--- title: "Grocery Stores Deploying “AI Shopping Carts” Stuffed With Cameras to Track Your Exact Coordinates and Bombard You With Ads" description: "Grocery stores throughout the US are increasingly deploying AI-integrated shopping carts to surveill shoppers and inundate them with ads." date: "2026-06-19" modified: "2026-06-19" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/grocery-stores-ai-shopping-carts-surveillance" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" --- # Grocery Stores Deploying “AI Shopping Carts” Stuffed With Cameras to Track Your Exact Coordinates and Bombard You With Ads ![Photo illustration displaying the back of the Instacart "Caper Cart," from one of their concept renderings.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Instacart / Shutterstock* Whether you're dodging [Flock cameras]() on the freeway, [ever-listening smartphones]() in your pocket, or [AI bots]() at the drive-thru, it's nearly impossible to avoid some type of AI-integrated device these days. Now it turns out that not even your grocery store is safe, as Instacart increasingly deploys AI smart carts to grocery stores across the United States. In a recent [joint press release](), Instacart and the Northeastern grocery-chain Weis Markets announced the deployment of AI integrated carts across select Weis locations in Pennsylvania. Called "Caper Carts," the proprietary grocery carts are equipped with numerous camera sensors, digital weight scales, a touchscreen, and "location-tracking systems" in order to make "every trip more informed and rewarding." "The technology is part of Instacart's broader approach to Physical AI for grocery, combining edge computing on Caper Carts with cloud AI trained on more than 1.6 billion online grocery orders and a decade of grocery expertise," the press release chimes. Basically, the carts track what customers are spending in real-time, bombarding them with ads and eCoupons via the cart's on-board screen depending on what products they're nearby in the store. "Features like the 'Got everything you need?' prompt are already showing how real-time, location-aware prompts can influence customer purchasing behavior by driving a nearly one percentage point lift in basket size on average, a strong early signal of what in-store digital engagement can deliver," the announcement declares. Caper Carts will also harangue lucky customers to sign up for Weis Rewards, the grocery chain's customer loyalty system, as well as pester them with features like "Buy It Again," which "surfaces previously purchased items to help build baskets more efficiently," according to the release. Maybe it sounds dystopian, but AI shopping carts are fast becoming the norm for certain stores across the country. As the press release boasts, [Instacart has tripled]() its number of Caper Carts deployments over previous years. Meanwhile, companies like Kroger have explored their own smart-cart options, complete with their own proprietary battery of nauseating AI features nobody asked for. If they're anything like previous [no-checkout grocery experiments](), it's likely we'll soon learn about the underpaid gig workers sitting on the other end of each and every Caper Cart camera. **More on food:** *[Woman "Seriously and Permanently Injured" by Egg McMuffin, Lawsuit Alleges]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()