Two Missouri grocers adopt Instacart smart carts

Price Chopper and McKeever’s Market & Eatery have deployed AI-powered smart shopping carts by Instacart at select locations in Missouri, the San Francisco-based last-mile delivery company announced Monday.

The so-called Caper Carts enable shoppers to place items in their basket, skip the checkout, and have the bill charged directly to their bank account or credit card. 

Additionally, the carts feature an interactive screen that provides coupons and other deals through the grocers’ loyalty programs. They also give personalized recommendations and gamification options that reward shoppers who surpass a spending threshold. 

The two grocers plan a broader deployment in the coming months, but are launching at a Price Chopper in Parkville and a McKeever’s in Lee’s Summit, Instacart said. 

Tim Cosens, chief technology officer at McKeever's, said the new carts will help update the independently owned store. 

“We’re a home-grown grocery business committed to improving the shopping experience for customers across Kansas City,” said Tim Cosens, chief technology officer at McKeever’s. “Our adoption of Instacart’s AI-powered Caper Carts is a significant step towards modernizing how we serve our customers. This technology not only makes shopping more efficient but also helps customers effortlessly discover new products and stay on budget, all during a single visit.”

Related:Associated Wholesale Grocers now offering Instacart smart carts to grocery members

The partnership is Instacart’s most recent rollout of its smart shopping cart technology. In early May, Instacart announced it is deploying its Caper Carts at select Save Mart and Lucky stores over the course of 2024. 

In January, Instacart began piloting the digital ads feature on the smart carts at Good Food Holding’s Bristol Farms supermarkets in Southern California. Those initial test ads featured products from Instacart’s CPG partners Del Monte Foods, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, and General Mills. 

The company said in the January press release that Caper Carts are now deployed at Fairway Market, Geissler’s, ShopRite, and Sobeys.

Instacart faces growing competition in the smart-cart market. Amazon is developing its own smart carts and deploying them at Whole Foods Market locations. As of April, the online retail giant had begun using its Dash Cart technology at six Whole Foods locations.