Instacart’s AI-powered shopping cart makes shopping an afterthought
Shopping as a game without checkout lines could make a sometimes tedious errand more bearable thanks to an AI injection into Instacart’s Caper Carts. Instacart has expanded its smart grocery carts with new AI features. They offer a touchscreen that provides navigation guidance for the products you’re looking for, as well as personalized recommendations, discounts, and even a way to turn shopping into a treasure hunt game of sorts.
Instacart created the Caper Carts to skip the need for checkout lines. They have cameras, a scale and other sensors to evaluate the items placed inside, while the screen lets you know what the shopping cart thinks you just took off the shelf using Nvidia’s AI libraries of information about products plus it On-device AI processing platform. You can buy everything before you even get to the front of the store and just walk out when you’re done.
However, the AI in the new Caper Cart offers much more than just faster checkout. They come with real-time location tracking to record where you are and direct you to what you want to buy. You can upload your shopping list to the cart using a QR code in the Instacart app, which will then display it on the cart screen. The same can also be done for products that are on sale and that pique your interest, by offering discounts based on your location.
If you want more fun in your shopping tasks, there’s always gamification. The Caper Cart has a feature that allows you to create searches for items on your shopping list, as if you were in a video game. There are also real prizes. Adding one item to your cart can lead to products with additional discounts related to what you purchase, such as an additional percentage discount on soda when purchasing disposable cups. Anything that leads to more purchases will of course make grocery store owners happy, even if the Caper Cart is more expensive than the traditional metal basket.
“Caper Carts usher in a new era in grocery – making shopping more enjoyable while providing a seamless experience for customers, retailers and brands,” said David McIntosh, Instacart Chief Connected Stores Officer. “With Caper Cart’s digital display, we now offer an unparalleled omnichannel experience for retailers and brands in-store. Today’s news is further evidence of how we are truly transforming grocery shopping from a chore to a fun adventure, giving customers a unique, interactive experience in every aisle of the grocery store.”
Grocers may find the Caper Cart attractive not only because it makes shopping faster for customers, but also because of the on-screen advertising option they can use for in-store promotions and sponsored product recommendations from brands with in-store products. This creates a kind of mobile impulse purchasing path. More than 70 locations have rolled out Caper Carts, including major supermarket chains such as Fairway Market, Kroger and ShopRite, as well as ALDI stores in Austria.