Dive Brief:
- Instacart announced Thursday that it has added a new tool to its Caper Carts that helps SNAP shoppers manage their spending by tracking eligible items and providing a running total of purchases on the device’s screen.
- The tech company has also added other tools to its proprietary smart carts, including on-cart loyalty signup, a Cart Cash savings program and improved product recommendations.
- As retailers continue to size up smart carts, Instacart is adding budget-friendly features at a time when many consumers are closely watching their spending.
Dive Insight:
With the new features, Instacart aims to make it easier for smart cart users to access promotions and track their spending as they shop.
The company’s EBT SNAP tool allows users to simultaneously track running totals of both eligible and non-eligible items in real time, and builds on the company’s efforts to allow SNAP shoppers across the country to use SNAP benefits to pay for online purchases. When checking out, Caper Cart users scan a barcode on the cart’s screen and finalize payment with their EBT SNAP card.
Instacart’s new Cart Cash program, meanwhile, lets users earn cash back by achieving shopping milestones, like making a certain number of store purchases in a month, and clipping exclusive coupons. Shoppers can sign up for the program by joining a retailer’s loyalty program — a task they can now do on the cart’s screen by inputting their phone number or scanning a QR code. After users link their loyalty accounts on the Caper Carts, they can access features that incorporate their shopping preferences, like “buy again” and list building.
Instacart’s updates to Caper Cart aim to provide store in-store shoppers with many of the tools that its online shopping platform provides. The cart’s screen provides suggestions for items similar to those a shopper has bought and points users to nearby product deals as they move through the aisles. Instacart also pushes special discounts to shoppers after they check out that are redeemable on retailer e-commerce sites or apps built on the tech company’s technology.
Over the past year, Instacart has also added several other features to its Caper Carts, including gamification, on-screen advertising and location-based coupons.
In an interview last month, Instacart Chief Connected Stores Officer David McIntosh said the digital shopping experience and new savings tools have become key selling points for Caper Carts.
And yet, many retailers aren’t yet convinced that smart carts, which have been around for over 20 years, are ready for widespread adoption. Kroger, Schnuck Markets, Wakefern Food Corp. and Wegmans all offer Caper Carts in some of their stores, but none yet offer the carts chainwide.
Tech companies other than Instacart, like Veeve and Shopic, offer clip-on units that add smart-cart capabilities to regular grocery carts.
