I’ve seen many tries at personalization in the last decade. Most don’t work very well. Among the best personalization systems are Netflix’s and Amazon’s recommendations engines.
There’s another to add to the list, and it comes from an unlikely source: my grocery store. Each week Harris Teeter emails me weekly specials. But there’s a twist. The email is customized based on my purchase history. Using the data from my loyalty card, they present the offers I’m most interested in first. Unlike United’s weekly spam, this email gets opened once in a while.
It’s personalization that works for me and for them. Most grocery stores collect the data; Harris Teeter is the first that I’ve encountered that uses it to directly enhance my shopping experience. They benefit by selling more stuff.
Another convenience: I was able to pull up my personalized circular email on my cell phone. Now they just need to tell me which aisle each item is in.
Rakesh Agrawal's blog 
3 responses
Type in your shopping list, and the store draws a route map through the grocery store based on your list.
But to maximize revenue, they might want you to wander. You want to buy groceries, but they want you to shop for them.
[…] targeted offers that will appeal to me. Harris Teeter, a regional grocery store chain, sends out an e-circular that highlights the items customers have bought in the past. These personalized offers can be delivered for little […]
[…] The app should highlight promotions that meet my purchase patterns. The Sunday circulars are based on a mass-distribution model; I should just see relevant promotions for me. Regional grocery store Harris Teeter actually does a good job of this. […]