By replacing the open source scanning software in their Shopper app with Scandit’s barcode and ID scanning solution, Instacart improved the reliability and accuracy of its mobile shopping app. Accurate scanning, even in challenging environments and across a range of BYOD smartphones, has enabled shoppers to pick and deliver the correct products faster, and also improved the overall shopper experience.

Challenge

Founded in 2012, Instacart is the leading online grocery platform in North America. Instacart has partnered with more than 600 beloved national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to deliver from nearly 55,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Once customers fill their virtual shopping cart with items from local stores, Instacart connects them with shoppers who accept, pick, and deliver customer orders. 

Guarantee accurate BYOD scanning in all conditions and devices

Shoppers download the Instacart Shopper app onto their personal BYOD (bring your own device) smartphones to handpick items in-store and deliver them to customers. Previously, the app used an open source scanning engine, which had performance issues. For instance, the lighting quality in Instacart’s various partner stores varied, which impacted product scanning, as shoppers could not scan barcodes in glare, reflective light and dimly lit areas. 

Also, certain product barcodes such as on fresh produce offered awkward shelf angles, and could not be scanned using the open source scanning software. In many instances, shoppers faced problems scanning barcodes that were directly printed on products, on curved surfaces and obscured or damaged labels. 

Solution

Fast, error-free smartphone scanning integrated with Enterprise-Level Success

Instacart rolled out an extensive proof of concept program, testing the performance of several software-based scanning solutions including Scandit’s barcode scanner SDK. The tests included in-store performance measures covering poor lighting, and across a wide range of iOS and Android smartphones.

Scandit’s barcode scanner SDK exceeded expectations in every test – delivering a scan rate of about one second per scan faster than its leading competitor, and five to eight seconds per scan faster than other scanning solution providers on the market. Instacart replaced the open source scanning software in their Shopper app with Scandit’s barcode scanning SDK and OCR solution for id scanning of age verifiable purchases.

Results

Scanning support is offered across a thousand different Android and iOS device models.
1000
Millions of products are scanned by shoppers per month.
Millions
Scandit’s barcode scanning SDK is downloaded on more than 500,000 smartphones.
500k

Performance leads to widespread adoption by shoppers

Currently, in nearly 55,000 stores across North America, shoppers using over 1,000 different smart device models running on both the Android and iOS platforms rely on a Scandit-powered mobile app for in-store picking and proof of delivery. Instacart also expressed satisfaction with the ongoing software support Scandit provided and the ease of cloud-based software updates and bug fixes offered. Furthermore, as Scandit’s scanning solution is future-proof, there will always be support for a constantly growing range of devices. 

When Instacart first integrated their Shopper app with Scandit’s barcode scanner SDK in mid-2016, they had 10,000 active devices. Today, Instacart has over 500,000 active devices running the Shopper app, processing millions of scans per month.

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