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Whether they’re heading to the store or ordering home delivery, consumers almost unanimously agree: A shopping list is a must-have for their weekly grocery run.
This revelation isn’t surprising. For decades, grocery lists have helped consumers accomplish goals like:
Today, consumers use retailer apps to do all of these things and more. With retailer technology, consumers can reorder items from past purchases. With Instacart Lists, they can manage and purchase items for specific recipes. And, with smart cart integrations standing to reinvent the technology entirely, consumers can access discounts, in-store navigation, and upsell recommendations while they shop. Grocery list technology is more robust than ever, and grocers have the opportunity to lean in and drive results for their business.
Let’s explore the evolution of grocery lists — how they affect consumer behaviors, how grocers can strategize to use this technology, and how lists integrated with smart carts can make shopping feel like magic.
When consumers shop, they often rely on lists to determine what they add to their carts. Historically, those lists have been handwritten — and that behavior is still common today, with nearly 80% of consumers still writing lists on paper in addition to digital shopping lists.
But the acceleration of grocery list technology may lead to a future where handwritten lists are obsolete. A variety of formats offer better, consumer-value-focused benefits, such as:
Organization is one of the leading reasons why consumers still use shopping lists. In fact, 90% of surveyed primary household shoppers say that, when it comes to grocery trips, they are meticulous planners, especially for purchasing CPG products, produce, and prepared foods.
While organization can help consumers manage their spending, it can also pose challenges for grocers. A consumer who uses a handwritten list, after all, may be less likely to engage in impulse behavior or resonate with upsell recommendations.
Fortunately, there are strategies for striking a balance between using grocery list technology to maintain consumer satisfaction while also encouraging incremental spend increases. Consumers are on board with this evolution — in fact, nearly half say that they already use grocery apps to prepare their digital shopping lists.
By leaning into the evolution of grocery lists, you can adopt scalable practices to influence consumer shopping behaviors — and support higher monthly spend. Let’s take a look at these tips.
With digital shopping lists, you can discover unique ways to get more out of your loyalty program. When loyalty program members sign in to create their list, you can grant access to discounts, promotions, and deals the member has earned — and make accessing lists seamless with smart carts. As a result, members are likely to add more items to their cart and use your loyalty program more frequently.
A digital grocery list that consumers can save and reuse will empower them to create routines — and avoid pricing surprises at checkout. Consider how introducing digital coupons from CPG partners, or running seasonal discounts, may delight customers with unexpected savings. Some smart carts, after all, serve up product-specific discounts consumers may not have encountered otherwise. By eliminating the possibility of an unwanted price increase, you can encourage valuable retention in a competitive grocery ecosystem.
Consumers who make grocery lists are less likely to engage in impulse purchases — so it’s important for grocers to get early visibility on personalized ads. With grocery list technology, it’s possible to show ads earlier in the consumer journey than ever before.
Consider how integrating grocery list technology with a retail media network — and smart cart screens — can help you meet multiple goals at once, including:
There are several future-proofed solutions to consider when thinking about product recommendations — but AI is a good place to start. With a grocery list powered by AI, you can offer product suggestions supported by historic shopping data. This capability extends to perimeter departments, as well. For example, customers who routinely buy sandwiches at your deli counter may receive a suggestion to add a second sandwich to their list. This can lead to higher usage of your perimeter departments — and incremental spend increases that add up over time.
The benefits of grocery list technology are clear. So, what technology do you need to bring this solution to your stores?
While there are a variety of solutions for exploring the digital grocery list opportunity, there’s one that stands above the rest: smart shopping carts. By acting like a conduit between in-store and online shopping experiences, smart shopping carts can help seamlessly convert single-channel consumers into valuable omnichannel shoppers. AI-powered options like Caper Carts lean into this opportunity by leveraging grocery list capabilities already available through Instacart. By making grocery lists available on a user-friendly digital screen, Caper Carts are reinventing grocery list technology — and the impact it’s driving for retailers.
Caper Carts integrate seamlessly with the Instacart app — and with existing retailer digital storefronts — to grant access to grocery lists. Coupled with planned future features such as upsell recommendations, and ordering capabilities through FoodStorm, grocers can drive consumer satisfaction and encourage incremental basket increases via the Caper Cart digital screen. You can learn more about Caper Carts and their integrations by visiting our website.
In addition to those features, Caper Carts use location capabilities to remind consumers about items on their lists when they’re nearby. For example, the cart can scan lists for products the consumer may have overlooked — and encourage them to double check an aisle before moving on.
Using these features, Caper Carts elevate grocery list technology. And, with point-of-sale systems, on-cart payment opportunities save consumers money and time during checkout, all with the payment method they prefer. Since digital wallet payments such as Apple and Android Pay account for half of all worldwide digital transactions, offering this capability is a valuable way to make shopping trips feel like magic.
Grocers who offer digital grocery lists, and integrate them with solutions like Caper Carts, stand to drive better results for their business — and increase consumer satisfaction at every stage of their journey.
Ready to take the next step? Request your Caper Cart demo today!
