• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 17, 2024

Instacart has made YouTube ads shoppable by connecting ads that run on Google's video site to the grocery store platform. The move allows brands to access its trove of shopper data in an effort to take a larger share of the rapidly growing retail media market. 

The ads are powered by Instacart’s retail media technology and fulfillment network. The pilot announced today at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity extends first-party retail media data to YouTube.

Fidji Simo, CEO and Chair of Instacart, believes that "by expanding into shoppable YouTube ad formats, we’re merging the power of video creative with our valuable first-party data and seamless shopping experience.”

Retail media spending grew 6% in May, while average cost per click rose 1%. Average spending per day rose 2%, according to Skai, a performance marketing company. The report was released in June.

YouTube has the majority of total share of streaming and TV watch time. A recent Google and TalkShoppe study found YouTube is the No. 1 platform consumers use to search, research products and make purchase decisions, with viewers watching more than 30 billion hours of shopping-related content in 2023.

Through this extended partnership, select brand partners will have an opportunity to convert consumers watching YouTube directly to make purchases. Then they will have an option to have the products delivered on the same day. The capability builds on Instacart’s Google Shopping Ads collaboration announced earlier this year.

In January, Instacart announced a partnership to deliver Google Shopping Ads for its CPG partners. Brands included Danone and Nestle USA were among the first to pilot the offering.

Instacart’s AI-powered merchandising combines nutritional preferences, past purchases and real-time trend data to engage high-intent consumers across Google’s properties and facilitate purchases on Instacart.

Pilot partners’ shoppable video campaigns on YouTube will leverage Instacart’s first-party data to identify and reach high-intent consumers, and receive closed-loop measurement. 

For Instacart, today's announcement lets the company compete with Amazon for purchases and deliveries. Simo said it marks an important next step to make grocery shopping effortless by helping consumers easily go from discovery to purchase.