Dive Brief:

• Instacart announced Wednesday an expanded partnership with The Save Mart Companies that includes bringing Caper Carts to select Save Mart and Lucky stores.
• Save Mart is also rolling out FoodStorm, the grocery tech company’s order management system for foodservice and catering, as well as upgrading its digital commerce platform to Instacart Storefront Pro to offer more advertising options.
• With the expanded partnership, Save Mart will update the shopping experience for customers at nearly all 200 Save Mart, FoodMaxx and Lucky locations.

Dive Insight:

The expanded partnership comes as grocers continue to build their omnichannel capabilities and further digitize their stores.

Instacart said that Save Mart’s rollout of its artificial intelligence-powered smart carts, called Caper Carts, at an unspecified number of Save Mart and Lucky stores in the “coming months” will give customers access to a personalized experience with the cart’s interactive screens. 

When using the carts, customers can track how much they are spending, link their loyalty cards to access coupons and deals, and pull up shopping lists they created in the Save Mart or Instacart apps. Caper Carts also provide Save Mart with a new way to push ads in front of consumers while they shop. 

Save Mart and Lucky stores will also use FoodStorm, the order management system Instacart acquired in 2021, according to the announcement. Customers using Caper Carts can order made-to-order items like cakes and pies through FoodStorm on the smart cart screen.

Instacart noted that The Save Mart Companies previously used Instacart Storefront. Now the three banners will upgrade to Storefront Pro, giving them access to features like customizable homepage and merchandising layouts, self-serve marketing tools and access to Carrot Ads. 

“Embracing new revenue streams through Storefront Pro offers us a solid foundation to enhance our business online. By introducing Caper Carts and FoodStorm, we’re allowing customers to access what they love most about shopping online and bringing those elements into our stores,” The Save Mart Companies Chief Digital Officer Tamara Pattison said in a statement. 

The Save Mart Companies first partnered with Instacart in 2019 when the grocery chain tapped the e-commerce provider for same-day delivery across its banners. 

The Instacart announcement marks the latest omnichannel move by the grocer. The Save Mart Companies is rolling out in-store retail media powered by Quad/Graphics, Inc. at 16 of its stores with plans to eventually expand the solution, which includes digital screens, kiosks and shelf screens, chainwide. 

The Save Mart Companies runs nearly 200 stores under the Save Mart, Lucky and FoodMaxx banners in California and Nevada.

Last year, the grocery company launched its own retail media network with retail technology company Swiftly.