Morrisons teams with Instacart owned Instaleap to boost online marketplace and in-store fulfulment
Instaleap, a company providing software for e‑commerce fulfillment and last mile operations that was recently bought by Instacart, and Morrisons have announced a new partnership. The UK grocery retailer is using Instaleap’s technology to manage orders across its marketplace channels, including Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo, and help store colleagues fulfil those orders faster and more accurately.
“We’re proud to partner with Morrisons, one of the UK’s most respected grocery retailers, as they continue to strengthen their omnichannel offering,” says Antonio Nunes, Head of Instaleap. "Consumers now increasingly expect ordering from their local supermarket to be as easy as ordering take-away. Meeting that demand at scale - efficiently, reliably - takes technology built specifically for grocery. That's exactly what we're giving Morrisons."
“We’re constantly looking for ways to make online grocery shopping easier and more convenient,” says Charlotte Exell, Group Online Director at Morrisons. “More of our customers are choosing to shop from us through one of our immediacy partners and they expect an efficient, dependable service every time. Working with Instaleap powers our online operations behind the scenes, helping us deliver fresh groceries directly to our customers’ doors quickly and reliably.”
Smart carts
Morrisons recently launched Instacart’s Caper Cart smart trolleys at a Preston supermarket, marking North American firm Instacart’s first retail partnership in the UK for its AI powered solution. These automatically recognise items as they are placed in the trolley, including weighing fresh produce on the spot.
Customers can bag items as they shop, saving time throughout the trip and making checkout quicker and easier. The trolley's touchscreen displays a running basket total to help customers stay on budget, makes relevant product recommendations, and enables them to scan their More Card to access loyalty savings and promotions throughout their shop. At the end of their trip, they scan the barcode displayed on the trolley's screen at a dedicated Caper checkout lane to complete payment.
"Caper smart trolleys represent a new era for in-store grocery shopping - one where the physical store is as intelligent and personalised as the best online experience," says David McIntosh, Chief Connected Stores Officer at Instacart. “Customers want technology that helps them stay on budget and discover products they love, and Caper smart trolleys deliver both, directly in the aisle. We're proud to bring this to the UK for the first time through our partnership with Morrisons, who share our belief that technology should make the weekly shop not just easier, but genuinely more enjoyable."
"Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and we're always looking for ways to make their weekly shop easier, more rewarding, and more enjoyable, to give them more reasons to shop at Morrisons," says Gordon Macpherson, Productivity Director at Morrisons. “Caper smart trolleys do exactly that, giving customers real-time visibility of their spending, instant access to their More Card savings, and a more seamless experience in the aisle. We're proud to be the first UK retailer to bring this technology to our customers, and we look forward to seeing how shoppers in Preston and across Lancashire respond to this innovative new trolley in this in-store trial.”
So hot right now
Instacart is included in RTIH’s first ever Retail Technology Hot 100 List. Launching in August, this sees us bringing you the hottest companies whose solutions and systems are helping drive the retail sector forward.
Our Founder and Editor, Scott Thompson, drew up a list of 150 companies that had consistently been on his radar over the past 12 months whilst bringing our community the latest retail tech news and views that matter. These companies operate across the omnichannel retail landscape (stores, online, mobile, supply chain, payments etc).
Our judging panel, including Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO, Holland & Barrett, Dan McGrath, JD Group Customer Operations, JD Sports, Dr. Astha Purohit, Director of Product Management, Customer Data and Identity, Walmart, and Paula Bobbett, Chief Data and Digital Officer, Boots, provided feedback on those who have the most innovative, forward thinking technology offerings and are also best addressing retailers' current challenges, painpoints, and opportunities.
The judges used the following framework when making their picks:
1. Retailer problem fit - how meaningful, strategic, and widely felt the retailer pain being addressed is.
2. Production traction in retail (2025–2026) - real named retailer deployments, pilots.
3. Innovation and defensibility - genuine technical novelty paired with a defensible competitive position.
And there was also a public vote, with thousands of members of our community of retail tech enthusiasts getting involved. Thanks to all those who took part! Based on the judging panel's feedback and the public vote, we then drew up our first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100.
So, without further ado, here are the 100 hottest global retail technology ventures right now. Drum roll, please…
