As more CPG brands prioritize retail media as a core part of their marketing strategy, the question of where to allocate that spend becomes critical. One of the biggest debates today? Whether Instacart advertising should fall under local retail accounts—like ADUSA, Kroger, or Albertsons—or be managed by national shopper or eCommerce teams. Here’s why the answer should be clear: Instacart belongs with national.
1. Instacart Is a National Platform, Not a Retailer
Instacart is not a grocer. It’s a tech platform—a media network with a national footprint and access to an aggregated audience across hundreds of retail banners. While shoppers may check out via a local store (e.g., Stop & Shop or Food Lion), their path to purchase is platform-driven, not banner-driven. Instacart ads are algorithmically placed based on shopper behavior, not retail loyalty.
Treating Instacart as a retailer is like crediting Meta ad spend to every store where a purchase could happen. It makes no strategic sense.
2. National Teams Have the Right Goals and Tools
Instacart campaigns—especially Search and Display—require:
- Sophisticated keyword strategy
- Centralized budget control
- Performance optimizations that align with broader omnichannel goals
- Full-funnel measurement beyond a single retailer
Local retailer teams are focused on banner-specific priorities like co-branded in-store + digital experiences, local ROAS, and competitive blocking. Instacart doesn’t play by those rules. It’s channel-first, not banner-first. National eComm teams are built to manage channel strategies across retailers, optimize audiences, and drive efficient scale.
3. Funneling Instacart Spend From Local Retailers Dilutes Its Power
When brands move dollars from their local media plans to fund Instacart, they risk weakening the impact of both channels.
- Local retail media (like ADUSA) thrives on closed-loop data, store-specific activations, and category performance within banners.
- Instacart is about influencing behavior across a fragmented path-to-purchase journey—often before a retailer is even chosen.
Trying to serve two masters—supporting local relationships while funding a national platform—results in watered-down strategies and underperforming spend. National teams can fund Instacart without sacrificing the personalized, high-ROAS work local teams drive with retailers.
4. Retailer Teams Shouldn’t Subsidize Someone Else’s Ad Platform
When a local retail media network is asked to include Instacart in their JBP, it can feel like they’re paying for shelf space they don’t own. That budget could be going to:
- Sponsored Product Ads on the retailer’s own eComm platform
- Seasonal onsite display aligned with their weekly ad
- Shopper data activations that move in-store velocity
Instead, it’s diverted to Instacart—a separate entity whose data and shopper insights aren’t shared back with the retailer.
The result? Lost opportunity, frustrated teams, and brand commitments that feel misaligned with retailer expectations.
5. You Can Still Collaborate Without Cannibalizing
This isn’t to say Instacart and local retailers should operate in silos. In fact, the best brand strategies coordinate across all channels. But collaboration doesn’t require co-mingled budgets.
- Local teams can complement Instacart campaigns with geo-targeted offsite, in-store signage, and promo overlays.
- National teams can share performance insights and coordinate campaign calendars with local counterparts.
It’s about alignment, not budget-blending.
The Bottom Line
If you’re a CPG brand, here’s your guiding principle:
Instacart is a national media channel. It should be owned, funded, and optimized at the national level.
Let local retail media do what it does best: drive growth at the banner level through targeted, data-rich programs. Don’t force them to subsidize national platforms under the guise of omnichannel.
Respect the strengths of each team. Fund them appropriately. And watch your media strategy deliver stronger results at every level.