NEW YORK — Caper, the world’s first AI-powered shopping cart, today deploys its Smart Cart technology with Sobeys, one of the largest grocery chains in North America. This partnership makes Caper the first independent automated checkout company with a live commercial deployment with a major retailer. Caper Smart Carts, which allow shoppers to skip checkout lines while enabling a highly engaging, fun and fast way to shop, go live today at the Sobeys 41,000 sq ft. Glen Abbey location in Oakville, Ontario, as part of Sobeys’ new digital approach to grocery shopping.
The Caper Smart Cart improves a retailer’s entire customer shopping experience by streamlining checkout, and through an interactive screen, provide nearby deals, tailored recommendations, and recipes. It also complements existing retail operations without the need for any significant infrastructure or operational overhauls. The technology can be scaled quickly to serve many locations, especially valuable for a grocer with hundreds of locations.
“The best Canadian brands strive to be world-class by thinking ahead and placing their bets on unique innovations,” says Mathieu Lacoursiere, Vice President, Retail Support at Sobeys Inc. “We’re constantly looking for new ways to evolve the grocery shopping experience. Through our analysis of future retail trends, we are extremely excited to work with Caper. The Caper carts will enhance our customers’ shopping experience and give our in-store teammates more time to engage with customers over product and new foods. This is a unique way for us to learn more from our customers directly.”
Earlier this year, Caper launched with New York-based supermarket Foodcellar & Co., which has since seen significant shopper traction with a proven increase in average basket size and improved checkout efficiency. Caper’s plug-and-play Smart Cart allows retailers to rapidly deploy automated checkout with minimal disruption, thus achieving desirable returns on investment.
“Sobeys is a sophisticated operator that understands the value of shopper experience and is executing quickly to bring customer-focused technologies to stores. Our teams have worked hand-in-hand to bring this initial deployment from concept to live operation in less than six months,” says Ahmed Beshry, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Caper. “Sobeys’ mission aligns with Caper’s customer-centric belief: make shopping magic. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have them as a partner.”
ABOUT CAPER
Caper is a New York-based retail technology company focused on bringing innovative and pragmatic solutions to retail partners. The company’s first product, the Caper Smart Cart, is a smart shopping cart powered by deep learning and computer vision that identifies items as they are added to the basket. Caper Smart Carts provide tailored shopper recommendations through an interactive screen and guide a shopper through their entire journey. Caper’s autonomous checkout technology is plug-and-play for retailers, requiring no in-store renovation, operational overhauls or costly infrastructure. Caper has raised more than $13 million in funding to date with backing from investors including Lux Capital, First Round Capital, and Y Combinator.
ABOUT SOBEYS
Proudly Canadian, with headquarters in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Sobeys has been serving the food shopping needs of Canadians since 1907. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A), Sobeys owns or franchises more than 1,500 stores in all 10 provinces under retail banners that include Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Farm Boy and Lawton’s Drug Stores as well as more than 350 retail fuel locations. Sobeys, its franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 123,000 people. More information on Sobeys Inc. can be found at www.sobeyscorporate.com.
