
- Supermarket Together Tier List
- Supermarket Together Walkthrough
- Supermarket Together Beginner's Guide
- Supermarket Together Tips & Tricks
- Supermarket Together Weapons Guide
- Supermarket Together Combat Guide
- Supermarket Together Boss Guide
- Supermarket Together Maps & Locations
- Supermarket Together Crafting Guide
- Supermarket Together Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Supermarket Together, check out these related guides:
- Stardew Valley Guide: simulation game with similar mechanics
- Satisfactory Guide: simulation game with similar mechanics
- The Sims 4 Guide: simulation game with similar mechanics
