Not Walmart or Costco, this is the supermarket chain where you can now use the revolutionary AI smart carts

Shoppers at Wegmans Dewitt in Syracuse, New York will have the opportunity to experience the future of buying groceries with the first rollout of Caper Carts at the supermarket chain. The AI-powered smart carts will allow Wegmans customers to login to their account and track what they are purchasing as they pull items off the shelves.

The Caper Carts automatically recognize items as they are placed in the cart letting customers bag their groceries as they go to provide a more seamless shopping experience and avoid having to wait in line at the check-out. The Syracuse location is one of four of the supermarket chain’s locations testing smart cart technology but the only one with Caper Carts.

How do the Caper Carts work?

Instacart, the grocery technology firm behind Caper Carts, said in a press release that their AI-powered carts are part of “its suite of technologies bridging the online and in-store experience” called Instacart Connected Stores.

Using a touchscreen on the high-tech cart, customers can log into their Shoppers Club account to get started. The smart carts contain an array of cameras that automatically scan the items as they are placed into them aided by location sensors connected to NVIDIA Jetson hardware. Additionally, the Caper Carts have a digital scale for produce items.

Not only does the AI-powered cart track what customers will be spending to help them budget but it will also give them access to their loyalty program account and let them pay directly from the cart.

“Caper Carts are transforming everyday grocery shopping into a faster, more personalized experience,” said Instacart Chief Connected Stores Officer David McIntosh in a statement.

The other Wegmans stores that are experimenting with another smart cart system are in Perinton and Pittsford in Rochester, and Alberta Drive in Buffalo a representative told Food & Wine.

“Smart shopping carts [are] an early-stage technology that we believe could be offered to our customers as an alternative way to shop in our stores in the future,” the spokesperson explained. “We are limiting the program to these stores as we gather customer feedback to drive improvements.”

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