SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Schnuck Markets and Instacart recently announced an expansion of their omnichannel partnership by deploying Caper Carts, Instacart’s smart carts, in select stores.

“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.”

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, Missouri, stores this fall, with a broader planned rollout later this year following successful initial deployments.

For the first time, select Caper Carts will feature a bottom rack for bulky and heavy items. Schnucks will also be testing a Lite version, where customers manually scan items before placing them in the cart.

“We’re proud to partner with Schnucks on their rollout of Instacart's Caper Carts, which bring together the best of online and in-store shopping to spearhead their digital transformation and create a truly convenient and personalized experience for customers,” said David McIntosh, Vice President and General Manager of Connected Stores at Instacart. “With this launch, Schnucks is building on their existing Instacart-powered offerings across e-commerce, ads, electronic shelf labels (ESLs), and more—redefining in-store shopping and checkout for customers. At Instacart, we’re committed to developing new and innovative technologies that help retailers seamlessly create a unified commerce experience, and are excited to work with Schnucks to reimagine the future of grocery together.”

Learn more about this expanded partnership here.

ANUK will keep a read on the wires for more retail updates.

Schnuck Markets