Morrisons' AI trolley trial is over

Instacart's Caper carts were trialled at Morrisons' Riversway store in Preston this summer. Shoppers scanned their More Card, the trolley recognised items as they went in, weighed loose produce and showed a running total, then paid by scanning a barcode at a dedicated checkout.

The single-store pilot ran from late July and ended in late October, after Instacart said it was winding down its Caper Cart business because retailer adoption had not scaled quickly enough. Morrisons said the trial was already nearing its planned end, that there were no financial or operational implications, and that it will keep piloting other solutions.

BBC News visited the store in August. The journalist found the trolley a little heavy to steer, and that it did not catch extra butternut squashes he added after telling the screen he was putting in one. Shopper reaction on camera was split: some would give it a go, one said they would have nothing to do with AI.