Consider the last time you shopped for groceries. Did you find it easy to make a quick decision on what to buy based on the things you cared most about in the moment – price, nutritional information or whether something is ethically sourced? The chances are you didn’t. And you’re not alone.

Consumers are feeling overwhelmed by purchase decisions. According to Accenture’s latest Consumer Pulse Survey, eight in 10 grocery shoppers find it hard to choose between the different options when deciding what to buy.

Traditionally, grocery retailers focused on offering a wide range of products to suit a wide range of needs. But in doing so, have they created too much choice? While proving a lot of information and product options may seem like a good idea, it can lead to shoppers spending more time and effort to make a decision on what to buy. The result? Many feel overwhelmed and abandon purchases as a result. And the data backs this up, with 73% of grocery shoppers reporting they ‘feel overwhelmed by too much choice,’ leading to 72% walking away from purchases as a result.

The research also found that 75% of consumers feel bombarded by advertising, and 76% of them have trouble knowing if a product lives up to its promises. At the same time, more than seven in 10 are confused by different metrics used to explain a product’s features or benefits.

The retail brand matters

In a fiercely competitive market, the last thing grocery retailers should do is make it harder for people to shop, so they’re not tempted to shop elsewhere. It’s not an easy task.

According to Coresight, grocery shoppers are willing to visit multiple stores to get what they need. The research found that they bought from an average of 21 different stores between March 2023 and February 2024. This is up from 23% for the same period between 2019 and 2023.

The challenge for grocery retailers, therefore, is to keep customers within their branded experience. Just look at the ways consumers experience a retailer today. Everything from the adverts and digital marketing they receive, to the online and in-store experiences, to the customer service they encounter along the way. These are all factors that play a crucial role in driving sales and cultivating loyalty.

Yet when it comes to grocery shopping, it can oftentimes feel like a chore, a must-do task that consumers navigate on a weekly, if not daily, basis. And while much of the focus has been on making shopping easy and affordable, it is still important to balance that with finding ways to make browsing the aisles more fun.

Calling gen AI to the aisles

This is where AI technologies, specifically gen AI, can really make a difference. It can help ease the “thinking workload” around purchasing decisions and in doing so, boost sales and increase loyalty.

Consider how gen AI is a conversational tool that can act as a shopping advisor, providing recommendations and inspiration throughout the shopping journey. It can be the difference between having a list of things you want to buy that will make tasty meals to getting advice and ideas based on what you need right now. For example, “please create a shopping list for a dinner party of eight people, with a vegetarian option.” Then consider how this could kick-start broader engagement strategies for grocers to be the “guide by the side” of purchasing decisions, with human-like response abilities suggesting recipes and complementary wines to go with the meal, or advice on table settings and flower arrangements.

Just look at Instacart. The delivery company is harnessing the gen AI to help its customers shop for food through recipe-related conversations, such as “ingredients for a pot roast,” and then have the items added to their card and delivered directly to their door.

Empowering the consumer

One of the many benefits of providing advice and recommendations throughout the shopping journey is that grocery retailers can group items together. Cross-selling is not new. But when done in a more friendly and helpful way, where the consumer feels empowered, it not only makes it easier to decide, but can also increase the overall value of the shopping cart.

Summary

Gen AI is a new technology that can change how people shop. It can make shopping more personal and easier than ever before. And retailers agree. Three-quarters of retail executives told Accenture they believe gen AI is important for their business to grow. While more than nine in 10 plan to invest more in AI and gen AI over the next three to five years.

The time to act is now. Unlike other technologies, early-mover advantage is crucial for retailers to truly reap the benefits of this exciting new technology.