Anyone who’s visited the cereal aisle of a grocery store knows that every time we shop for food, we’re bombarded with choice. Which product will be the best on for our tastes, our diets, and our family’s preferences?
That’s why I typically end up reaching for the same box of cereal (and jar of peanut butter, loaf of bread, etc.) every time. But some companies — like startup Halla — are trying to make grocery shopping a more individualized experience.
That’s why we can’t wait to hear Halla’s CEO Spencer Price speak at Customize on February 27th. To learn more about how Price is leveraging data to make grocery shopping a super personalized experience, check out his Q&A below. Then use code SPOON15 to get 15% off your tickets to Customize here!
Tell us a little bit about what Halla does.
Halla is a taste intelligence company that enables retailers to predict the preferences of their shoppers in real-time. Our enterprise APIs power highly-personalized shopping experiences across all retail environments, driving double-digit increases in basket size and customer retention for retailers across the globe.
There are lots of companies out there that facilitate online grocery shopping — how is Halla unique?
We know that great recommendations lead to more purchases and better experiences, but existing options for retailers are costly, complicated, and ineffective.
Halla is different. We’re obsessed with understanding food. Because when we know food, we know people. And when we know people, we get to help retailers deliver delightful shopping experiences through deeper customer insight.
Unlike anything else on the market, Halla is delivering food recommendations with more precision due to our proprietary data that’s able to break food items down to the molecule. With a deep understanding of each item we’re then able to make smarter recommendations based on the human experience, such as delicious food pairings or individual dietary restrictions.
What are the benefits of a personalized grocery shopping experience, both for the retailer and the consumer?
Think about the Spotify ecosystem, versus Apple Music or YouTube. Think about the Netflix interface, versus any other streaming platform. When personalization is deeply integrated into the user experience, it leads to significant increases in conversion rates, customer retention, and all-around engagement.
So, shoppers will see only the items that are relevant to them, and will be inspired to discover new products — all while helping complete their cart as efficiently as possible. The retailer sees bigger baskets, happier customers, and has finally created a shopping environment that drives true shopper loyalty.
What do you think personalized food or drink will look like 5 years down the road?
While there are many efforts and initiatives in “standardization” — as opposed to personalization — like we see in protein bar brands, all-in-one shakes, and the likes of Soylent, there are still over 30,000 unique products in the average supermarket, and counting. The need for “product navigation”, “product discovery”, and personalization solutions will only continue to grow. How precisely this will manifest remains to be seen.
One choice that is easy to make is whether or not you should join us at Customize (hint: you should). Use code SPOON15 to get 15% off your tickets here.
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