Price Chopper and McKeever's Market & Eatery have deployed AI-powered smart shopping carts through Instacart to select locations in Missouri, the San Francisco-based last-mile delivery company announced Monday.
So-called Keeper Carts enable shoppers to place items in their cart, skip 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 grocer's loyalty program. They also offer personalized recommendations and gamification options that reward shoppers who exceed spending limits.
Instacart said both grocers plan broader deployments in the coming months, but are launching at a Price Chopper in Parkville and a McCuever in Lee's Summit.
Tim Cosens, chief technology officer for McKeever's, said the new carts will help update the independently owned store.
“We'A home-grown grocery business committed to improving the shopping experience for all Kansas City customers, said Tim Cousins, Chief Technology Officer of McKeever.'s “Our take on Instacart's AI-powered Caper Carts is an important step towards modernizing the way we serve our customers. This technology not only makes shopping more efficient, but also helps customers easily find new products and stay on budget, all during a single visit.”
The partnership is Instacart's latest rollout of its smart shopping cart technology. In early May, Instacart announced it was deploying its Keeper Carts at select SaveMart and Lucky stores through 2024.
In January, Instacart launched a digital advertising feature on smart carts at Good Food Holding's Bristol Farms supermarkets in Southern California. These initial test ads featured products from Instacart's CPG partners Del Monte Foods, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, and General Mills.
Keeper Carts are now deployed at Fairway Market, Geisler, ShopRite and Sobeys, the company said in a January press release.
Instacart faces increasing competition in the smart cart market. Amazon is rolling out its own smart carts and deploying them at Whole Foods Market locations. As of April, the online retail giant had begun using its DashCart technology at six Whole Foods locations.