New product lineup spans first-of-its-kind
gamification, personalized offers, and advertising to give
customers a more seamless shopping experience
Select capabilities are rolling out in
partnership with retailers like Schnucks and Wakefern Food Corp.,
and brands including General Mills and PepsiCo
Instacart's new survey findings show consumers
crave AI-powered savings, with 83 percent ready for smart
carts
SAN
FRANCISCO, Oct. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Instacart
(Nasdaq: CART), the leading grocery technology company in
North America, today announced the
launch of three new Caper Cart capabilities – gamified quests,
location-based coupons, and aisle-aware advertising formats. These
new offerings build on the AI-powered smart cart's capabilities to
make grocery shopping more delightful and personalized via its
digital screen, allowing brands and retailers to engage with
customers as they shop in-store. These capabilities are rolling out
now to retailers like Schnucks and Wakefern Food Corp., in
partnership with brands including General Mills and PepsiCo.
Launching fun, in-store gamified quests on Caper
Carts
New gamified quests make grocery shopping feel like an
adventure. Quests are interactive mini-games that customers can
complete using a Caper Cart, creating an even more enjoyable and
rewarding shopping experience. This new Caper feature encourages
customers to earn rewards and credits while enhancing savings and
product discovery among customers as they shop. Quests are
customizable and designed in partnership with retailers and brands,
giving them the flexibility to reimagine shopping experiences that
meet the needs of their customers. Quests will appear on the Caper
Cart digital screen with lights and sounds to alert customers when
they are available. Quests could include experiences such as:
- Flash deals: Customers could participate in a "treasure
hunt" inspired shop, where they follow a map of the store and keep
an eye out for flash deals as they shop. Flash deals will help
customers discover new products they'll love alongside old
favorites.
- Rewards for repeat visits: Customers could earn credits,
like $10 off their next visit, when
they complete a "shopping streak," such as three shops with a Caper
Cart in one month.
- Credits for coupon clipping: By clipping a specific
number of personalized digital coupons on a Caper Cart, customers
could receive credits, which could be equivalent to $5 at the end of their shop.
Introducing location-based coupons on Caper Carts
With new location-based coupons, customers using Caper Carts
will be alerted to nearby deals and discounts for relevant items as
they shop each aisle of the store. Caper Carts offer indoor
location capabilities that enable retailers and brands to know
where customers are in the store as they shop. In the future,
location-based coupons will be tailored to each customer, based on
previously purchased items or what is in their Caper Cart. For
example, when a customer rolls into the bakery department, Caper
Cart's digital screen will surface a coupon for a dollar off a box
of muffins and notify the customer with an alert. This builds on
Instacart's current coupon offering, where more than 40 percent of
Caper Cart users clip coupons. Instacart has helped customers save
more than $2 billion on Instacart
orders with deals, discounts, and membership benefits between
April 2022 and 2023.
Expanding advertising on Caper Carts
Aisle-aware ads on Caper Carts can help CPG brands create a
strong first impression when customers are shopping relevant
aisles. For example, if a customer turns down the cereal aisle,
they might see creative imagery featuring Cinnamon Toast Crunch on
the screen, sponsored by General Mills. This pilot builds on
in-store advertising capabilities that Instacart announced earlier
this year with Good Food Holdings. In the next stages of testing
for rich formats on Caper Carts, brands will be able to showcase
their rich creative based on both customer location and the
addition of complementary items to their cart. Over a dozen brands
are piloting location-based ad formats at Schnucks, spotlighting
products on Caper Cart's digital screen based on where customers
are in the store.
"Caper Carts are ushering in a new era at the grocery store –
making shopping more delightful while delivering a seamless
experience for customers, retailers, and brands. Over the last six
months, we've nearly quadrupled our Caper Cart footprint and plan
to reach thousands of carts live in stores in the coming months,"
said David McIntosh, Chief Connected
Stores Officer at Instacart. "For more than a decade, we've worked
with grocers of all sizes to provide them with the technologies
they need to serve their customers. With Caper Cart's digital
screen, we're now delivering an unmatched omnichannel experience
for retailers and brands in-store. Today's news is further proof of
how we're truly transforming grocery shopping from a chore to a fun
adventure, giving customers a one-of-a-kind, interactive experience
in every aisle of the grocery store."
Instacart is also unveiling a new survey on consumer adoption of
smart carts and the importance of product discovery and savings.
Instacart found that 83 percent of consumers are receptive to using
smart carts for savings and budgeting. Additionally, 50 percent of
consumers are interested in using AI to find the best deals, while
26 percent are eager for AI-powered personalized offers and
recommendations. The survey also revealed that 30 percent of
consumers want assistance while browsing, and 76 percent expressed
willingness to use AI technology while they shopped for
groceries.**
Caper Carts are part of Instacart's Connected Stores suite of
technologies, built to help grocers bridge the online and in-store
shopping experience. Caper Carts are powered by NVIDIA Jetson
and equipped with AI, cameras, sensors, and a built-in scale, which
work together to automatically recognize items. The cart's digital
screen allows customers to track their purchases and stay within
budget in real-time. At the end of their shop, customers of many
retailers can checkout directly from the cart. Customer reception
to Caper Carts has been strong with users offering a net promoter
score of more than 70 at ramped locations.
Retailers currently offering Caper Carts include Bristol Farms,
Fairway Market, The Fresh Grocer, Geissler's Supermarket, Kroger,
McKeever's Market & Eatery, Price Chopper, Schnucks, and
ShopRite in the US, as well as ALDI in Austria.
Partner Quotes
"We've been excited by the positive reception we've seen from
our Caper customers to-date. Customers love watching their running
total and clipping coupons directly on the cart – which is
ultimately leading to larger basket sizes," said Bob Hardester, Chief Information and Supply
Chain Officer at Schnuck Markets Inc. "Location-based coupons and
investment into an expanded advertising platform on Caper Carts
have the opportunity to be game-changing when it comes to offering
a personalized experience for our customers."
"Caper Carts are changing how customers are shopping the aisles.
Since launching pilots of the smart carts at ShopRite, Fairway
Market and The Fresh Grocer in the past year, we've seen customers
enjoy shopping at their own pace and exploring what our Members'
stores have to offer," said Charlie
McWeeney, VP of Technology, Digital and Retail at Wakefern
Food Corp. "As one of the first grocers to understand the value
Caper Carts provide, we're excited to introduce gamified
experiences and expand access to digital coupons based on where
customers are in the stores."
"At PepsiCo, we're committed to creating seamless and value-add
shopping experiences for our consumers, wherever and however they
prefer to shop. By testing tailored advertising on Instacart's
smart Caper Carts, we can connect directly with consumers the
moment they turn down an aisle, highlighting products and offers
that resonate with their specific shopping preferences. We're
excited to see Instacart continue to invest in this area, enhancing
our ability to meet and exceed the ever-changing needs and
expectations of consumers," said Mike
Glaser, VP Commerce Marketing at PepsiCo.
"At General Mills, our partnership with Instacart has always
been about embracing innovation in the shopping journey. With
advertising capabilities on Instacart's AI-powered Caper Carts,
we're now poised to connect with our consumers at a critical
moment—right when they first encounter our products in the aisle.
As one of the first brands to test these dynamic in-store ad
placements, we're able to deliver personalized consumer experiences
in real-time," said Raquel
Navarrski, Ecommerce and Pureplay Sales Vice President at
General Mills.
About Instacart
Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in
North America, works with grocers
and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners
with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners
to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from
more than 85,000 stores across North
America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it
possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from
the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart
shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their
own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a
suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power
their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize
brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean
insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from
category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to
connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of
purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to
increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for
consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving
health outcomes. For more information, visit
www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit
www.instacart.com.
**This survey was conducted online within the United States by Researchscape on behalf
of Instacart from September 6-8,
2024, among 2,177 U.S. grocery consumers, including 556
Boomers, 558 Gen X, 557 Millennials and 506 Gen Z. For complete
survey methodology, including weighting variables, defined terms
(like Boomer), and subgroup sample sizes, please contact
press@instacart.com.
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SOURCE Maplebear Inc. dba Instacart