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Embracing Personalization for Omnichannel Shoppers
Personalization Outlook
- 77% of grocery shoppers consider checkout processes the least favorable part of in-store shopping, often citing long lines and friction during payment.
- 86% of consumers expect personalized experiences, yet only 11% of grocers have personalized even half of the shopper journey with methods like tailored promotions.
- 69% of consumers abandon carts due to a lack of personalized product substitutes when their preferred item is out of stock.
- 77% of grocery executives agree that personalization directly boosts sales and enhances customer loyalty.
- Only 4% of grocers have scaled advanced personalization capabilities, which often involve real-time adaptation across multiple channels based on current behavior and predicted needs.
The concept of hyper-personalization has moved beyond being just a buzzword. It is now a working strategy for grocers aiming to meet shopper expectations across digital and physical channels. This means delivering relevant content, offers, and experiences tailored to individual preferences, purchase history, and even real-time context (like suggesting warm coffee on a stormy day).
The Shopper's Expectation of Personalization
Omnichannel shoppers are clear about what they want: significant savings, seamless interactions, and personalized engagement. 77% still find checkout the least favorable part of in-store shopping, 83% prioritize savings, and 69% prefer multi-buy deals over percentage discounts.
Beyond promotions, expectations now center around a unified experience across all touchpoints. 86% of shoppers expect interactions that recognize their preferences, such as remembering dietary restrictions or preferred brands. Personalization needs also vary; for instance, families might prioritize bulk deals and quick meal solutions, while health-conscious shoppers seek nutritional filtering and organic recommendations. Personalized marketing is also becoming more influential, with 91% of grocers observing an increase in conversion after deploying shopper segmentation and targeting capabilities.
Despite these growing demands, only 11% of grocers have managed to deliver meaningful personalization across the shopper journey.
Grocers' Personalization Review and the Road Ahead
Recognizing personalization as a competitive differentiator, 77% of grocery executives linked it to stronger sales and loyalty outcomes. Throughout 2023, many grocers increased investments in shopper data, digital promotions, and AI-enabled customer engagement tools. However, execution often lagged behind ambition.
By the end of 2024, it became clear that fragmented data systems (where online behaviour, loyalty data, and in-store purchases remain siloed), lack of strategic clarity, and resource constraints continued to hold many grocers back. Only 4% had successfully scaled personalization to an advanced level, integrating predictive analytics and real-time decisioning.
Midway through 2025, the focus has shifted. Grocers are concentrating on foundational upgrades, including integrating back-end technologies, improving customer data platforms to create unified shopper profiles, and strengthening omnichannel fulfillment. The goal is clear: move beyond isolated initiatives and operationalize personalization across the shopper journey, ensuring online preferences inform in-store interactions and vice-versa.
Grocers' Investment in Personalization for 2025
The focus for 2024 remained steadfast on utilizing shopper data and AI to elevate personalization. With 71% of grocers poised to enhance their technology adoption and 63% planning to integrate AI in personalization efforts, the industry is on the brink of a transformation. Grocers are investing in AI-powered personalization to deliver tailored experiences such as product recommendations and dynamic pricing. These applications are seen as key to improving customer engagement, loyalty, and profitability. While more advanced strategies like dynamic pricing offer long-term value, they face adoption hurdles due to complexity and resource demands. Self-checkout options, driven by the desire for efficiency and convenience to address the aforementioned checkout friction, will also see significant investment, alongside explorations into scan-and-go mobile apps and smart cart technology.
In 2025 so far, personalization is no longer positioned as a future initiative but a current operational priority. 53% of grocers are actively investing in AI-powered personalization tools, while 71% are strengthening fulfillment systems (using data to optimize delivery routes and click-and-collect slot availability) to ensure smoother omnichannel experiences. Upgrading foundational technology infrastructure to enable seamless data flow and real-time processing has emerged as a primary focus for digital grocery growth.
Key Takeaways
As the grocery industry marches through 2025, the imperative for personalized shopper journeys has never been more pronounced. With a keen focus on technology, data-driven insights, and AI, grocers are poised to bridge the gap between current practices and shopper expectations by delivering relevant offers, seamless cross-channel experiences, and efficient service.
Based on industry analysis, the $12.3 billion incremental sales opportunity from better segmentation (tailoring marketing and promotions to distinct customer groups rather than mass audiences) remains highly relevant. Personalized digital experiences continue to deliver measurable increases in basket size, loyalty, and profitability. Execution, not planning, defines differentiation in 2025, as grocers who operationalize personalization effectively across both digital interfaces and the physical store environment will shape the future of grocery retail.
Susan Margret Correya
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