ST. LOUIS – Whether you prefer self-checkout or help from clerks to purchase your groceries, there’s a third option coming to some Schnucks store that could make your shopping experience even faster.

Schnucks is preparing to roll out smart carts at select St. Louis-area stores as soon as this fall. Instacart has partnered with the grocery store chain to provide shopping carts, known as Caper Carts, that use computer vision and artificial intelligence to track what’s inside.

Once available, shoppers can set up payment information through their Schnucks Rewards account and the Instacart app to avoid potentially long checkout lines. The carts also allow customers to bag their groceries as they shop.

“We believe the future of grocery will lean heavily into personalization – whether it’s achieved through in-store smart carts or by providing the best possible e-commerce experience for our customers,” said Chace MacMullan, Senior Director of Digital Experience at Schnucks. “We aim to make customers feel like each shopping experience was custom-made for them, and we’re excited to take another big step forward with the rollout of this pilot of Instacart’s Caper Carts.”

After rolling out at select stores this fall, Schnucks is hopeful to add Caper Carts to more stores later this year.

“We’re proud to partner with Schnucks on their rollout of Instacart’s Caper Carts, which bring together the best of online and in-store shopping to spearhead their digital transformation and create a truly convenient and personalized experience for customers,” said David McIntosh, Vice President and General Manager of Connected Stores at Instacart.

The new smart cart service will work similarly to one offered through Amazon Go convenience stores around the United States.

Schnucks, founded in St. Louis in 1939, first partnered with Instacart in 2017 to introduce same-day delivery. Since then, the chain has deployed a number of Instacart Platform technologies to digitize its stores and serve its customers.