Instacart Adds Shoppable Videos and Display Ads

Instacart said it has added two new formats to its ad product suite: shoppable video ads and shoppable display ads. The goal for both, the San Francisco-based company said, is to enable CPG brands to shorten the user journey from awareness and product discovery directly to purchase.

Dove, Mondelēz International, PepsiCo and S.Pellegrino are among the first companies that will pilot the two new offerings, Instacart said in a May 26 statement.

“Advertisers choose Instacart because we've built a platform with high-intent consumers, unparalleled scale of retailers, and closed-looped measurement, all of which drives meaningful results for our brand partners," Instacart VP Ali Miller said in a statement.

Miller said Instacart designed its new shoppable ad products to "create more brand storytelling opportunities for CPGs, help them inspire and reach new and existing consumers, and ultimately drive sales in a singular unit." Miller added: "We see that these kinds of shoppable rich media experiences resonate with consumers as well, as we're bringing more discovery and inspiration to the online shopping experience." The company said that throughout the pilot, it will test and learn alongside its CPG brand partners to determine best practices.

Instacart said its new shoppable display product is a way for companies to encourage basket building through discovery and purchase. Instacart said in a statement that more than 40 CPG brands have piloted the shoppable display product, including Dove, which used the product for its "Nourish Your Beauty" campaign.

"Across all our Dove campaigns, we tell real, thoughtful stories of beauty as a source of confidence, not anxiety, that our audience can authentically connect with and that inspire the next generation," said Leslie Miller, marketing director on Dove, in a statement. "At the same time, we are constantly looking for innovative platforms to engage with our audience. Working with Instacart Ads has enabled us to try new tools that do just that. Testing Instacart's new shoppable display and shoppable video ads have equipped us to inspire even more people with our brand storytelling and seamlessly drive purchases as they shop on Instacart."

SVP and e-commerce marketing head at PepsiCo Emily Frankel said in a statement that multiple PepsiCo brands have joined the Instacart video and display pilots to test and learn.

“Shoppable display has proven to be an effective way to drive first-time purchase of our products via the Instacart platform, and while we're just getting started with shoppable video, we look forward to continuing our work to give consumers a compelling omnichannel experience," Frankel said.