Smart Grocery Carts Are Here In Missouri

A new "smart" grocery cart is being rolled out in Missouri. While grocers like them because of their frictionless technology solutions and ways to offer up in-store retail media, there's no guarantee shoppers will think they're the best thing since sliced bread.

Grocery Dive says Caper Carts have artificial intelligence, cameras, sensors, and a built-in scale for automated product recognition. They also have screens that let users access personalized shopping experiences, track spending, and add their loyalty information to access coupons and deals.

The carts were rolled out at Price Chopper's Parkville store and a McKeever's Market & Eatery in Lee's Summit. Instacart, the company behind the Caper Carts, hopes to see a broader deployment of the carts in the next several months.

Grocery Dive says Instacart is positioning its smart carts to "make shopping an adventure" and boost personalized shopping experiences.

I don't know about you, but I don't want grocery shopping to be an adventure. I want to get into the store, get what I need, and get out. I also don't want to mess with technology and deal with whatever problems may come with the technology. I have enough problems trying to pull grocery carts apart from each other and find one that doesn't have a wonky wheel. The last thing I want to do at the grocery store is wrestle with technology.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like the idea of being able to place a deli or bakery order from my cart. If the store sells prepared meals, I could tell it that I'd like the eight-piece chicken dinner to take home and pick it up on the way out. That's cool, as is perhaps the cart's ability to keep a running total of how much my bill will be at check out. I'm hesitant about how many hoops I'll go through to get there.

The U.S. Sun reports some folks who have used the new carts aren't fans. One person posted on X that he or she couldn't use a handheld basket at Price Chopper and had to use the smart cart. When Shop Rite deployed the carts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, one fan of the store called them "cheap replacements," while another shopper said the changes were scary.

Change is hard, and sometimes, technology can be challenging to embrace. Mostly, though, grocery carts get beat up pretty well. Technology and roughness aren't always a good pairing, so we'll see what happens.