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Instacart Tests Smart Cart Ads

Good Food Holdings banner stores, including Bristol Farms, will be the first to pilot Instacart’s latest advertising program on Caper Carts, the company’s AI-powered smart carts.

Ads on Caper Carts will soon give customers customized recommendations and introduce experiences to help them discover new brands and products. The advertising opportunity connects brands and retailers with customers directly in the aisles, said Instacart.

“With the introduction of ads on Caper Carts, we’ll soon be able to unlock a new, incremental revenue stream while offering customers valuable suggestions and promotions from our brand partners,” said Neil Stern, CEO of Good Food Holdings, in a statement.

The personalized ads will display directly on the smart cart screens and come from CPG brands including Del Monte Foods, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, and General Mills.

Customers at participating retailers will soon experience two features:

• New products and brands, deals, and seasonal promotions at the start of the shopping journey. For example, a customer might see a banner highlighting limited-edition Chocolate Strawberry Cheerios from General Mills for Valentine’s Day.

• Personalized product recommendations based on their real-time shopping behaviors or cart contents. For example, if a customer adds ice cream cones, they might see a complementary item recommendation, like Dreyer’s ice cream.

“Our acquisition of Caper has been a core part of our strategic evolution to support retailers and brands not just online but also in-store… Today we’re excited to introduce the next phase of this work with a new advertising solution that will further enable thousands of CPG brands to connect with high-intent customers with measurable results—in all the ways people choose to shop,” said Fidji Simo, CEO and chair of Instacart, in a statement. “Today’s announcement expands on the success of our advertising solutions and smart carts to power a more inspirational, connected in-store shopping experience for customers.”

The advertising functionality will soon be launched at Good Food Holdings’ Bristol Farms stores in Southern California, with additional retail partners rolling out in the months ahead.

Related: Meat, Poultry Can Benefit From AI; Amazon Ends Fresh Pickup

Image: Instacart