Instacart is strengthening its ability to help retailers track inventory and availability with the acquisition of Arpalus, a shelf intelligence technology company designed for grocers.
The technology creates a real-time picture of what’s on a store shelf from a video scan, according to a news release. Scans are accurate 95% of the time, on average, even with complicating factors such as products packed tightly together, inconsistent lighting or an unreliable internet connection.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We built an AI platform that gives retailers real-time visibility into inventory and store execution, enabling faster and smarter decisions at scale,” said Ofir Zilberberg, founder and CEO of Arpalus, in a statement. “Joining Instacart is a transformative milestone. By combining Arpalus’ AI innovation with Instacart’s scale and retail reach, we are accelerating the future of intelligent retail and redefining how stores operate.”
The technology can be used on smartphones or any camera-equipped device, equipping Instacart’s network of 600,000 shoppers to generate data. Arpalus models can also prompt shoppers to adjust the camera angle or distance to accurately capture information.
Instacart’s smart “Caper Carts,” which have been deployed to 100 cities worldwide, can also be fitted with external cameras that will update on-shelf inventory in real time, said the release. That data will improve fulfillment efficiency and inventory accuracy for retailers. Data will be used in accordance with privacy laws and contractual requirements.
“We believe the future of grocery retail is a unified experience powered by Instacart intelligence, where what happens in store connects seamlessly to ecommerce in real time,” said David McIntosh, Chief Connected Stores Officer at Instacart, in a statement. “The Arpalus team has spent years building exceptional shelf intelligence technology, solving the problem of understanding what’s actually on store shelves, at any given moment.”
Instacart’s Growing Enterprise Offerings
Arpalus technology will improve the customer experience on both the Instacart marketplace and retailer storefronts under the Storefront Pro program.
San Francisco-based Instacart surpassed $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time in Q1, which ended on March 31. Growth was driven in part by Instacart’s suite of enterprise offerings for retailers.
Arpalus technology will enhance features such as Instacart’s AI Solutions, which is currently being piloted by retailers such as McKeevers and Sprouts, and Instacart’s overall Physical AI strategy.
“With our leadership in Physical AI for grocery retail and by activating our network of shoppers, we can feed even more accurate shelf information back into our models, delivering better outcomes for customers, shoppers and our retail and brand partners,” McIntosh said.
