Imagine a shopping partner who can help you make the best choices fast and spend less time on grocery shopping. This is what Instacart’s chief product officer, Daniel Danker, has been dreaming of. The future of grocery shopping is intertwined with artificial intelligence (AI).
We use technology and AI for everyday office tasks, like taking meeting minutes, but if ordinary, mundane tasks are getting easier, why should grocery shopping lag behind? Well, this is what Instacart believes, too.
How Instacart wants to use AI
Pymnts reports that Instacart is preparing new AI tools to make the digital shopping experience more affordable and “strengthen the overall grocery ecosystem.”
Instacart is currently in the early stages of implementing the technology with “Buy it again” features that can help customers recall over 200 items for the average user.
Eventually, it wants AI technology to evolve into creating a “personal planogram” for each shopper.
This is a massive step forward in reshaping the personalized experience for online shopping. It could mean shops can create groups that attend to customers’ personal needs, such as parents, diabetics, gym bunnies, or single lifestyles.
Affordability and convenience
To help customers make the best-informed shopping decisions, Instacart is introducing personalized digital flyers. This can help customers spot sales and promotions on regular items faster across multiple stores.
It’s easier to compare without visiting different stores, which can take most of the time.
Danker told Pymnts this will save customers time and money. “Linking even just the loyalty program… is saving customers $8-10 per order.”
AI personalized features
Instacart is developing AI features that anticipate when customers are likely to run out of products. The feature will then be able to make suggestions based on past purchases.
Pymnts says integrations with the NY Times Cooking give customers recipes in which the technology automatically suggests ingredients based on the dishes users often prepare at home.
What this means for Instacart’s future
Instacart is positioning itself as a central player in the connected economy. It seems to understand the immense pressure customers are under to make budgets while also trying to get buy with the high cost of living. This could mean Instacart can retain more customers, who are hoping to make smarter choices with the technology.
However, the success of these initiatives will depend on how well Instacart balances everything and ensures real value for customers.
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About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
