Instacart's Caper Carts Roll Into Philadelphia-Area ShopRite Stores
ShopRite shoppers in the Philadelphia area now have access to new technology designed to help ease their grocery shopping trip.
Through an agreement with Wakefern Food Corp. and Instacart, the latter’s new Caper Carts have rolled into four ShopRite stores in and around the City of Brotherly Love.
Stores with the new high-tech carts are the ShopRites of Morrell Plaza, Bridge & Harbison, Brookhaven, and the ShopRite of Drexeline. The carts are also planned for a new ShopRite store expected to open in Mount Kisco, N.Y., later this year.
“Customers tell us they love the cart’s interactive features, like its coupon capabilities, lights, and sounds, and kids particularly enjoy spinning the gamified coupon wheel for a chance to win discounts right before checkout,” said David McIntosh, vice president and general manager of Connected Stores at Instacart. “For retailers – like Wakefern’s Member-owned stores – Caper Carts seamlessly plug into their operations and are uniquely customized to their brand and needs.”
In May 2024, the AI-powered shopping carts arrived at ShopRite in Hoboken, N.J. To date, 11 ShopRite stores have added Instacart’s smart shopping carts as another option for customers, and Wakefern expects more of its members to adopt the technology over the next year.
“Shoppers are excited about the technology and embracing it in the stores that are using the Caper Carts,” said Charlie McWeeney, vice president of Technology, Digital and Retail at Wakefern. “It’s another tool our Wakefern members can offer their customers who are looking for smart, convenient ways to shop and check out.”
Caper Carts are equipped with an interactive screen and AI features that allow customers to scan items as they shop, manage their budget in real time, and check out seamlessly. The smart cart uses sensors, computer vision technology, and built-in scales to scan items and weigh produce as they are placed in the cart. The cart also allows customers to link their ShopRite Price Plus membership to apply in-store savings and deals. To checkout, customers simply scan the barcode displayed on the cart’s screen at the store’s self-checkout area.
