Lancashire has been the site of many British innovations throughout history, from the spinning jenny, which transformed textile production, to the creation of jelly babies.
Now it has welcomed another first: AI shopping trolleys.
A Morrisons in Lancashire has become the first supermarket in the UK to trial the use of “smart trolleys” that allow customers to do their shopping without having to scan a single item.
The AI-powered Caper smart trolleys, created by San Francisco-based Instacart, automatically register each item placed in the trolley, adding up the cost and recommending related products as you shop. Once finished, customers can scan their trolley screen rather than visiting a checkout.
Preston is the first city in Britain to use them after the supermarket chain announced a deal to trial them at its location in Ashton-on-Ribble, to the west of the city.
Amazon Fresh, which allowed shoppers to take items from the shelves and leave the shop without checking out, using cameras to charge directly to online accounts, failed to take off in the UK, with the company’s last physical British store closing in 2025. But Morrisons is more hopeful that its smart trolleys will be a success, with plans to put them in supermarkets across the country.
The smart trolleys are already used in more than 100 cities across the world. They are similar in design and function to the Dash Cart used by Amazon’s Fresh stores, which still operate outside the UK.
After the trolleys rolled into Ashton-on-Ribble last month, customer Matthew Byrne said they had “massively” helped him keep track of his shopping. Byrne is autistic and struggles to stick to set plans for what to get from the shops.
“Having what I’ve bought on screen has been great. I have a habit of just grabbing things and throwing them in my trolley, and then wondering how I’m paying so much. It’s been amazing to visualise it and see it in real time. I came here with an £80 budget, and I’ve actually been able to stick to it.”
Kaz Bond was disappointed to be forced to use a normal trolley for her latest shop due to a fault on her phone, having used them for every trip she has made to Morrisons since they became commonplace around four weeks ago.
“Honestly, I think they’re brilliant,” said Bond. “They make life much easier. I wouldn’t be that surprised if they’re everywhere before long. I reckon it’s the future.”
Debbie Files had chosen Tuesday as the day to take a leap of faith and use the trolleys for the first time, albeit with the help of a Morrisons employee.
“It was a little bit confusing at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly,” said Files. “It’s heavy, though. I’ve barely been able to turn it. I feel like I need a driving lesson to use it, but I got the hang of it. If they make a smaller one then that will get me to use it again.”