Morrisons to launch first U.K. pilot of Instacart smart carts
The fourth-largest U.K. supermarket chain will be the first grocer in that country to deploy Instacart Caper Cart smart carts.
Morrisons is implementing the artificial intelligence-based Caper Carts solution from Instacart starting in early 2026 at one initial store, with the potential for a further rollout. This marks Instacart’s first retail partnership in the U.K. to bring Caper Carts to British customers.
"We’re constantly looking for ways to bring innovation to the weekly shop to enhance the experience for our customers, and the cutting-edge technology of Caper Carts brings the best of digital and physical retail together in-store," said Gordon Macpherson, productivity director of Morrisons. "We’re excited about bringing the first fully integrated, AI-powered trolleys in the U.K. to a first store soon and look forward to testing customer response and building understanding of how the technology works within the Morrisons store estate."
Part of the Instacart Connected Stores platform, Caper Carts are equipped with cameras, a built-in scale, and location sensors connected to Nvidia Jetson hardware which work together with an edge AI system to automatically recognize items as they are placed in the cart.
Once products are added, customers can watch their running cost total, similar to an online shopping cart. Caper Carts also feature an interactive screen that tracks spending, provides access to deals, and offers product recommendations based on the customer's location in the store and the carts' contents.
For Morrisons customers, the smart trolleys are integrated with the Morrisons More Card loyalty program.
"As we continue to expand internationally, we’re thrilled to partner with Morrisons to bring Caper Carts to the U.K. for the first time," said David McIntosh, chief connected stores officer at Instacart. "Shopping is no longer solely online or in-store – it’s a hybrid of both – and Caper Carts offer a seamless way to combine the convenience and personalization of e-commerce with the inspiration and discovery that happens in physical stores."
In other international expansion of the Caper Carts solution, global discount grocery retailer Aldi is testing the technology in Austria, while leading Australian grocer Coles officially became the first Asian-Pacific retailer to deploy Instacart Caper Cart smart carts in February 2025.
[READ MORE: Australian grocer Coles Supermarkets debuts AI-equipped Instacart carts]
Founded in 1899, Morrisons operates roughly 500 grocery stores and 1,700 convenience stores across the U.K. Based in San Francisco, Instacart partners with more than 1,800 national, regional and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America.
