Instacart SmartCar: supermarkets become smart.
The Caper Cart has sensors that can detect what you put in it, plus a touch screen and built-in payment system for self-checkout.
It is no secret that digitization is gaining more and more space in our lives in order to facilitate and speed up our daily tasks, and going to the supermarket is no exception.
Currently, we hear about terms such as smart car, smartphone, smarthome, among others; why not a smart cart? A smart cart is a shopping cart that is very similar to a traditional cart but that offers you many advantages designed to make shopping a friendly, fluid and efficient process. But, before we delve into this, let's give you a bit of context.
Instacart
Instacart is a popular grocery delivery app available to use through Instacart.com, the Instacart app for Apple, and Instacart for Android in Canada and the United States. Through it, you can order your groceries online using your laptop or your mobile phone.
The company was founded in 2012 by CEO Apoorva Mehta, along with co-founders Max Mullen and Brandon Leonardo, to help consumers get better access to fresh food, pantry staples, home essentials and more supermarket products. Since then, Instacart has become a leading name in grocery delivery, easily outperforming competitors like Amazon delivery franchises Kroger Delivery and Shipt.
The brand offers delivery from local stores and popular chains like Publix, Aldi, Costco, Kroger and Sprouts, all to make your life a little easier. Also, Instacart has a variety of different grocery stores. Exact stores are determined by region. Popular stores for Instacart include Whole Foods, Wegmans, Costco, Kroger, Safeway, and Petco.
Cape Cart (smartcart)
Grocery delivery service Instacart plans to move regular shoppers into what they call "Connected Stores", thus expanding into the market of those who prefer to go straight to the store and this is where the magic begins.
The company offers a smart shopping cart with built-in support for you to manage your shopping lists and you can also make your payment directly from there without waiting. The "Cape Cart" is able to detect which items on your list are placed inside it and select them in the mobile app. There are older versions currently in operation at select Kroger stores, but they were made before Instacart acquired Caper AI a year ago.
The new cart is slimmer, lighter and can hold 65 percent more products, according to Instacart. The company claims that it is the only smart car that can recharge its batteries by stacking cars instead of having to replace them. They also receive software updates constantly.
On the face of it, this contradicts the main goal of Instacart's delivery service: taking the hassle out of having to go to the store. But as demand for online delivery services go down and hurts the bottom line for companies like Instacart, Uber, and DoorDash, the company decided to shift its focus and integrate technologies that will make your shopping experience smooth, seamless, and truly enjoyable.
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