Instacart launches gamification in smart carts

Last-mile delivery service Instacart has updated its Caper Carts with interactive mini-games, encouraging its customers to engage with the carts by playing gamified quests to discover deals and new products in the store.

The San Francisco-based company also launched location-based coupons and ads that appear on the carts’ digital screen alerting shoppers to deals based on which aisle they’re in within the store.

The new tech aims to personalize the shopping experience, enabling brands to promote their products as shoppers make their way through the store.

Schnuck Markets and Wakefern Food Corp. are the first grocers to feature the new tech, offering ads and digital coupons from brands like PepsiCo and General Mills.

The games will reward shoppers for engaging in treasure hunt-style games, where they discover flash deals and earn credits, such as $10 off their next visit. Some credits can be used in the store during the shopping trip in which they were earned.

“For example, when a customer rolls into the bakery department, Caper Cart’s digital screen will surface a coupon for a dollar off a box of muffins and notify the customer with an alert. This builds on Instacart’s current coupon offering, where more than 40% of Caper Cart users clip coupons,” Instacart said in a press release.

David McIntosh, chief connected stores officer at Instacart, said the company has more than tripled its deployment of Caper Carts over the last six months.

“Today’s news is further proof of how we’re truly transforming grocery shopping from a chore to a fun adventure, giving customers a one-of-a-kind, interactive experience in every aisle of the grocery store,” McIntosh said.