Last fall, Instacart acquired smart checkout startup Caper AI as it looked to bulk up its technology solutions to offer retailers who want to enable contactless checkout. This week, the company has relaunched Caper’s system and announced one of its first locations for the system: Fenway Park.
Instacart is making its Fenway debut, thanks to Aramark’s Sports and Entertainment. This season, the same group helped Bartesian’s automated bartender gain entry into the luxury suite in different ballparks.
Physically, the Caper Counter looks to be no different than the product Caper offered as a solo company. The only difference is that Instacart now owns it. The system uses computer vision and sensors to identify items based on shape, color, size, and other features. The customer can load up to ten items into the Caper Counter.
This effort to transform itself is precisely what is happening. Over the past month, the company announced the Instacart Platform, a suite of technology offerings for grocers and retailers to help them with digital transformation. The company has also changed how it describes itself. At the time of the acquisition last fall, the company called itself ‘the leading online grocery platform in North America.‘ In a recent announcement, the company has swapped the term online grocery platform company for what it calls a retail enablement platform “that works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop.”
