Will All Stores Have These A.I. Shopping Carts Soon? | K102

Instacart has been testing A.I.-powered shopping carts that might change the way we shop. They do a lot more than just hold groceries.

There’s a touchscreen to keep track of your shopping list, a scale to weigh vegetables and a scanner that automatically tracks what you’re buying and adds it all up.

Once you’re done, you don’t need to scan everything at the register. It just tells the cashier your total, or you can pay on the cart itself.

It’s not a brand-new idea. A company called Caper A.I. launched the carts in 2019. Then Kroger stores started testing them in 2021, and Instacart bought the company for $350 MILLION the same year.

More major retailers recently started rolling them out, including Shoprite and Schnucks. So they might be something more and more of us start seeing at supermarkets soon.

A reporter in New York tried one the other day and liked it, but did say they’re a little bulkier and harder to maneuver than normal carts.