When smart carts began entering grocery stores, they were first seen as bringing more convenience and speed to the in-store shopping experience. Skipping a long checkout line was the hook. It made intuitive sense because a long checkout line is the most friction-filled part of a grocery trip, and reducing it seemed like an obvious win for consumers and retailers alike.

But now, both the hardware and the on-cart intelligence have advanced to the point where Instacart’s AI-powered smart cart, Caper Cart, can perceive what's in the basket, where the shopper is, and what's on the shelf, and the shoppers purchase history – and act on it in the moment. This evolves the value proposition from just speed, into a personalized experience for the shopper that can save them money, time, and help make their shopping trip easier and more enjoyable. 

And it's already proven at scale. After rolling out thousands of Caper AI-powered smart carts across more than 100 cities, scaling deployment year over year, with retailers including Wakefern (ShopRite), Wegmans, Sprouts, and Schnucks, Caper Carts now handle an average of approximately 7,000 transactions a day. More than 1.6 billion orders have taught Instacart how people actually shop, and that expertise is what makes Caper Carts purpose-built for grocery.

The importance of certainty

A recent report from YouGov found over half of U.S. adults (53%) say they have a budget for 2026.¹ Traditionally, managing a budget meant shopping with restraint, holding back on items they’re uncertain about, putting things down rather than risking a checkout surprise. And a lot of mental math. 

When shopping with a smart cart, like Instacart’s Caper Carts, consumers see a running total that gets updated with each item they add. This completely eliminates the need for mental math. It provides consistent clarity and certainty so there’s no surprises at the register so they don’t have to shop with the same restraint or second-guessing. 

This running total has another benefit in that Caper carts have the ability to show, immediately, the savings of promotions or coupons because they’re applied right then and there without waiting for the cashier to scan or enter a code. Again, this provides certainty. Consumers can see the 12.99 item that’s 50% off hit the total at its reduced price. No need to remember to check a long bill at the end of the shop that all the coupons or promos went through.  

The compounding benefit of relevant promotions

About half of consumers shopping with a Caper Cart clip at least one coupon per trip, saving an average of $2.50 each time they shop, highlighting another key benefit of smart cart technology. 

A promotional offer delivered on the cart screen, when customers are logged into their loyalty account, can be highly personalized and contextual to the aisle they’re in, lands at exactly the right moment. It adds to the shopping experience with relevance and timing that can surprise and delight the consumer.

What this means for retailers

Caper AI powered smart carts provide certainty to consumers with a running total, surprise and delight with personalized and contextual promotions, and ultimately improve the in-store shopping experience. Our net promoter score survey data shows that over 80% of Caper cart customers are likely to recommend Caper to a friend.

So the self-checkout angle, framing smart carts as a way for retailers to save on labor while delivering speed and convenience to consumers may still apply. But the repeatedly proven value of Caper Carts is as a revenue, engagement, and loyalty play—

• Revenue. Caper Carts drive an average of 10% incremental increase in sales from increased frequency and bigger baskets, meaning more revenue for the retailers who have deployed them in their stores. They also provide additional ad revenue with more ad inventory that’s valuable for being personalized and contextual. 

• Engagement. Consumers spend an average of more than 30 minutes per session actively engaged with the cart screen. That is 30 minutes of attentive, in-aisle interaction with personalized content. 

• Loyalty. 95%+ of shops using Caper Carts are completed by a logged-in loyalty member, meaning the vast majority of in-store cart activity is tied to a known consumer identity, making every trip measurable. 

This distinction matters for how retailers should think about deployment, measurement, and the opportunity ahead. 

Interested in learning more? Reach out HERE.

¹YouGov. (2026) U.S. consumer spending and budgeting trends in 2026

^{Source Instacart data. Revenue, engagement, loyalty results are based on Caper’s average year-to-date performance across stores as of March 2026. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.}