Here’s What It’s Like to Use an AI Shopping Cart

First supermarket, city Piggly Wiggly in Memphisopened its doors in 1916. For the first time, people could wander through a store and select items from the shelf, rather than handing a list to a salesperson who would put everything together for them—usually without any choice of brand or style. Buying groceries remains a daily or weekly ritual for most people, and it can be quite a chore, especially if you shopping for a large family. My own shopping lists aren't that long, but I still find myself juggling my phone and a piece of paper as I walk around the store, checking digital coupons and trying to do quick math. So when I read that one local grocery store (ShopRite) was introducing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart shopping carts, I was intrigued.

I'm naturally skeptical of many AI tools, but grocery shopping struck me as a place where a little digital help could come in handy. So I went to see if these fancy new carts would provide any real benefit or just a lot of targeted advertising.

What are caper carts?

We're talking about carts. Caper cartswhich belongs instacart. They are quite large, tank-like, and hard to push.

To use these carts, you need to have an account with ShopRite as they use your phone number to track your purchases; For convenience, you can save a credit card or other form of payment there, but this is not necessary. When you walk into the store, there are caper carts right outside the entrance. When you pull one out, the screen allows you to enter your phone number and then offers a (thankfully brief) tutorial.

Welcome screen in the AI ​​shopping cart.
Credit: Jeff Somers

Login Screen
Credit: Jeff Somers

The carts have barcode scanners mounted on either side of the back of the cart, and the cart itself is a scale that both ensures you've scanned everything in the cart and allows you to calculate the cost of bulk products. If you've ever used a self-checkout at a grocery store, it's like this: You bring items to scanners and then drop them into your cart. For groceries, you search for what you're buying and then throw it into your cart, where it's weighed and added to your total. Along the way, the cart will search for potential coupons or offers that might be of interest to you. Optionally, carts can import your shopping lists from the store app, as well as track your loyalty points and rewards.

How to use the caper cart

The first caper cart I chose didn't work; nothing was scanned, no matter how I brought objects to the scanners. It wasn't a big deal – I told the store staff, got out of the cart and got another one. The second cart worked great.

Caper Cart screen while shopping
Credit: Jeff Somers

These carts are quite heavy, and the second cart I used had a loose wheel that made it rattle loudly when I walked through the aisles – you're not going to be racing these carts and jumping on them for a quick slide. When I tossed an item into my cart without scanning it, the cart politely showed me a video of me putting the item in (creepy) and asked if I wanted to admit to adding something to my cart. However, this gave me the ability to declare a “personal item”, which is a robust feature.

If you try to add an unscanned item to your cart, a video will appear.
Credit: Jeff Somers

I forgot to put the shopping bags in the cart because I tend to be stupid. You have to collect things as you go, which saves you time; I had to pack my things after placing my order, which didn't save me any time. On the other hand, I don't always shop in packing order, so packing as I go can result in some of my items getting crushed under heavier products or me having to rearrange everything mid-shopping. I like to put things together at the end when I can make a decision on how to organize everything optimally.

If you change your mind about an item, simply remove it from your cart. The Caper system will notice and remove this item from your account.

When you're done, simply click “Checkout” and proceed to the checkout area.

Checkout with Caper Trolley
Credit: Jeff Somers

This will vary depending on the specific store you're in: Some stores don't have Caper cart checkouts, but this ShopRite did. There was only one lane for Caper Carts and I had to wait behind someone while they came out. I then scanned the barcode on the screen with the gun and tapped the card to pay while the security guard hovered nearby, presumably to discourage people from running after it.

Barcode for placing an order using Caper Cart
Credit: Jeff Somers

Scanning the checkout barcode on the Caper Cart
Credit: Jeff Somers

Overall, the AI ​​shopping cart experience was a slight improvement over regular grocery shopping. Packing on the go is convenient, and ordering is a little easier since you scan one barcode instead of two dozen. I didn't get many personalized coupons or recipe offers because it was my first time using the system, but I can see how it could be very useful if the cart could find coupons or offers that I missed.

A few specific notes:

• Cart Maybe accidentally scan the barcode if you get close to the shelf, which can cause confusion, although the cart will quickly remove it if the weight doesn't change.

• As noted above, the carts are quite heavy. If you're going to buy a lot of groceries at once, it can be quite a workout.

• Adding products can be a little tricky: you need to find the “price lookup” (PLU) code for the specific product you're adding, then scan or enter it on the screen before adding it to your cart. This means that sometimes you have to search for those little stickers and enter a bunch of numbers into the cart over and over again.

• Seeing your overall spending in real time is helpful, especially if you're tracking expenses. If an item costs more than expected, you'll see it right away, and if the total cost is higher than expected, you have time to adjust your selection. to you go to the cash register.

• Since you have to go through the checkout lane as usual (and there was only one dedicated lane for Caper Carts), during peak hours you may have to wait a long time to leave the store, which kind of negates the convenience factor. Of course, as more people use these carts, ShopRite may add more dedicated Caper lanes.

Depending on how you shop for groceries, these AI shopping carts might be worth a try, but don't expect a revolutionary experience.