eCommerce - Grocery & FMCG
Never Lose a Sale to Stockouts
goal
Challenge Faced
Grocery retailers often face stockouts on popular items. Without alternatives, customers abandon carts or switch to competitors. Manual substitutions frustrate buyers due to mismatches in price or quality.
solution
Our Solution
We built an AI substitution engine that suggests the closest available alternatives when items are out of stock — considering price, brand loyalty, nutrition, and customer preferences.
Tools we used
Approach
Step-by-Step Workflow
Step 1
Detect out-of-stock item in cart.
Step 2
Identify alternative SKUs based on similarity scoring.
Step 3
Personalize suggestions using past purchases & loyalty data.
Step 4
Show seamless “Swap & Save” options before checkout.
Quantifiable Benefits
Reduction in cart abandonment from stockouts
%
Higher acceptance rate for suggested substitutions
0
%
More revenue retention during supply shortages
10
%
Increased customer trust in substitution accuracy
0
%
Who’s Using This
Online grocers (Instacart, Big Basket)
Supermarkets scaling omnichannel delivery
D2C food delivery startups
Why It Matters
AI substitutions ensure continuity in shopping experiences, preserving loyalty even when supply chains face disruptions.