Carrefour Belgium to test Instacart’s smart shopping cart

Carrefour Belgium will be testing the AI-powered Caper shopping carts from the American company Instacart. These smart carts promise to bring the convenience of online shopping to brick-and-mortar supermarkets.

Shopping convenience and commercial potential

The intelligent shopping cart, customized to match Carrefour’s brand identity, was already on display this week at the retailer’s fall trade show, where several other notable innovations were showcased. The retailer will test Instacart’s Caper Cart in two stores in Waterloo: one company-owned location (the hypermarket) and one franchised Carrefour Market.

The AI-powered shopping carts automatically recognize items as soon as shoppers place them in the cart. Fresh produce is automatically weighed. The touchscreen displays the total amount in the shopping cart to help customers stay within their budget. Payment can be made easily at a customized self-checkout lane. In this way, the technology enhances the shopping experience. In addition, the carts offer potential for personalized ads, product recommendations, special offers, and gamification, which should also boost sales.

Earlier this summer, the British supermarket chain Morrisons also announced that it would begin using Caper shopping carts at a supermarket in Preston, in the northwest of England. Amazon also has a smart shopping cart, the Dash Cart. In Belgium, Colruyt developed a similar “Smart Cart” in-house, which is already being tested in stores in Halle, Kessel-Lo, and Waterloo.