2026 Update: Where Are the Smart Carts Now?
Looking back from 2026, it is fascinating to see how the grocery tech landscape has shifted since this post was originally written. Sobeys launched their initial AI-powered Smart Cart pilot using Caper technology at select Ontario stores, functioning as a complete self-checkout lane on wheels. While the tech was impressive, wide-scale rollout ultimately hit a massive financial wall due to three brutal realities:
- High Fleet Costs: A standard metal shopping cart costs roughly $100, while a single AI cart ranges from $5,000 to $10,000 due to complex touchscreens and scales.
- Razor-Thin Industry Margins: Supermarkets operate on brutal 1.5% to 2% profit margins, making fleet purchases an immense risk for local operators.
- The Nightmare of Maintenance: The cost to repair fragile electronics, cracked screens, or scratched camera lenses left out in wet parking lots and freezing Canadian winters drained store resources too quickly.
Because of these heavy hardware expenses, major Canadian chains quietly shifted away from physical carts to prioritize software-driven mobile scanning apps and advanced checkout conveyor belts.
Below is our original 2021 article coverage from when this smart grocery tech first hit the store aisles: