New Jersey ShopRite and New York Fairway Market launch AI-powered carts from Instacart

Instacart’s smart shopping cart – the Caper Cart — is coming to the ShopRite of Spotswood in New Jersey, and a planned launch will happen in the coming weeks at Fairway Market located in Kips Bay in Manhattan, N.Y. The Caper Cart automatically recognizes and rings up groceries, provides shopping recommendations, and allows customers to check out directly from the Cart. 

To get started, customers at the ShopRite of Spotswood and the Fairway Market in New York City can grab a Caper Cart at the front end of the store. Powered by AI and computer-vision technology, the Caper Cart recognizes and scans items as they are placed in the Cart, allowing customers to stay on budget with a running total shown on the screen. To checkout, customers scan the barcode displayed on the Cart's screen at the store’s self-checkout area.

The newest Caper Cart holds 65% more than the previous version – and also offers stacked charging, meaning retailers don’t have to charge carts individually or swap out batteries. Caper Cart also offers increased personalization, once activated this will allow customers to link their ShopRite loyalty account directly to the screen to apply digital coupons to the Caper Cart technology.

ShopRite began piloting Caper Cart technology in 2022, and ShopRite and Fairway Market are also available retailers through Instacart’s ecommerce platform.