{"id":338228,"date":"2026-07-13T09:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T09:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/338228\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T09:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T09:33:15","slug":"miami-ai-shopping-smart-carts-personalize-grocery-trips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/338228\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami AI shopping: Smart carts personalize grocery trips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Excuse me, where is the sugar?<\/p>\n

Some shoppers need GPS to find their way around the neighborhood supermarket. Last week, soup was in Aisle 3. Now, it\u2019s not And try finding the aspirin to help you deal with your shopping headache.<\/p>\n

Miami-based Milam\u2019s Market has rolled out AI-powered smart carts to help lost shoppers find the items on their list. It\u2019s a pilot program run by an entrepreneurial Columbia Business School MBA grad and the grocery chain.<\/p>\n

While these shopping carts can\u2019t drive themselves around the store, they can help a shopper get to the right place. They can organize a shopper\u2019s list and use GPS navigation to lead to the shortest route through the aisles. They also can display coupons and give nutritional information, and even remember your preferences when you log in with a phone number.<\/p>\n

Could smart shopping carts be the next big trend in grocery shopping?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story stems from my side having my own issues in stores,\u201d said Julian Janna, the 31-year-old founder of Coupr, a New York-based startup that chose Miami to test the carts. \u201cMy girlfriend might give me a list of things I need to pick up, and I have no idea where they are, so it stems from just everyday issues I\u2019ve had personally \u2014 and a lot of people I\u2019ve spoken with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janna approached Milam\u2019s last year with his idea to let customers try out the new smart cart technology he developed and give feedback.<\/p>\n

The family-owned Milam\u2019s Market, which has six stores from Pinecrest to Sunny Isles Beach, recently signed on to try out Janna\u2019s new Coupr smart carts at the Pinecrest location at 11701 S. Dixie Hwy. and the Coconut Grove store, also tucked off U.S. 1 at 2969 SW 32nd Ave.<\/p>\n

\u201cJulian, the founder, was familiar with the Miami market, and was looking for a smaller retailer to partner with … and being a family business we\u2019re able to be a little bit more accessible and flexible, so I think it helped make a good fit for him,\u201d said Lee Milam, president and chief operating officer for Milam\u2019s, a grocer that dates back to 1984 in the Miami area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a lot of technology and solutions that come across our door,\u201d Milam said. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of what\u2019s really going to be the best use of our time? How can we make the shopping experience ultimately better, drive more value to the customers, and continue to compete and evolve as the business changes?\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, shoppers can find 10 Coupr-enabled carts at each of the two Milam\u2019s locations, with a goal of 20. There is no cost to the customer to use Coupr. The carts with the attached tablet-sized screens and scanners are available alongside the store\u2019s usual grocery carts.<\/p>\n

\"Julian Julian Janna, left, founder and CEO of Coupr, a venture developing smart cart screen used for personalized supermarket shopping, instructs customer Marcela Ash on the use of the app installed on carts at Milam’s Market in Pinecrest, Florida on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. Diego Escalante, right, a Coupr representative, assists in promoting the cart\u2019s usage during this pilot program. Al Diaz adiaz@miamiherald.com What does smart cart do? \"Coupr Coupr app smart carts are used at Milam’s Market in Pinecrest and Coconut Grove in a pilot program. Here, a customer uses the screen in its aisle navigation feature on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Pinecrest, Florida. Photography by AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Aisle navigation: The Coupr smart cart system navigates an aisle with the tech you use to drive, like Google or Apple Maps or Waze. Shoppers can type or search for a product on the handlebar touchscreen, and the cart\u2019s map guides them to the aisle location.<\/p>\n

Marcela Ash regularly shops at the chain\u2019s Grove location, but was in the Pinecrest neighborhood and popped into Milam\u2019s there, trying the Coupr system for the first time. Janna and Diego Escalante, his assistant standing out front tasked with introducing the carts to curious customers, gave Ash a quick tutorial on how to use the screen and enter items from her shopping list.<\/p>\n

You can tell the AI assistant what you want to find manually or verbally or scan in a handwritten shopping list. You can even import a photo of a shopping list and the system will recognize the lettering and add your chosen items to its memory. The cart will recognize you by phone number.<\/p>\n

Ash\u2019s fingers darts across the screen with her item choices.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s getting used to the idea of AI. I think it\u2019s wonderful, I think it\u2019s beneficial for every person,\u201d Ash said as she followed the map icon on the screen.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the bagged baby arugula. The produce section. It\u2019s a hot summer. She finds a watermelon nearby and places it in the basket seat just ahead of the touchscreen. Next, she steers her cart all the way across the store to the frozen food cases.<\/p>\n

\"Customer Customer Marcela Ash grocery shops while using Coupr, a smart cart screen used for personalized supermarket shopping. The device and app is installed on carts at Milam’s Market in Pinecrest, Florida on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. Al Diaz adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

\u201cThe bigger the supermarket, the harder it is\u201d to find items, she said, eyeing the screen and pulling product from the cases. \u201cI like a smaller supermarket, but at a bigger one it\u2019s impossible, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another customer, Miriam Alonso, a first-time shopper at Milam\u2019s, lets Janna and Escalante talk her into giving the AI cart a try.<\/p>\n

Alonso was surprised the system could alert her to sales as she strolled the aisles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like another world, you know? You\u2019re like \u2018OK, I\u2019m in the store, but I\u2019m like shopping online too,\u2019 \u201c she said.<\/p>\n

Scan and compare: The Coupr AI screen also offers a scan-and-compare feature. Shoppers can scan or tap an item\u2019s barcode to pull up an instant breakdown of nutrition facts. The interface allows side-by-side comparison with similar items based on price, sugar, protein or calories.<\/p>\n

Shopper Rod Barco has been using Coupr\u2019s AI shopping assistant on his visits. He\u2019s sold on the feature.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoupr is useful for comparing different products,\u201d he said as he placed a container of Baris brand frozen-dipped raspberries into his cart. \u201cKinda cool. You can look at health metrics or price discounts. You can see how many grams of fiber or protein are in a product.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Customer Customer Rod Barco grocery shops while using Coupr, a smart cart screen used for personalized supermarket shopping. He found a bottle of wine regularly priced at $60 on sale for $44 on the AI device. The device is installed on carts at Milam’s Market in Pinecrest, Florida on July 8, 2026. Al Diaz adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Barco scans a bottle of wine he found via the AI cart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I also like is you can find things on discount,\u201d Barco said, clutching his find. \u201cThis is usually around $60 and it was for $44. Came up as a promotion. I haven\u2019t spoken to the machine yet, but I\u2019m very tech forward,\u201d the 28-year-old Gulliver grad said.<\/p>\n

So he tries that feature out.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake me to the protein-centric snacks,\u201d Barco says, leaning toward the tablet. \u201cWhere can I find a protein snack?\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the command that worked. Sometimes it takes a couple prompts to hit on exactly what you are looking for.<\/p>\n

Coupr flashes product images on its screen in response. Barco opts for a Made Good package of Organic Chewy Granola Bars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went with this one,\u201d he said, product in hand. \u201cA company from Canada. A good amount of fiber,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s great Milam\u2019s is keeping up with technology.<\/p>\n

Aisle-aware promotions: The cart detects its physical location in the store and flashes relevant digital coupons and promotions on-screen as the shopper walks past specific items.<\/p>\n

Personalized memory: By logging in on the screen via a phone number, the assistant remembers customer preferences, suggesting usual purchases alongside relevant new items to try.<\/p>\n

How do these smart shopping carts work? \"A A smart cart screen displays shopping deals while using the Coupr app. The app personalizes supermarket shopping and is installed on carts at Milam’s Market in Pinecrest, Florida on July 8, 2026. Al Diaz adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

You can start by downloading the Coupr app from the Apple store to create a user profile and add, and modify, grocery items to your shopping list, which will then sync to the smart cart screens once you enter the same phone number. Look for the orange grocery cart Coupr logo when scrolling the App Store. But you don\u2019t have to have the app to use the service.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n

You take an equipped cart that will have an attached screen from a row of about 10 at one of the two participating Milam\u2019s Markets.If you\u2019ve input your shopping list, you can tap the Take Me There! black tab next to images of the items. Follow the map. You can also hit a mic icon and speak to the cart, as Barco did to find the granola bars he wanted.The aisle-aware feature can also display similar items as you scroll by or stop and read the ingredients list. In light green-, purple- and blue-colored tabs next to the product image you can immediately spot calories, sugar content in grams and protein. Much easier than reading the fine print somewhere on the packaging the old-fashioned way. Prices are also clearly displayed.When you finish shopping and pull up to the cashier, ask them to scan your cart\u2019s screen. This helps Coupr memorize what you bought so it can offer suggestions or help you find what you are looking for the next time you sign in.<\/p>\n

Currently, the Coupr AI assistant responds in English if you verbally ask, or write out, your request or grocery list item in Spanish. That\u2019s one area developers are working on, Janna said, like the multilingual hologram assistants<\/a> are at Miami International Airport.<\/p>\n

Ash, one of the customers, tried the AI tablet to find coupons and discounts and did so in Spanish. It understood her. She smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it fantastic,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredible add-on. It\u2019s a plus for anybody. It\u2019s like Miami! Anything that can make your life better, more efficient, simpler, is wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

AI grocery shopping growing<\/p>\n

AI-assisted grocery shopping has started to trickle out nationwide.<\/p>\n

Amazon-owned Whole Foods began experimenting with its Dash Cart system<\/a> in some California stores before slowly expanding to other states in 2024, ABC 7 reported when a San Mateo store was the first in California to try the technology.<\/p>\n

Locally, the Midtown Miami Whole Foods at 2910 Biscayne Blvd., and the new Doral Whole Foods<\/a> at 10700 SW 41st St. that opened this month, offer the smart Dash Carts<\/p>\n

These smart carts primarily act as \u201crolling cashiers.\u201d The sensor-equipped shopping carts let customers log in through their Amazon or Whole Foods apps using a QR code and begin scanning items. The carts include a scale for weighing produce. A built-in real-time receipt keeps track of the items in your cart. When you\u2019re done shopping you can use the store\u2019s designated checkout line and sail right out of the store without having to stop and pay. Payment is via the credit card you have associated with your Amazon or Whole Foods account.<\/p>\n

Amazon aims<\/a> to have the Dash Carts walk-out technology service in 25 stores by the end of 2026, according to digital trade publication Grocery Dive.<\/p>\n

Publix did not respond to a Miami Herald inquiry on whether the Lakeland-based chain plans to use similar AI-equipped shopping carts.<\/p>\n

How Coupr technology differs \"Coupr Coupr app smart carts are used at Milam’s Market on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Pinecrest, Florida. AL Diaz adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Unlike the Amazon checkout-focused \u201csmart carts\u201d that primarily act as rolling cashiers, the Coupr carts are built to act as personalized, in-store digital shopping assistants, Janna said.<\/p>\n

The Coupr founder was born in Colombia and worked as a financier for J.P. Morgan in New York for almost six years before earning his MBA at Columbia Business School in 2024. He\u2019s been in New York for the last eight years but says he is in Miami constantly and found South Florida ideal to introduce his concept.<\/p>\n

In the future he envisions, and welcomes, Coupr\u2019s adoption in competing chains like Publix, Winn-Dixie and other popular grocers as the service improves and builds on existing features and adds others.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy passion has always been to do entrepreneurship. My vision for Coupr is to have this in every single store where people are buying,\u201d Janna said. \u201cOf course, there will be learning curves and getting used to using different carts. I mean, we\u2019ve been using regular carts our whole life, right? But I think we\u2019re in this point in history and time when technology is changing so quickly that I want to make sure the technology that\u2019s being introduced in supermarkets is a shopper-first approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

He started with Milam\u2019s last fall at the newest store, the Coral Gables East location on 37th Avenue. That\u2019s a ground-level store in a mixed-used residential business that houses many University of Miami students.<\/p>\n

There was low cart usage at the Gables East store. The college-age shoppers didn\u2019t seize on the AI-loaded carts, Janna said. Perhaps living dorm-style, students buy groceries in smaller quantities. Coupr\u2019s current technology requires the use of a shopping cart to attach its touch screens, not a carrying basket or a smartphone integrated with an Apple Watch, for instance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very familiar with the Milam supermarkets. I know what they\u2019re all about. The shopper. The sense of family and local. You can see that in their selection of products,\u201d Janna said about why he approached that chain first.<\/p>\n

The Grove and Pinecrest stores were selected next and the pilot program service at these two stores has been extended through the end of the summer, Lee Milam said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see where it goes from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milam weighed whether to try the Coupr system for his stores. Both insist the AI assistance isn\u2019t meant to replace store employees that you\u2019d traditionally approach and ask, \u201cWhere\u2019s the bee pollen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of technology, I think, can possibly get in the way of customers\u2019 experience, or shift more of the burden to the customer,\u201d Milam said. \u201cI look at self-checkouts. Something we\u2019ve looked at a lot in the past and do we go that route or do we stay how we are? And we\u2019ve elected to stick with the full service model. We just think it fits better with our brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Coupr technology, however, intrigued the grocery chain\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the surface it kind of seems a little bit like, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re taking the responsibility for helping the customer away from our associates and moving it towards the customer themselves,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBut as we talked to Julian, he helped us understand the benefit that this could offer to shoppers just looking for that instant answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Customer Customer Marcela Ash uses Coupr, a smart cart screen used for personalized supermarket shopping. The device and app is installed on carts at Milam’s Market in Pinecrest, Florida on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, Al Diaz adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Howard Cohen<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Miami Herald consumer trends reporter Howard Cohen, a 2017 Media Excellence Awards winner, has covered pop music, theater, health and fitness, obituaries, municipal government, breaking news and general assignment. He started his career in the Features department at the Miami Herald in 1991. Cohen is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Communication.
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