ShopRite, Fairway stores debut newest Instacart smart carts
Two banners of Wakefern Food Corp. are introducing the newest model of Instacart’s Caper Cart smart cart solution.
A ShopRite store in Spotswood, N.J. currently offers the new Caper Cart, and a Fairway Market located in Manhattan will launch the smart cart device in the coming weeks. The new and enhanced Caper Cart automatically recognizes and rings up groceries, provides tailored shopping recommendations, and enables customers to check out directly from the cart.
Caper Cart, an AI-powered smart cart Instacart acquired in October 2021, is equipped with scales, sensors, touchscreens, and computer vision technology. The screen helps shoppers navigate the store, and proprietary scanless technology allows customers to drop them in the cart to be checked off a premade online list. Shoppers can bag as they go, and check out right from the cart.
Instacart has previously updated the Caper Cart in September 2022, and initially released its latest upgrade in February 2023. To get started, customers at the select ShopRite and Fairway Market locations can obtain a Caper Cart at the front end of the store.
The Caper Cart recognizes and scans items as they are placed in it, allowing customers to track running total shown on the screen. To check out, customers scan the barcode displayed on the cart's screen at the store’s self-checkout area.
The newest Caper Cart builds on existing deployments at other stores and is slimmer, lighter and holds 65% more than the previous version. It also offers stacked charging, meaning retailers don’t have to charge carts individually or swap out batteries.
The latest Caper Cart model also offers increased personalization, once activated this will allow customers to link their ShopRite loyalty account directly to the screen to apply digital coupons via the cart interface. ShopRite began piloting Caper Cart technology in 2022, and ShopRite and Fairway Market also offer online delivery via Instacart.
"We're delighted to work with Instacart to bring this innovative technology to our customers at some of our stores," said Cheryl Williams, CIO at Wakefern Food Corp. "Our goal is to offer our customers the best possible shopping experience, and the new, enhanced Caper Cart streamlines the shopping and check out process while offering new opportunities to engage with customers at the point of purchase.”
"Customers' shopping preferences are rapidly evolving, demanding greater convenience and personalization in physical stores. To meet these changing expectations, we’re committed to developing innovative solutions that connect the best of online shopping with in-store technologies, creating a truly unified shopping experience," said David McIntosh, VP and GM of Connected Stores at Instacart. "We’re thrilled to extend our partnership with Wakefern Food Corp. by bringing our newest Caper Carts to the ShopRite of Spotswood and Fairway Market in New York City. This expansion will elevate the in-store shopping experience, providing customers with a personalized and seamless experience.”
Founded in 1946, Wakefern Food Corp. comprises nearly 50 member families who today independently own and operate 360 supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage and Fairway Market banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Instacart partners with more than 1,100 retailers to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America.