The online grocery discovery problem

Instagram remains the most influential and vibrant catalog of visual culture on the planet. Unless it somehow blows the opportunity, it should be able to use that to drive discovery and commerce business over the long run.

Contextual advertising will become a noticeable part of the online grocery experience, too, giving brands a chance to introduce themselves and their products, and giving online grocers another revenue stream. Instacart has been building out an advertising business, and I’d be shocked if Amazon didn’t eventually introduce advertising to its grocery ... See more

It’s not always a great experience, especially when you need to buy too much to get free shipping or when only absurd bulk quantities are available. I’ve abandoned multiple shopping carts this week due to one source of friction or another.

The existing user interface, mostly built around search and convenience, simply wasn’t built for browsing and discovery.

This is obvious, perhaps, but there’s plenty that online grocers can do to improve product discovery in their stores, from photography to personalized recommendations. The beauty of Amazon or Instacart knowing everything you’ve purchased means it also knows what you haven’t yet purchased.