Suggested Shopping List Generation Using ML and Collection Rules

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing online shopping systems are inconvenient and time-consuming, leading to customer dissatisfaction, and optimizing computing resources for generating shopping lists is challenging.

Innovation Solution

An online system generates a suggested shopping list by populating a template with item categories using a machine learning model to predict conversion likelihoods based on user historical data, applying collection rules, and allowing user modifications.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If customers manually create shopping lists with specific item categories and collection rules, then the shopping list accuracy and customization are improved, but the time consumption and operational complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveshopping list accuracyVSAvoidtime consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by automatically generating shopping lists based on pre-configured templates and machine learning models before customers need to shop. The shopping list is pre-populated with item categories, specific items, and collection rules based on the customer's historical data and preferences, eliminating the need for manual creation while maintaining high accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides self-service functionality where the shopping list generation is performed automatically based on customer profiles and historical order information. The machine learning model analyzes past behavior patterns and autonomously creates customized shopping lists without requiring active customer input for each decision, reducing time while maintaining precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If the system provides detailed collection rules and personalized recommendations, then the customer satisfaction and shopping list quality are improved, but the computing resource consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecustomer satisfactionVSAvoidcomputing resource consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes parameters by dynamically adjusting the level of personalization and detail based on customer characteristics and order history. The machine learning model processes historical data to identify patterns and generates collection rules with appropriate specificity for each customer profile, achieving high satisfaction without uniformly applying maximum computational resources to all cases.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies local quality by tailoring collection rules and recommendations to specific customer segments and product categories based on their historical behavior. Rather than applying uniform high-complexity processing to all customers, the system adjusts the degree of personalization and computational effort to match individual customer needs and preferences, optimizing the balance between satisfaction and resource consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Measurement precision

If the system uses machine learning models to predict conversion likelihoods, then the shopping list personalization and accuracy are improved, but the device complexity and processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconversion prediction accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The machine learning model acts as an intermediary component that processes historical order information and customer attributes to generate predictions. This intermediary layer translates complex customer behavior patterns into actionable conversion likelihoods, enabling accurate personalization while managing system complexity through a dedicated predictive processing layer.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary processing of historical data and training of machine learning models in advance, creating pre-computed prediction frameworks. This preliminary action reduces the computational burden during actual shopping list generation, as the model can quickly apply learned patterns to new customers without requiring complex real-time analysis, thus managing complexity while maintaining accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20260050967A1Generating a suggested shopping list by populating a template shopping list of item categories with item types and quantities based on a set of collection rules
Publication Date: 2026.02.19 MAPLEBEAR INC
  • US20260050967A1 patent drawing
  • US20260050967A1 patent drawing
  • US20260050967A1 patent drawing

AI summary

An online system generates a template shopping list for a user by accessing a machine learning model trained based on historical order information associated with the user, applying the model to predict likelihoods of conversion for item categories by the user, and populating the template shopping list with one or more item categories based on the predicted likelihoods. The system ranks one or more item types associated with each item category in the template shopping list and determines a set of collection rules associated with one or more item categories/types based on the historical order information. The system generates a suggested shopping list by populating each item category in the template shopping list with one or more item types and a quantity of each item type based on the ranking and rules and sends the suggested shopping list and rules for display to a client device associated with the user.