SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2023 – Schnuck Markets, Inc. and Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced the companies will expand their omnichannel partnership by deploying Caper Carts, Instacart’s smart carts, in select stores. Caper Carts automatically identify items as they are added to the cart using computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI), allowing customers to bag as they shop, skip the line and seamlessly checkout on the Cart from anywhere in the store. Caper Carts will first roll out at select Schnucks St. Louis stores this fall, with a broader planned rollout later this year following successful initial deployments.
“As a third and fourth generation, family-owned grocer, we’re always thinking about how we can best serve our customers while also driving the digital transformation of the grocery industry. As part of that effort, we’re proud to deepen our partnership with Instacart and further bridge the gap between in-store and online shopping for Schnucks customers,” said Chace MacMullan, Senior Director of Digital Experience at Schnucks. “We believe the future of grocery will lean heavily into personalization – whether it’s achieved through in-store smart carts or by providing the best possible e-commerce experience for our customers. We aim to make customers feel like each shopping experience was custom-made for them, and we’re excited to take another big step forward with the rollout of this pilot of Instacart’s Caper Carts.”
For the first time, select Caper Carts will feature a bottom rack for bulky and heavy items. In addition to fully automated Caper Carts that automatically detect items as they are placed in the cart, Schnucks will also be testing a Lite version, where customers manually scan items before placing them in the Cart. Caper Carts can be wirelessly upgraded with new features and are the only smart cart on the market to offer stacked charging so that they do not have to be plugged in individually or undergo labor intensive battery swaps.
Source: Insta Cart
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