At the end of July 2026, Morrisons become the first retailer in the UK to trial Instacart’s Caper smart trolley, bringing AI-powered shopping technology to its Preston store and marking Instacart’s first smart trolley partnership in the UK. 

The launch represents another step in the digitalisation of the store environment, as retailers look for ways to blend the convenience of online shopping with the physical shopping experience. Developed as part of Instacart’s Connected Stores platform, the trolley is designed to help shoppers save time, manage spending, and discover relevant products while they shop. 

How the technology works 

The Caper smart trolley automatically identifies products as they are placed inside the basket, including weighing fresh produce in real time. Shoppers can bag items as they move around the store, reducing handling and helping to speed up the checkout process. 

A touchscreen on the trolley displays a live basket total, giving customers visibility of their spending throughout their trip. The screen also highlights tailored product recommendations and has the potential to highlight personalised promotions as the trolleys are linked to shoppers Morrisons More Card. 

Once shopping is complete, customers scan a barcode displayed on the trolley at a dedicated checkout lane to finalise payment. 

Supporting a more connected shopping experience 

Instacart positions the technology as a way of making physical stores more personalised and interactive. Rather than simply supporting faster checkout, the trolley aims to replicate some of the benefits consumers have come to expect online, such as personalised recommendations, real-time basket visibility, and targeted promotions. 

The launch also addresses growing consumer demand for tools that help shoppers manage household budgets. Research commissioned by Instacart found that more than half of UK consumers have avoided purchasing groceries because they were unsure whether they could afford them, while loyalty programmes remain a preferred budgeting tool for many shoppers. 

At the same time, shoppers continue to value inspiration during store visits, with research suggesting that product discovery remains an important part of the grocery shopping experience. By combining recommendations with real-time promotional offers, smart trolleys could help retailers encourage exploration while maintaining relevance. 

Why it matters 

For retailers, smart trolleys have the potential to deliver benefits beyond shopper convenience. The technology creates a new digital touchpoint in-store, enabling retailers to engage customers directly in the aisle, increase loyalty programme participation, and potentially influence purchasing decisions closer to the point of purchase. 

For suppliers and category teams, the introduction of a digital screen within the trolley opens new opportunities for targeted promotions, product recommendations, and shopper engagement. It could also provide richer insights into shopper behaviour, including how customers navigate stores, respond to offers, and discover new products. 

The bigger picture 

Caper smart trolleys are already deployed across more than 100 cities in the US and Australia, working with retailers including Kroger, Wakefern Food Corp., Schnucks, and Coles. The Morrisons trial will provide an important test of how UK shoppers respond to AI-enabled assistance during the shopping journey. 

As retailers continue to invest in connected store technologies, smart trolleys are emerging as another example of how digital capabilities are increasingly being embedded directly into the physical store environment, creating new opportunities to enhance convenience, personalisation, and engagement at scale. 

Key takeaway for insight and category teams 

Morrisons’ smart trolley trial is more than a checkout innovation, it creates a new in-store media and engagement channel that could influence discovery, promotions, loyalty participation, and category performance at the point of decision. 

Morrisons is showing some of the clearest signs yet that the future store is becoming a reality. From AI-powered shelf cameras that monitor product availability and pricing, to electronic shelf labels, autonomous cleaning machines and now smart carts, the retailer is steadily building a more connected, automated and data-driven operating model. These technologies are not being deployed as isolated experiments, but as part of a broader transformation programme designed to improve efficiency, availability and the customer experience.  

Importantly, Morrisons is also demonstrating that these investments can deliver measurable returns. Earlier this year, CEO Rami Baitiéh revealed that the supermarket's "tech-driven vision" had "materially contributed to the delivery of £940m over the last three years, all without compromising our customer experience", highlighting how data, automation and AI are becoming strategic drivers of business performance rather than simply operational tools.  

A closer look at CaperCart 

Get to know Instacart and CaperCart in more detail in this exclusive interview with David McIntosh, Chief Connected Stores Officer at Instacart: 

Q: What is the Caper Cart, and are there different versions? 

Caper Carts are Instacart's AI-powered smart trolleys that make grocery shopping easier. The intuitive touchscreen helps customers keep track of their spend with a running basket total, discover relevant deals and loyalty savings, and find new products throughout their shop. Every retailer is different, so we work closely with each partner to tailor the experience based on their store format, customer base, and business priorities. The goal is always the same: make shopping easier for customers while giving retailers the flexibility to deliver the experience that's right for their stores. 

Q: What is the benefit of the cart for shoppers? 

When we talk to customers in the store, the number one thing they tell us they love is the running basket total. It gives them confidence because they always know where they stand as they shop. The second is the deals and recommendations, especially offers like "buy one more and save," which are easy to find online but much harder to spot in-store. 

Ultimately, our goal isn't to add technology for technology's sake. It's to make grocery shopping a little easier. People still enjoy browsing stores, and Caper Carts help them discover products, find relevant savings, and make the most of their loyalty benefits along the way. Customers can also bag items as they shop, saving time throughout the trip and making checkout quicker and easier. 

We recently surveyed UK consumers and found that 54% enjoy discovering products they weren't originally looking for, yet many say their weekly shop is done on autopilot. Caper Carts help bring some of that magic of discovery back into the shopping experience. We also found that 53% of UK consumers have skipped groceries because they weren't sure they could afford them, while 46% say loyalty programmes are one of their preferred budgeting tools. Caper Carts help customers stay on budget while making the most of those savings. 

Q: What is the benefit of the cart for retailers? 

Retailers know that when shopping feels easier for customers, the business results follow. Across our retail partners in the U.S., we're seeing double-digit basket growth, strong engagement with relevant offers, and higher loyalty participation. Because customers spend around 30 minutes shopping with a Caper Cart, retailers have more opportunities to help them discover products, savings, and offers while they're still making purchasing decisions. 

Even something as simple as a “Got everything you need?” prompt makes a real difference, driving nearly a one percentage point lift in basket size on average. It's a great example of how small, helpful moments throughout the shop can improve the customer experience while delivering meaningful results for retailers. 

Q: What are the opportunities for suppliers? 

Caper Carts create new opportunities for suppliers and brands to connect with customers while they're making purchasing decisions and highly engaged with Caper’s screen for more than 30 minutes. Instead of broad promotions, brands can surface relevant offers based on what's happening during that shopping trip and where they are in the aisle, helping customers discover products and savings that are actually relevant in the moment. 

The goal is to help customers discover products they'll genuinely value while giving suppliers a more meaningful way to connect with customers in the aisle. 

Q: Where else in the world is the cart being used? 

Caper Carts are already live in more than 100 cities across the U.S. with retailers including Kroger, ShopRite, Schnucks, and Coles in Australia. 

Launching Caper smart trolleys with Morrisons is particularly exciting because it's our first retail partnership in the UK. Morrisons shares our belief that technology should make shopping easier, not more complicated, and we're proud to partner with them to bring Caper smart trolleys to UK customers. 

Q: What have been the success stories from other markets? 

The customer response has been incredibly encouraging. We’ve tripled our footprint year over year and across our deployed locations we're seeing Net Promoter Scores above 70, putting the experience alongside some of the world's most loved consumer brands. Retailers are seeing double-digit basket growth, stronger loyalty engagement, and higher interaction with relevant offers throughout the shop. 

What's been especially rewarding is seeing customers come back because the experience genuinely makes shopping easier. The technology fades into the background, and what they're left with is a faster, simpler shopping trip. 

Q: How do you see smart carts evolving in the future? 

We've only scratched the surface of what's possible. Our focus will continue to be on making grocery shopping easier by helping customers find relevant savings, discover new products, and get more out of every trip.  

Over time, as stores become more connected, retailers will have more opportunities to create even better shopping experiences while operating more efficiently. Our ambition is to help retailers bring more of the convenience customers already expect online into the physical store, while keeping the experience simple and intuitive.  

More insights on Instacart 

Find out more about how Instacart is applying agentic AI to drive smarter decision-making, more connected stores, and better experiences for both retailers and shoppers here. 

Need more insights on the future of checkout, digitalisation of stores and agentic AI 

To help industry understand the complexity, the direction of travel, and current case studies, we have created the following thought leadership reports: 

• The future of checkout - subscribers only. 

• The hyper-connected store -  subscribers only. 

• Agentic AI and the future of shopping - subscribers only. 

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