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Brief
Instacart Ads

Instacart Ads

Retail MediaDivisioninstacart.com

Instacart Ads is a retail media network (RMN) that enables brands to reach consumers at the point of purchase through a performance-based, pay-per-click advertising model, promoting sponsored product ads directly within the Instacart grocery platform.

Last updated Oct 5, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team · Connections updated Oct 9, 2026

Founded
2012
HQ
San Francisco, California, United States
Connections
103

AI-drafted from public sources9 sources cited

At a glance

Employees
1001-5000
Funding
$2.9B
Revenue
$800M–$1B (advertising revenue)
Stock
CART
35integrations17competitors1partners

About

Leading grocery-focused retail media network with dual positioning as both a media destination and retail media technology provider for third-party retailers

Instacart Ads is a retail media network (RMN) that enables brands to reach consumers at the point of purchase through a performance-based, pay-per-click advertising model, promoting sponsored product ads directly within the Instacart grocery platform. Its suite of ad products — spanning sponsored products, promotions, brand pages, shoppable display ads, display ads, and shoppable video ads — is designed to serve a range of marketing objectives including driving sales, engaging consumers, and expanding reach. Through its Carrot Ads platform, launched in March 2022, Instacart powers retail media networks across 240-plus e-commerce sites — including Thrive Market, Hy-Vee, and Uber Eats' grocery experience — enabling CPG brands and agencies to buy once and activate across an entire ecosystem with consistent measurement. Beyond its own marketplace, Instacart extends its first-party shopper purchase data to off-platform channels including YouTube, Google Shopping, Roku, and The Trade Desk, allowing advertisers to target high-intent audiences and measure incremental impact across the open web and connected TV. Instacart Ads is also expanding into physical retail through Caper Carts — smart shopping carts deployed in nearly 100 cities — which carry loyalty card data, real-time basket signals, and location data to serve contextually relevant ads and product recommendations in-store. Instacart's advertising unit generated $871 million in revenue in 2023, representing nearly 30% of the company's overall revenue. Source 1: skai.io — Instacart Advertising: Unleashing Your Brand's Potential ... Source 2: retailmediabreakfastclub.com — Instacart Ads' Third Act: Ali Miller on Building ... Source 3: modernretail.co — Instacart bets on YouTube to turbocharge its $871M ad ...

Business model

Retail Media Network / Marketplace Advertising

Target market

Enterprise

What they offer

  • Sponsored Products

    Native product listing ads that appear in search results and category pages on Instacart's marketplace, driving direct product discovery and purchase.

  • Display Ads

    Banner and rich media display placements across the Instacart app and website, supporting brand awareness and product promotion.

  • Shoppable Video

    Video ad units that allow consumers to add featured products directly to their cart while watching, bridging brand storytelling with immediate purchase action.

  • Carrot Ads

    White-label retail media technology platform that powers advertising programs for 1,400+ retail banner partners, enabling them to monetize their digital properties.

  • Brand Pages

    Dedicated storefront-style pages on Instacart where brands can showcase their full product portfolio, content, and promotions.

  • Instacart Ads Manager

    Self-serve campaign management platform allowing brands and agencies to create, manage, and optimize ad campaigns with real-time reporting.

  • Shoppable TV

    Integration enabling brands to run TV ads that allow viewers to add products to their Instacart cart via QR code or connected TV interaction.

  • Promotions & Coupons

    Digital coupon and promotional tools that brands can use to drive trial, loyalty, and incremental purchase behavior among Instacart shoppers.

Key features

Closed-loop purchase attribution tied to actual grocery transactionsFirst-party data from tens of millions of grocery-buying householdsSelf-serve and managed service campaign optionsCross-retailer reach via Carrot Ads networkAI-powered campaign optimization and biddingShoppable TV and off-platform programmatic integrationsReal-time reporting and incrementality measurementAudience targeting based on purchase history and intent signals

Use cases

CPG brand new product launches targeting relevant grocery shoppersDriving trial and repeat purchase for food and beverage brandsCompetitive conquesting by targeting shoppers of rival productsSeasonal and promotional campaign execution for grocery brandsRetailer monetization of digital shelf space via Carrot AdsOff-platform audience extension using Instacart first-party dataShoppable TV campaigns connecting brand advertising to immediate purchase

Customer segments

Large CPG brands (food, beverage, household, personal care)Emerging and challenger CPG brandsGrocery and retail advertisersMedia agencies managing CPG accountsRetail banner partners using Carrot Ads technology

Tech & specs

Technology stack

First-party purchase data platformMachine learning and AI for bid optimizationProgrammatic advertising infrastructureReal-time bidding (RTB)Connected TV (CTV) ad servingCloud infrastructure (AWS)Data clean room capabilities

Security & compliance

CCPAGDPRSOC 2

Deployment

Cloud

API

Yes

Corporate history
  1. 2012 · Founded
Connection details
See alternatives to Instacart Ads See integrations with Instacart Ads (35)

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