Weis Markets, a mid-Atlantic food retailer, has added Instacart Caper Carts at select locations in Pennsylvania with additional rollouts planned throughout the year.

Powered by California-based Instacart’s AI-driven connected stores technology, Caper Carts transform the in-store experience with a smart, digital-first shopping trolley that puts convenience, savings and personalisation directly in the hands of customers.

“Weis Markets and its associates have always been committed to delivering a best-in-class shopping experience, and Caper Carts are a meaningful step forward in that journey,” said Greg Zeh, chief information officer at Weis Markets. “From real-time spend tracking to on-cart coupons that make saving effortless, this technology offers our customers a convenient and frictionless shopping experience.”

With Caper Carts, Weis shoppers can track their spend in real time as they shop and will have access to Caper exclusive coupons, including on-cart, location-based digital deals that customers can clip during their trip. They will be able to sign up for a Weis Rewards account directly on the cart, and Weis Rewards members can also redeem loyalty benefits directly from the cart. Once loyalty accounts are linked, shoppers gain access to enhanced features including buy it again, which surfaces previously purchased items to help build baskets more efficiently.

“Weis Markets has spent more than 100 years delivering value, quality and service to their communities, and we’re thrilled to help them bring that commitment into the next era of grocery with Caper Carts,” said David McIntosh from Instacart. “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.”

Weis will also launch on-cart advertising with Caper Carts, opening opportunities for brands to reach customers while shopping. Features such as the “Got everything you need?” prompt are already showing how real-time, location-aware prompts can influence customer purchasing behaviour by driving a nearly one percentage point lift in basket size on average, a strong early signal of what in-store digital engagement can deliver.

Caper Carts are equipped with basket-facing camera sensors, weights-and-measures-certified scales, location-tracking systems, outward-facing cameras, and a touchscreen to help make shopping more informed and rewarding.

The announcement builds on a deepening relationship between the two companies. Weis Markets joined the Instacart Marketplace in 2023 and, with the launch of Caper Carts, Instacart’s technology is now extending into Weis’ physical stores.

Instacart (www.instacart.com) is a grocery technology company that partners with more than 2200 retail banners representing nearly 100,000 stores.

Founded in 1912, Weis Markets (WeisMarkets.com) operates 197 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia and Virginia.