Online grocer launches predictive shopping

San Francisco-based online grocer Farmstead has added a new feature to its app called Smart Shopping List that can predict consumer grocery needs.

According to the company, the technology predicts what customers need based on multiple data-driven factors including weekly shopping history, buying signals and what’s already in their cart.

“One of the biggest challenges to buying groceries online is to build your shopping cart rapidly,” said Farmstead Co-Founder and CEO Pradeep Elankumaran in a statement. “Since there are no physical aisles to walk through like a traditional supermarket, and only so much scrolling one can take, it’s a true challenge to help customers find the right products at the right time, while also suggesting new ones they’ll love in the few minutes they spend each week tapping buttons online.”

Farmstead’s Smart Shopping List generates a list of heavily personalized products that shoppers can scroll through. The products are ranked by machine-learning algorithms based on customers’ shopping behavior and wellness preferences, along with the collective behavior of other customers who buy similar products.

Farmstead says its Smart Shopping List gets smarter and more personalized every time a customer uses it. In early testing, Farmstead found that more than 40% of customers chose to shop via Smart Shopping List when presented with the option, and when they did they were 3.5 times more likely to add suggested items to their list.

Farmstead currently offers online grocery delivery in Northern California.