Agentic commerce reframes grocery shopping from product discovery to person-led baskets

# What the story claims

Grocery shopping has become faster and more convenient, but the central task — deciding what to buy — remains. Founders of Neomi, an AI grocery assistant, argue the industry optimized for product visibility (shelf placement, packaging, search) instead of understanding the shopper. They propose agentic commerce: AI that begins with the person and their context to construct relevant baskets.

# Why that matters

McKinsey's 2026 grocery research shows appetite for personalized nutrition: about 55% of shoppers want personalized dietary recommendations. If AI can interpret health goals, dietary restrictions and situational context (for example, "romantic dinner for two"), it can suggest or assemble entire baskets rather than waiting for fragmented product searches. That reduces the need to browse and could change how customers discover products and how retailers monetize attention.

# How Neomi's approach works

Neomi's co-founders, Dmytro Lylyk and Vladyslav Mehera, frame groceries as "foods for health, not for shelves." Their model treats the basket as an expression of intent. Signals include:

• Health information and dietary restrictions
• Personal preferences and goals (e.g., high protein, low sugar)
• Contextual intent (meal type, event, number of people)

# Implications for retail media and promotions

Neomi argues retail advertising must change. Currently, promotions often buy visibility. In an agentic model, promoted items should be eligible only when they align with the shopper's declared intent or inferred context. That raises a practical threshold: relevance first, promotion second. Pushing promoted items that don't fit the shopper's goals undermines trust and utility.

# Technical and behavioral hurdles

Mehera notes technical work draws on neuroscience and machine learning, but adoption depends on both product readiness and shopper behavior. Two practical challenges:

• Shopper learning curve: users must adopt new ways to express intent (e.g., pick a meal scenario, share dietary goals).
• Platform integration: retailers need to ingest health and context signals, adjust recommendation pipelines, and build policies for when promotions can be surfaced.

# What this changes for shoppers and retailers

# Bottom line

Agentic commerce reframes grocery shopping around the person and their intent. The combination of consumer demand for personalized nutrition and AI that interprets context could reduce browsing and alter how promotions work. Getting there requires both technical systems that use personal and contextual signals and changes in how shoppers interact with AI assistants.