The grocery retail landscape is changing rapidly. Rising prices, shifting consumer behaviours and the push toward digital-first experiences have combined to raise the bar on what online grocery shoppers expect. A recent survey by Algolia reveals that AI and personalization are no longer optional—they’re key ingredients in grocery’s future.

At ExpertRec, we believe that delivering tailored product discovery and personalised search & merchandising is the path to winning in online grocery. Below, we unpack the key survey insights and show how you can apply them—from search bar to basket—to boost conversions, loyalty and relevance.

Key Trends from the Survey

Tight Budgets Are Shifting Shopper Behavior

The survey found that about 30% of consumers are under pressure from higher grocery bills. Many are turning to private-label brands (40% of respondents tried them for the first time) and participating in retailer loyalty or reward programs (60% report doing so).

This behaviour means that your search and merchandising must recognise value signals, brand shifts and evolving preferences—not just classic keywords.

Personalisation Expectations Are Rising

Almost half of grocery shoppers (46%) want deal recommendations tailored to their past purchases or current cart. Among Millennials the number is even higher (51%).

This shows that for grocery retailers, search isn’t just “find the item” — it’s “find the right item for me right now”. The merchandising engine must personalise based on intent, history and context.

AI Is Positioned as the Shopping Companion

Consumers expect more than static lists—they’re open to AI-driven experiences: assisting with meal suggestions (56%), organising meal-prep (51%) and real-time alerts when desired items are back in stock (58%).

For you this means: your search & discovery platform must support deeper use-cases than simple item lookup—think cart construction, shopping-list automation, personalized recipe-to-basket flows.

Trust and Transparency Are Critical

While 59% believe AI can make grocery shopping more convenient, half say they don’t trust AI agents to manage their shopping because of fears of “wrong items” or unwanted substitutions.

This underlines a vital point: implementing AI/personalisation isn’t just about technology—it’s about transparency, reliability and giving users confidence.

What This Means for Your Search & Merchandising Strategy

1. Build Search & Merchandising for Intent – Not Just Keywords

Grocery shoppers may not type “organic almond milk 1L” exactly—they might use broader intents like “healthy breakfast drinks” or “vegan snacks for kids”. Your site search must handle natural language, intent recognition and variant matching.

ExpertRec supports these capabilities: semantic query understanding, synonyms, variant grouping and ranking logic tuned for grocery behaviours.

2. Personalise the Experience to the Shopper and the Context

When a user is shopping for groceries, their context matters: meal-prep vs last-minute, dietary needs vs impulse snack, budget conscious vs brand loyal. Use visitor history + current session signals to adjust search result ranking and merchandising placements.

With ExpertRec you can define rules such as:

• If prior purchases show vegan preference → boost plant-based items.
• If cart value is low and shopper hunts deals → surface value/own-brand items.
• If user is repeat ordering → enable quick reorder suggestions and default list-templates.

3. Use AI-Driven Insights to Reduce Friction and Boost Relevance

AI isn’t just a buzzword—it can help you deliver tangible UX gains: fewer “no result” searches, auto-completion of lists, smarter substitutions when items are out of stock, timely prompts when restock happens.

ExpertRec’s analytics and machine-learning can help you uncover patterns (e.g., “shoppers who search X also buy Y”) and tailor merchandising accordingly.

4. Maintain Trust and Transparency

AI can boost conversions—but only if users feel in control. Being transparent about AI-driven recommendations, making substitutions explicit, and enabling quick corrections builds confidence.

When using ExpertRec, you can:

• Show “recommended for you” badges with explanations
• Offer filters such as “show only my usual brands”
• Provide reorder-history hints and let users edit before checkout

Practical Implementation: Roadmap for Grocery Retailers

1. Audit Your Data:

Inventory attributes matter—brand, size, dietary labels, price tier, substitution possibilities. Ensure clean data so your search and AI-enabled personalisation work well.

2. Segment & Prioritise Use-cases: Start with high-impact flows like:

• Reorder/weekly shop (repeat behaviour)
• Meal-prep/pantry stock (planning behaviour)
• Deal hunting (budget-sensitive behaviour)

Tailor search result ranking and recommendation placements accordingly.

3. Deploy Personalisation Rules:

• Use customer behaviour to influence ranking (e.g., favour items they’ve bought historically)
• Boost own-brand/value items for budget segments
• Offer dynamic banners/promos based on filters or cart value

4. Measure & Iterate:

Track metrics such as search-to-purchase rate, repeat order frequency, cart value uplift from personalised zones. Use ExpertRec’s dashboards to identify “query clusters” that convert best and refine accordingly.

5. Communicate Clearly with Shoppers:

Make it clear when something is AI-recommended or personalised. Offer transparency and control. This improves trust and reduces drop-off due to surprise substitutions or irrelevant suggestions.

Why ExpertRec Is Your Partner for Grocery-Specific Search & Personalisation

At ExpertRec, we’re built to handle the complexity of grocery e-commerce:

• Fast, semantic search that understands shopper intent beyond exact matches
• Customisable merchandising rules and variant/grouping logic suitable for large SKUs typical in grocery
• Personalisation frameworks that use session + purchase history to tailor results and recommendations
• Analytics designed for grocery use cases: reorder behaviour, basket composition, substitution patterns
• Transparent settings and control—for your team and your shoppers—so you build trust while delivering relevance

With these capabilities, your grocery site can move beyond “just listing products” to delivering a smart, personalised shopping journey—one that adapts to shopper budgets, dietary needs, and evolving preferences.

Final Thoughts

The grocery sector is shifting—and AI + personalisation are core to winning in the new era. Consumers expect tailored experiences, streamlined reorder flows, and value-driven discovery. But they also expect trust, transparency and relevance.

By leveraging ExpertRec’s search, discovery and merchandising platform, you can meet and exceed those expectations. Build a grocery shopping experience that feels personal, intuitive and efficient—not just functional.

Ready to transform your grocery e-commerce experience? Explore ExpertRec and see how you can deliver smarter search, discovery and personalised merchandising today.