In a novel twist on e-commerce, Kroger is working with GE Appliances to allow people to shop for groceries directly from an oven.
Certain GE wall ovens and slide-in ranges now allow users to peruse recipes provided by Kroger and other companies on a built-in touchscreen, according to a Wednesday announcement from the cooking equipment manufacturer. People can then review a list of the ingredients a recipe calls for and put the items in their online cart for a Kroger-owned banner.
The new shoppable recipe feature is included in an update that GE is distributing to Wi-Fi-connected ovens and ranges in its Profile, Cafe and Monogram lines. More than 150,000 consumers have equipment compatible with the update, GE said, adding that people scan a QR code to link their online grocery account to their oven.
In August, GE rolled out the ability for users of some of its ovens to direct the appliance to develop custom recipes based on ingredients they have on hand. The feature, which is linked with the company’s SmartHQ app, uses Vertex AI, a generative artificial intelligence platform from Google Cloud.
Kroger’s tie-up with GE reflects a growing interest among supermarket operators to let shoppers prepare online grocery orders as they interact digitally with recipes.
In November, Albertsons and Chicory said they had started allowing people who use the advertising company’s recipe network to place items directly into their online carts for several Albertsons banners. Other retailers, including Walmart and Reasor’s, have also developed shoppable content designed to encourage people to use their digital platforms to purchase groceries.
In 2020, Kroger began a partnership with smart food platform Whisk, now known as Samsung Food, to allow shoppers to order recipe ingredients online through stores run by the grocer. Also that year, Kroger introduced a feature on X, formerly known as Twitter, that uses image-recognition technology to provide people with recipes based on photos of ingredients they provide.
GE, which is owned by Chinese appliance company Haier, is not the only appliance company to embrace shoppable recipe capabilities. For example, Samsung also lets people add items to their cart from a refrigerator or range using its Family Hub system. Blender maker Thermomix’s meal-planning platform also includes a shoppable recipe feature.
