Only a Small Fraction of Grocers Personalize the First Impression

Data Point (2025): Only 12% of retailers achieve homepage-level personalization.
Supporting Data: 54% of retailers offer advanced AI-driven search—showing capability exists, but execution is limited.

Quick Analysis:

Homepage personalization is one of the highest-impact conversion levers, yet only 12% of retailers dynamically tailor the landing experience. Despite strong AI search adoption, most personalization efforts remain buried deeper in the journey (search results, PDP, recommendations). This mismatch reveals an execution gap: retailers have the tools but aren’t applying them where shoppers form their first impression.

What It Means for Grocers:

Failing to personalize the homepage weakens the starting point of the digital journey. Shoppers receive generic layouts, static promotions, and irrelevant content, which lowers engagement, reduces click-through depth, and weakens loyalty in a category where shoppers often repeat predictable journeys, a non-personalized homepage signals that the retailer doesn’t “know” the customer.

The Way Ahead:

• Activate unified customer profiles on entry: Tailor homepage modules using past purchases, dietary preferences, and basket history.
• Use intent signals immediately: Browsing patterns, time-of-day behavior, and typical replenishment cycles should inform the creation of dynamic landing pages.
• Pilot personalization widgets: Rotating carousels, personalized deals, top repeats, and location-based inventory instantly improve relevance.
• Start with simple rules before AI: Even rule-based personalization (e.g., “Show fresh produce early for vegetarian shoppers”) drives uplift.

So What:

Homepage personalization is one of grocery’s most fixable experience gaps, offering high-impact returns with low operational friction.