Overview
- Morrisons began a UK-first trial of Instacart’s Caper smart trolleys at its Riversway Preston store on Tuesday, issuing roughly 30 carts to More Card loyalty members for an initial three-month test.
- The carts use edge AI cameras and built-in scales to recognise items and weigh loose produce as shoppers place them in the trolley, show a running basket total on a touchscreen and let customers bag as they shop.
- Shoppers link a Morrisons More Card to the trolley so loyalty savings and personalised product recommendations appear in real time, and payment is completed by scanning a barcode on the trolley at a dedicated Caper checkout lane.
- The rollout has drawn mixed public reaction and posts from people claiming to be staff who say Morrisons should prioritise pay and staffing; the retailer says the pilot is small-scale and that it continues to invest in colleagues.
- Instacart points to existing deployments in the US and Australia and internal research that smart trolleys can increase time in store and spend, and the Preston pilot will test those commercial effects against Morrisons’ wider 2026 cost-cutting and restructuring context.