AI-powered shopping carts’ potential as an advertising channel may influence shoppers at the point of purchase, while simultaneously providing new tools to compare products, discover alternatives and shop more strategically, suggests a new study.
AI-powered smart carts are shopping carts equipped with built-in tablets that function as in-store shopping assistants. The study found that shoppers who actively used the technology spent about 32% more and purchased roughly 25% more items than shoppers who did not use the smart-cart features. The data came from 12,418 shopping sessions collected during a one-month period in March 2025 at a German supermarket piloting smart carts.
The study also found that “superusers” who interacted with the cart’s screen more than 20 times bought more items and spent more time in the store, but did not necessarily spend more money than other smart-cart users.
Superusers may be using the cart less as an advertising platform and more as a shopping optimization tool, explained Yusuf Oc, the study’s co-author and senior lecturer in marketing at Bayes Business School of City St. George’s, University of London.
“They are actually finding better deals, spending more time with this tablet because they can ask for different products and see the prices without actually going to the shelves directly,” he said.
A potential new retail media channel
So, how could AI carts impact retail media networks (RMNs)?
RMNs are retailer channels like websites, mobile apps, in-store screens and digital receipts that allow brands to advertise directly to shoppers and potentially gain more visibility.
RMNs are moving away from the “gold rush” of a few years ago, when marketing spend poured into a variety of different networks, toward a more judicious and consolidated approach that often favors the “Walmarts and the Amazons of the world,” according to one expert.
Traditionally, retail media has lived on retailer websites, retailer apps and sponsored search results, meeting consumers before they begin shopping or while they are browsing. AI cart technology has the potential to become what Oc describes as a “new channel” because it engages shoppers who are already in the store. Closing the gap between advertising and the point of purchase could make AI carts an attractive avenue for brands seeking measurable returns.
As marketing budgets tighten, retailer AI carts may provide marketers with the metrics they are looking for as the technology blurs the line between assistance and advertising. With capabilities such as personalized recommendations, promotional offers, video ads and complementary product suggestions, the carts can serve as a marketing platform for brands.
Further, retailer AI carts have access to inventory, aisle location, pricing, promotions, basket contents and consumer interactions on the tablet.
The rise of competing AI ecosystems
Retailer AI carts are just one emerging recommendation engine. Other AI agents like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are increasingly influencing shopping decisions as they partner with e-commerce platforms, raising a larger question about how brands will win visibility across multiple AI ecosystems.
“OpenAI, ChatGPT’s company, is making collaborations with Shopify or other big e-commerce platforms. So, they are creating their own networks,” Oc said.
For brands, thinking beyond traditional retail media and search optimization to AI visibility means optimizing their web presence to show up across multiple AI recommendation engines, Oc noted.
“We’re going to see a different type of partnership, and these brands will be part of those networks,” Oc said.
