Retailers Expand Use of Instacart’s Smart Carts
Wakefern Food Corp., a supermarket co-op and parent company of ShopRite, Price Chopper and The Fresh Grocer, is rolling out more AI-powered smart carts from Instacart at its stores.
Wakefern began adding Caper Carts to four ShopRite stores in Philadelphia and the surrounding area (e.g., Morrell Plaza, Brookhaven and Drexeline) in June, following a May rollout to a ShopRite in Hoboken, New Jersey.
To date, 11 ShopRite stores have added the smart shopping carts, and Wakefern expects more of its members to adopt the technology over the next year, according to a media release. The carts are also planned for a new ShopRite store expected to open in Mount Kisco, New York, later this year.
"Customers tell us they love the cart's interactive features, like its coupon capabilities, lights, and sounds, and kids particularly enjoy spinning the gamified coupon wheel for a chance to win discounts right before checkout,” David McIntosh, vice president and general manager of Connected Stores at Instacart, said in the release. “For retailers — like Wakefern's Member-owned stores — Caper Carts seamlessly plug into their operations and are uniquely customized to their brand and needs.”
In addition, Price Chopper and McKeever's Market & Eatery also launched Caper Carts at select stores in Missouri. (Price Chopper's 52 Kansas City stores are locally and family owned.) The carts are available starting at Price Chopper in Parkville and McKeever's Market & Eatery in Lee's Summit, followed by a broader deployment in the coming months.
[Also Read: Instacart Brings Digital Ads to Smart Carts]
"We're a home-grown grocery business committed to improving the shopping experience for customers across Kansas City,” Tim Cosens, chief technology officer at McKeever's, said in a media release. "Our adoption of [Caper Carts] is a significant step towards modernizing how we serve our customers.”
"Customers are increasingly choosing stores equipped with our Caper Carts, where they typically spend about 30 minutes shopping with the cart per visit. And now, we're expecting similar enthusiasm at both McKeever's Market & Eatery and Price Chopper," McIntosh added.
As part of Connected Stores, Caper Cart is another Instacart Platform technology created to help grocers bring together the best elements of online ordering and in-store shopping for consumers.
