North American grocery technology provider Instacart has introduced advertising solutions on its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart carts, Caper Carts. 

The new advertising offering on Caper Carts will be trialled at Good Food’s Bristol Farms stores in Southern California, with plans to expand to additional retail partners in the coming months. 

Brands and retailers will be able to engage with customers directly in the aisles, where shoppers typically spend more than 30 minutes with a Caper Cart.  

Instacart stated that ads on Caper Carts offer customers personalised and dynamic recommendations as they shop in-store. 

Customers using Caper Carts will soon encounter two novel features: creative banners on the home screen showcasing new products, brands, deals and seasonal promotions.  

They will also receive personalised product recommendations based on their real-time shopping behaviour or cart contents. 

Instacart plans to deploy thousands of Caper Carts by the end of 2024.  

The company’s launch partners, including Del Monte Foods, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream and General Mills, will be the first to feature their ads on the smart cart screens.  

Instacart CEO and chair Fidji Simo stated: "Our acquisition of Caper has been a core part of our strategic evolution to support retailers and brands not just online but also in-store.  

“It was one of the first major decisions I made as CEO of the company as we launched our Connected Stores technologies, and today we're excited to introduce the next phase of this work with a new advertising solution that will further enable thousands of CPG brands to connect with high-intent customers with measurable results — in all the ways people choose to shop.  

"Today's announcement expands on the success of our advertising solutions and smart carts to power a more inspirational, connected in-store shopping experience for customers. We're proud to bring these solutions in-store for the first time for our CPG brand partners, while simultaneously offering new revenue opportunities for our retail partners."