DISCUSSION
Instacart enters the competition for in-store scan-and-go
Written by RetailWire Staff
Photo: Instacart
Instacart has become a major part of how many Americans shop for groceries online. Now it is moving ahead with plans to become a fixture of how they shop in stores, as well.
The company recently announced the first full implementation of its Scan & Pay solution. A few weeks ago, Long Island City grocery store Foodcellar Market deployed the solution, which allows customers to scan both center-store products and produce with their own smartphones and check out from anywhere in the store. Customers launch the solution by scanning a QR code on a sign at the front of the store, scanning items as they shop, checking out and displaying a QR code generated on their phone to confirm payment before they exit the store.
The solution, which is accessed via a mobile browser rather than an installed application, also links items purchased in-store to a customer’s Instacart account, to make future Instacart shopping easier. Scan & Pay has so far been utilized primarily during peak hours (1 p.m. to 5 p.m.) for baskets of 10 items or less. Instacart offers the solution as part of its Connected Stores technology bundle.
Connected Stores also includes Instacart’s AI-powered Caper Carts and Carrot Tags, electronic shelf tags, which can interact with shoppers’ smartphones, according to TechCrunch.
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Photo: Instacart[/caption]
Retailer success with scan-and-go technology has been mixed. On one hand, Sam’s Club’s app has proven very popular. It was downloaded 9.6 million times in 2020, according to a press release. The retailer in 2021 added a Scan & Ship feature to let customers scan products in-store and have them delivered to their homes. Wegmans, on the other hand, notoriously had to discontinue its SCAN app late in 2022 because it generated an unsustainable level of shrinkage.
Instacart appears to be trying to address potential shrink concerns, stating that its “continuing development of Scan & Pay’s loss prevention capabilities is based on over a decade of experience working across the grocery industry, using Instacart’s deep understanding of the signals and patterns that indicate potential fraud.”
Retailers using the Instacart solution are able to monitor transaction data in real-time.
Photo: Instacart[/caption]
Retailer success with scan-and-go technology has been mixed. On one hand, Sam’s Club’s app has proven very popular. It was downloaded 9.6 million times in 2020, according to a press release. The retailer in 2021 added a Scan & Ship feature to let customers scan products in-store and have them delivered to their homes. Wegmans, on the other hand, notoriously had to discontinue its SCAN app late in 2022 because it generated an unsustainable level of shrinkage.
Instacart appears to be trying to address potential shrink concerns, stating that its “continuing development of Scan & Pay’s loss prevention capabilities is based on over a decade of experience working across the grocery industry, using Instacart’s deep understanding of the signals and patterns that indicate potential fraud.”
Retailers using the Instacart solution are able to monitor transaction data in real-time.
- Foodcellar Market Introduces Scan & Pay Checkout Technology Powered by Instacart – Instacart
- Instacart launches Connected Stores, a suite of in-store tech for retailers – TechCrunch
- Sam’s Club Evolves its Scan & Go App, Merging Digital and Physical Experiences – Sam’s Club
- Shoplifters force Wegmans to pull the plug on its self-scanning app – RetailWire