Instacart Is Deploying AI Shopping Carts at Weis Markets
"As a leader in Physical AI, we're giving retailers like Weis Markets a competitive advantage by bringing together in-store and online data ."
Instacart and Weis Markets just announced that Caper Carts are live at select Weis locations in Pennsylvania, bringing AI-powered shopping intelligence into the grocery aisle of a Mid-Atlantic food retailer that has been expanding its technology infrastructure steadily since joining the Instacart Marketplace in 2023.
The Caper Cart is a smart shopping cart equipped with basket-facing camera sensors, weights and measures-certified scales, location-tracking systems, outward-facing cameras, and a touchscreen, according to the press release.
As customers shop, the cart tracks their spend in real time, surfaces location-based digital coupons they can clip mid-trip, and allows Weis Rewards members to sign up or redeem loyalty benefits directly on the cart without visiting a separate kiosk or app.
A Buy It Again feature surfaces previously purchased items to help customers rebuild their usual baskets more efficiently, according to the press release.
The most commercially specific disclosure in the announcement is the basket size lift. The "Got everything you need?" prompt is delivering a nearly one percentage point lift in basket size on average.
The Broader Caper Cart Picture
The Weis deployment is not a pilot. Instacart has tripled total Caper Cart deployments year-over-year and the carts now operate across more than 100 cities in 15 states. Retail banners currently running Caper Carts include Kroger, Schnucks, ShopRite, and Fairway Market, with Morrisons in the UK coming later in 2026, according to the press release.
The Schnucks data point gives the basket size figure additional context. Retail Dive previously reported that at one Schnucks location running 10 Caper Carts alongside approximately 160 traditional carts, Caper Carts handled more than 10% of sales on busy days, a disproportionate share of volume relative to the small number of smart carts deployed.
"As a leader in Physical AI, we're giving retailers like Weis Markets a competitive advantage by bringing together in-store and online data through technology like Caper Carts to help them understand and respond to their customers with a level of intelligence that simply wasn't possible before," said David McIntosh, Chief Connected Stores Officer at Instacart.
The Caper Cart announcement is one part of a more comprehensive AI investment Weis has been making across its store infrastructure.
In December 2025, Weis completed a chainwide deployment of Toshiba's ELERA Security Suite across all 199 self-checkout lanes, a system that includes product recognition and loss prevention tools running on edge AI for on-device processing. More than 94% of Weis customers selected the produce recognition feature at self-checkout following the deployment
Key Takeaways
- Instacart launches AI-powered Caper Carts at Weis Markets to enhance in-store shopping experiences.
- Caper Carts feature smart technology, including cameras and scales, to track spending and loyalty rewards.
- Real-time digital coupons are offered through the cart, improving customer engagement during shopping trips.
- The deployment aims to increase average basket size by nearly one percentage point with targeted prompts.
- Instacart expands Caper Cart usage across over 100 cities, indicating strong demand for innovative retail solutions.