Instacart Ads
Instacart Ads connects CPG brands with high-intent grocery shoppers at the point of purchase using first-party transaction data, delivering measurable, closed-loop advertising across the largest online grocery marketplace in North America.
Last updated Jun 3, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment · Connections updated Jun 10, 2026
- Industry
- Retail Media / Grocery Commerce Advertising
- Business Model
- Marketplace / Retail Media Network
- Target Market
- Enterprise
- Employee Count
- 1001-5000
- Funding
- $2.9B
- Revenue Range
- $800M–$1B (advertising revenue)
- Stock Symbol
- CART
- Parent Company
- Maplebear Inc. (Instacart)
- API Available
- Yes
Leading independent retail media network in the grocery vertical, aggregating demand across thousands of retail partners with strong first-party purchase data
Instacart Ads is the advertising division of Maplebear Inc. (Instacart), North America's leading online grocery platform. It enables consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and retailers to reach millions of active grocery shoppers through a suite of performance and brand-building ad formats including Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Display Ads, and Shoppable Video. The platform leverages Instacart's rich first-party purchase data to deliver highly targeted, closed-loop advertising with measurable return on ad spend (ROAS). Instacart Ads sits at the intersection of retail media and grocery commerce, competing directly with Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, and Kroger Precision Marketing. Its unique advantage lies in its position as a neutral aggregator across thousands of grocery retailers — including Kroger, Costco, Publix, and Safeway — giving advertisers broad reach without being tied to a single retailer's ecosystem. The platform also offers off-platform advertising capabilities through its Carrot Ads product, which powers white-label retail media solutions for grocery retailers' own digital properties. As retail media has become one of the fastest-growing segments in digital advertising, Instacart Ads has emerged as a significant player, generating substantial advertising revenue that now represents a major portion of Instacart's overall business. The company went public on Nasdaq in September 2023 under the ticker CART, and its advertising segment has been central to its path to profitability and investor narrative.
Sponsored Products
Cost-per-click ads that promote individual SKUs in search results and category pages, driving direct product discovery and purchase.
Sponsored Brands
Brand-level placements featuring logos, custom headlines, and product carousels to drive awareness and consideration at scale.
Display Ads
Programmatic and direct display placements across Instacart's app and website, targeting shoppers based on purchase behavior and intent signals.
Shoppable Video
Video ad units embedded within the shopping experience that allow consumers to add featured products directly to their cart.
Carrot Ads
White-label retail media technology that enables grocery retailers to build and monetize their own on-site advertising programs powered by Instacart's ad tech stack.
Instacart Platform / Ads API
Programmatic access to Instacart's ad inventory enabling agencies and DSPs to manage campaigns at scale via API integration.
Shoppable Display (Off-Platform)
Off-platform ad units served across third-party publisher sites that allow consumers to add items to their Instacart cart without leaving the publisher page.
- 2012Founded