Wave of Grocers Adopt Instacart's In-Store Technologies
Caper Carts
Multiple local and independent grocers, including Bowman's Market, Maurer's Market IGA, Neiman's Family Market, Queen's Price Chopper and Soelbergs Market, are adopting Caper Carts, Instacart's AI-powered smart carts, across their stores. These stores operate across Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington state.
This move signifies a growing trend among independent grocers to embrace and integrate technology that enhances and personalizes the in-store experience. Caper Carts are equipped with cameras, sensors and a built-in scale, which work together with an edge AI system to automatically recognize items as they are placed in the cart (aka at the “edge”). Once added, they are able to watch their running cost total, similar to an online shopping cart, Instacart said in a media release.
Additionally, Instacart also just revealed that Australian retailer Coles Supermarkets will adopt Caper Carts, or "smart trolleys" as they're known in the country, in Melbourne, starting in early 2025 with its Richmond Traders location in Victoria. This launch with Coles Supermarkets marks Instacart's first retail partnership that brings Caper Carts to the Asia-Pacific region.
Caper Carts also feature an interactive screen that tracks spending, provides access to deals and offers product recommendations based on the customer's location in the store and the carts' contents. Integrated with retailers' existing loyalty programs, Caper Carts allow customers to access personalized promotions and rewards throughout their shopping journey. The carts reward shoppers with automatic discounts, including digital coupons, as their basket value grows. At the end of their shopping, customers can checkout directly from the cart.
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"Over the past year, we've seen a wave of innovative, independent grocers adopting Caper Carts," Nick Nickitas, general manager, local independent grocery at Instacart, said in the release. "Caper Carts are enhancing the in-store grocery shopping experience by boosting sales, increasing the visibility of promotions and affordability, and creating new advertising opportunities for retailers through the engaging digital screen."
Caper Carts are part of Instacart's Connected Stores suite of technologies, including Storefront, Carrot Ads, Eversight and Carrot Tags, designed to bridge the online and in-store shopping experience for both retailers and customers.
Carrot Tags
Aldi, Gelson's and Hornbacher's are among the new grocers connecting their electronic shelf labels (ESL) hardware to Carrot Tags' pick to light functionality. The functionality enables Instacart couriers (also called “Instacart Shoppers”) to activate items from their picking list within the Instacart app to trigger a flash on the corresponding ESL.
Implementing Carrot Tags allows retailers to integrate the functionality with other Instacart Connected Store technologies, according to a media release. Looking ahead, pick to light functionality will be available to consumers for the first time on their shopping list via In-Store Mode on the Instacart App and Storefront Pro. Instacart is also planning to extend pick to light to Caper Carts which will enable customers to flash items — whether it's from their shopping list or an ad or coupon they saw — directly from their cart.
Aldi, Gelson's and Hornbacher's are the latest retailers to roll out Carrot Tags following a recent chainwide rollout at Schnucks earlier this year.
"It's incredible to witness the momentum we're seeing among retailers adopting Carrot Tags and how it's transforming the experience for e-commerce shoppers fulfilling orders in-store," David McIntosh, chief Connected Stores officer at Instacart, said in the release.