Business phone system for supermarkets and grocery stores in Maine

The grocery store industry in Maine

County Business Patterns counts 357 establishments in Maine classified as Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores (NAICS 445110) for 2023. They employed 18,229 people in mid-March and reported $508.8 million in annual payroll. That is the 37th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Supermarkets and grocery stores make up 0.82% of the 43,345 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Maine has 25.4 supermarkets and grocery stores, 37.3% above the national rate of 18.5. The average establishment has 51.1 employees against 44.6 nationally. Payroll per employee is $27,914, 6.4% below the U.S. figure of $29,817.

Maine's largest markets for supermarkets and grocery stores

Census published grocery store counts for 4 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Maine. The largest is Portland, ME, with 123 establishments. Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 57% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at supermarkets and grocery stores in Maine

17.1% of Maine's supermarkets and grocery stores with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 32.9% nationally. 30.0% had fewer than ten. At that size the phone is shared, so routing (who rings, when, and what happens after hours) matters more than the number of desk phones.

Calls a grocery store in Maine has to catch

Independent grocers take calls about stock, deli and bakery orders, and departments need calls routed to them. Holiday orders bring call peaks. That holds for supermarkets and grocery stores in Maine as much as anywhere.

A few of the calls that come in to supermarkets and grocery stores in Maine:

• A supplier calls about a delivery.
• The store calls a customer when an order is ready.
• A customer calls about hours.

Business texting for supermarkets and grocery stores

Grocers text order-ready notices.

Texting from a local number in Maine requires carrier registration (10DLC), a one-time $49 fee on Callata.

Callata vs. per-seat pricing for supermarkets and grocery stores in Maine

Supermarkets and grocery stores in Maine average 51.1 employees, so the comparison uses a 51-person team. Priced per seat, 51 users would run $1,530.00 a month on RingCentral RingEX Core and $1,272.45 on Ooma Office Pro (month-to-month list prices, checked September 28, 2026). Callata comes to $1,019.00 a month for 51 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.

Over a year, that is $6,132 less than RingCentral for a grocery store in Maine of that size. Annual contracts lower some competitors' prices, so compare the plan you would actually sign.

Area codes in Maine

Maine has 1 geographic area code in service according to NANPA. Callata includes up to 3 local numbers, so a grocery store can hold a number in more than one of them.

How Callata works for supermarkets and grocery stores in Maine

For $99 a month, Callata puts a team of up to 5 on one plan ($20 for each person after that): up to 3 local numbers, unlimited inbound calls, a pooled allowance of 1,500 outbound US and Canada minutes per user, browser and cell calling, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, recorded calls with AI summaries and business-hours routing, with E911 on every number.

Porting a number you already use in Maine is free, and business texting is available once the carrier registration (10DLC) is approved; the registration carries a one-time $49 fee. Which specific numbers are open in a given area code depends on carrier inventory at the time you sign up.

AI agents are optional: an AI receptionist or scheduler can pick up when the team is busy or closed, take a message, send a text or email, or transfer the call. They draw on prepaid AI minutes ($0.25/minute), disclose that they are AI, and outbound AI calls require prior consent and are limited to 8am–9pm.