Will AI Kill the Grocery Store?
This is a question that many are upset about. People generally don’t want technology to kill the things they love. But maybe grocery shopping is better off done online, and more specifically, with new technologies. One reason for this is the amount of waste that the average store is causing. Amazingly, 40% of American-produced food goes to waste.
Why? Because although many customers do go to the store with a shopping list, most of them don’t. As a result, they will usually make a variety of instinctive buys. Sometimes, customers are just tempted by the fancy packaging of a new cereal. It can be that simple. The next thing you know, that customer’s kids hate the cereal, and it goes in the trash.
AI Can Address This Problem
Thankfully, AI is being developed to fix these exact problems. An AI system like Hungryroot has prediction and suggestion capabilities that provide users with comprehensive grocery shopping plans. In fact, they can submit all kinds of requirements, including dietary needs, number of mouths to feed, and more.
The system will then take all of the submitted information and convert it into the plan. Then, the company takes the plan, meticulously puts together the customized groceries, and delivers it to the customer. At this point, the customer is encouraged to review the experience.
That way, the company can optimize future deliveries. Other AI tools are providing similar services to customers. It is believed that they have already reduced undeliverable food levels by about 2%.
By that logic, if AI-powered grocery shopping becomes a norm for large numbers of people, then this could make a huge difference in the amount of waste that is created. This would be a major plus for the environment.