LAS VEGAS — Grocery delivery firm Instacart isn’t standing still.
The outfit is transforming its underlying offering and also its advertiser services.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Ali Miller, VP, Product Management, Instacart, describes a raft of new offerings.
The Strategic Push for Off-Platform Presence
With the digital advertising world grappling with signal loss, Miller emphasizes the importance of following where advertising dollars can be “most performant and measurable.”
The shift towards off-platform retail media is a strategic move for Instacart. “The trend in retail media…is being able to reach those consumers and close the loop off platform, which can help brands increase their reach while still making their dollars clearly measurable and perform,” she asserts.
A new collaboration with Google is designed to leverage Instacart’s high-intent audiences to help consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands connect with consumers through Google Ads, leading to conversions directly on Instacart’s platform.
Miller explains, “We are actually going to allow CPG brands to place ads on Google using the power of Instacart audiences to reach high intent consumers.”
Innovating the In-Store Experience
Instacart’s ambition extends into the very aisles of grocery stores.
Miller enthusiastically describes their vision of connected stores and the introduction of their Caper smart carts.
“Instacart really started as taking the best of offline online…But of course, we know people still love to go to the grocery store,” she says. The smart carts, equipped with screens, offer a new ad experience for brands right at the point of sale.
“We’ll be working on understanding how these new ad experiences work well and can scale as caper carts roll out in the thousands by end of this year,” Miller indicates.
Carrot Ads: A Closer Look at Instacart’s Ad Solutions
Miller discusses Carrot Ads, Instacart’s platform that helps retail partners use Instacart’s ad solutions on their own websites, outlining how it enables retailers to launch their own retail media networks without the prohibitive startup costs.
“From day one, they can get access to ads demand from the brands that we partner with,” Miller adds.
Instacart is also leveraging large language models and generative AI to create responsive recommendations for customers.
And Miller discusses the introduction of shoppable video and display products, aiming to “connect inspiration to purchase and shorten the path that consumers need to go through to do that.”
The interview was conducted by Mike Shields, CEO, Shields Strategic Consulting.
