Co-Occurrence Shopping Lists for Recipe-Based Online Grocery Planning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current online concierge systems lack the ability to automatically organize shopping lists around meals or menus, provide randomly related items through the Buy-It-Again feature, and fail to consider existing inventory, leading to inefficient customer engagement and low engagement in online shopping experiences.

Innovation Solution

An online system that utilizes a computer model to analyze user purchases, item catalogs, and recipes to generate lists of co-occurring items, allowing users to create shopping lists or add items to carts organized around specific meals or menus, and adapts based on customer feedback.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the Buy-It-Again feature generates random lists of items, then item variety is provided, but items are not mutually related and do not align with customer meal planning needs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveitem varietyVSAvoidcustomer engagement

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system analyzes customer purchase history and feedback to learn preferences, then uses this feedback to generate personalized item lists that align with customer meal planning needs rather than providing random items

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameters of item selection from random generation to algorithmic generation based on multiple factors including purchase history, recipe data, and co-occurrence patterns, transforming the nature of item variety from arbitrary to meaningful

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Adaptability or versatility

If customers manually create their own menu-based lists, then customization is achieved, but the process is inefficient and leads to low consumer engagement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelist customizationVSAvoidtime for list creation

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by automatically analyzing customer data, generating personalized item lists, and organizing them around recipes before the customer needs them, eliminating the manual list creation process

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service by automatically generating personalized shopping lists based on customer purchase history and preferences, allowing customers to obtain customized lists without manual effort

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If the BIA feature provides items without considering existing inventory, then item suggestions are generated, but items may already be owned by the customer reducing relevance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveitem suggestion generationVSAvoidexisting inventory information

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system incorporates feedback from customer inventory data and purchase history to refine item suggestions, ensuring that recommended items are relevant and not already owned by the customer

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

4Ease of operation

If online systems emulate traditional store browsing, then familiar shopping experience is provided, but opportunities for customers to think about meals or menus are not created

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveshopping experience familiarityVSAvoidmeal planning context

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary organization of items around recipes and meals before presentation to the customer, proactively creating meal planning context rather than requiring customers to think about meals independently

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces recipe data and meal planning information as an intermediary layer between the customer and item selection, connecting familiar browsing with meal planning opportunities

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS12579567B2Method, computer program product, and system for automatic creation of lists of items organized around co-occurrences

Publication Date: 2026.03.17 MAPLEBEAR INC

AI summary

Automatic creation of lists of items at an online system organized around co-occurrences of items. The online system provides inputs into a computer model, the inputs including information about items purchased by a user of the online system over a defined time period, information about a catalog of items stored at one or more computer-readable media of the online system, and a plurality of recipes each including a set of co-occurring items. The online system applies the computer model to generate an indication of co-occurrence of each pair of items in each recipe. The online system generates one or more lists of items based on the indication of co-occurrence, each of the one or more lists of items associated with a respective recipe. The online system causes a device of the user to display a user interface with the one or more lists of items for presentation to the user.