Dive Brief:
- Instacart announced Thursday it has rolled out its newest Caper Cart model to the ShopRite store in Spotswood, New Jersey, and Fairway Market Kips Bay location in the New York City borough of Manhattan.
- The smart cart is already in use at the ShopRite store, while the Fairway Market store will debut the offering “in the coming weeks,” per the announcement.
- Instacart noted that Wakefern Food Corp is its first-ever retailer partner to deploy its new Caper Carts in stores.
Dive Insight:
Instacart positioned the addition of Caper Carts to the two stores as a way for consumers to save money and find discounts and promotions more easily.
The cart uses scales, sensors, artificial intelligence and computer vision to recognize and scan items as shoppers select them. A touch screen allows consumers to see a running tab of what they’ve placed in the cart and find tailored shopping recommendations, per the press release. Customers using Caper Carts can access their ShopRite loyalty accounts to view deals, according to the announcement.
To check out, shoppers can scan a barcode displayed on the cart screen at the self-checkout area.
The new model of the Caper Carts is “slimmer and lighter” and holds 65% more items than the previous model, Instacart said. The upgraded smart cart also offers stacked charging so that retailers don’t have to charge carts individually or swap out batteries.
“Customers’ shopping preferences are rapidly evolving, demanding greater convenience and personalization in physical stores. ... This expansion will elevate the in-store shopping experience, providing customers with a personalized and seamless experience,” David McIntosh, vice president and general manager of connected stores at Instacart, said in the announcement.
McIntosh also said that the smart carts help Instacart offer retailers a “unified shopping experience” that connects online shopping with in-store technologies.
Instacart bought Caper AI, the maker of the smart cart, for $350 million in 2021 and included the smart carts among a suite of retailer services called Instacart Platform, which it unveiled in March 2022. In February, Instacart started offering remote management via tablet for its smart carts to better support auditing and real-time tracking of shopping behavior.
As food retailers and technology providers increasingly turn to omnichannel solutions, Instacart noted that its Caper Cart offerings help grocers bridge the online and in-store shopping experience. ShopRite first began piloting Caper Cart technology in 2022, per the announcement.
