SAN FRANCISCO – Instacart announced its acquisition of Arpalus, a computer vision company that has developed shelf intelligence technology purpose-built for grocery retail.
Combined, Instacart and Arpalus are expected to drive fulfillment efficiencies that create a better customer experience and new earning opportunities for shoppers, while improving inventory accuracy for retailers and brands, Instacart said in announcing the deal.
Arpalus' technology turns a video scan of a store shelf into an accurate, real-time picture of what is there. Using computer vision models built specifically for the complexity of real grocery store environments – including low or unreliable Wi-Fi, inconsistent lighting, and thousands of visually similar products packed tightly together – Arpalus can identify individual items on shelves with more than 95% accuracy, on average, Instacart said.
Additionally, the technology allows Instacart’s network of 600.000 consumers to generate shelf intelligence using the app they use to shop and place orders. Arpalus models can also guide shoppers in the moment, prompting them to adjust camera angle or distance to ensure every item on the shelf is captured accurately and efficiently.
Arpalus’ computer vision technology extends to Caper Carts equipped with external cameras as they move through store aisles, updating in-store on-shelf inventory insights in real-time.
“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.
Added McIntoish, "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. 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."
