Source: Natalie Etori, Manager, Marketing, Food Marketing Institute Retail & FoodService

I remember driving in a snow storm to a newly built grocery store in my neighborhood just to see the automatic-light sensors in the freezer aisles. As I’ve gotten older, it’s become less about cool features in the aisles and more about how my grocery store helps me navigate my overall personalized purchasing needs.

My grocery habits seem to compare to today’s consumer. U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends reports today’s households are eating in increasingly personalized ways as they pursue individual aspirations for eating well, which heightens the already basic challenges of food shopping.

Consequently, shoppers enter the store tasked with meeting not only their needs and wants, but those of others in their household. It’s now on food retailers to customize and humanize the in-store shopping experience in a way that empowers different shoppers to meet these different needs within the store. For example, this may take the form of in-store specialty sections on health and well-being or shelf tags that provide in-depth product information.