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Smart Cart study aims to help users make healthier grocery purchases for those who use the grocery shopping app

URI Smart Cart 2.0 study will provide feedback on quality of grocery purchases

Close up of woman using smart phone while shopping in supermarket.
The newly developed Smart Cart 2.0 app, designed to be used online with Instacart, is intended to help people make healthier food purchases. (Image: iStock)

KINGSTON, R.I. – Nov. 6, 2025 – While many people discovered online grocery shopping applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, the apps have continued to attract new users, making online grocery shopping a convenient and popular option.

Now, Maya Vadiveloo, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition of the University of Rhode Island’s College of Health Sciences, is conducting a consumer research study using a platform developed at URI called Smart Cart 2.0. The study will explore user experiences with the newly developed Smart Cart 2.0 app designed to be used online with Instacart and is intended to help people make healthier food purchases.

Vadiveloo recently led other researchers in investigating barriers to healthy eating and using personalized apps, such as Smart Cart 2.0, for online grocery shopping. The study’s results were published in a peer-reviewed article in September in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Those who participate in Vadiveloo’s current study will receive $40 for completing a survey, doing their grocery shopping with Instacart for a week, and grocery shopping the following week using the Smart Cart app and Instacart. Participants will submit PDFs of their Instacart receipts. An additional $10 can be earned for spending at least $10 on produce during the second week of shopping.

To receive the gift card, all inclusion and survey criteria must be met, and surveys will be reviewed for completion.

To be eligible for the study, people must

  • speak English
  • be at least 18 years old
  • be the primary shopper in the household
  • regularly shop online using Instacart
  • have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher or diagnosed with hypertension/high blood pressure
  • have access to a desktop computer

Those who meet the criteria may email URISmartCart2.0@gmail.com for more information.

Vadiveloo will randomly select about five participants to share their experiences with Instacart and Smart Cart 2.0 during a 20- to 30-minute exit interview. Those selected will receive an additional $20 gift card.

Those with questions about this study, they may contact Vadiveloo at (401) 874-2992 or maya_vadiveloo@uri.edu.

The professor expects to publish the results of the study in a scientific journal by the spring or summer of next year.