Instacart has announced the arrival of enhanced smart shopping carts at the ShopRite of Spotswood in New Jersey, with a planned launch in the coming weeks at Fairway Market in Kips Bay/Manhattan, New York.
The updated Caper Cart recognizes and rings up groceries, provides tailored shopping recommendations and lets customers check out from the cart.
It builds on deployments at other stores and is slimmer, lighter and holds 65 percent more than the previous version. It also offers stacked charging, meaning retailers don’t have to charge carts or swap out batteries.
“We’re delighted to work with Instacart to bring this innovative technology to our customers at some of our stores,” said Cheryl Williams, chief information officer at Wakefern Food Corp., the retailer-owned cooperative with banners that include ShopRite and Fairway Market.
“Our goal is to offer our customers the best possible shopping experience, and the new, enhanced Caper Cart streamlines the shopping and checkout process while offering new opportunities to engage with customers at the point of purchase.”
Powered by AI and computer vision technology, the Caper Cart recognizes and scans items as they are placed in it, with a running total shown on the screen. To check out, customers scan the barcode displayed on its screen at the self-checkout area.
Caper Cart offers increased personalization; once activated, this will allow customers to link their ShopRite loyalty accounts to the screen for digital coupons.
David McIntosh, VP and general manager of connected stores at Instacart, said in a statement that customers’ shopping preferences are evolving, “demanding greater convenience and personalization in physical stores.”
“To meet these changing expectations, we’re committed to developing innovative solutions that connect the best of online shopping with in-store technologies, creating a truly unified shopping experience,” he said.
“This expansion will elevate the in-store shopping experience, providing customers with a personalized and seamless experience.”
ShopRite began piloting Caper Cart technology in 2022, and ShopRite and Fairway Market are also available retailers through Instacart’s e-commerce platform. As part of Connected Stores, Caper Cart is another Instacart Platform technology helping grocers bridge the online and in-store shopping experience.
