• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 9, 2024

Instacart and Roku first announced an off-platform advertising partnership in April 2023 to measure the impact of TV ads on ecommerce purchases.

Now the companies have expanded that partnership offline, supporting campaigns wherever advertisers want to run the media. That includes streaming, search, and social.

During the past year Instacart announced advertising partnerships with YouTube, Google Shopping, Meta, NBCUniversal, and The Trade Desk, among others. 

Today’s announcement supports shoppable ads where CPG advertisers can create a direct path to purchase from an ad creative via text messaging or QR code.

Instacart says people watching content on Roku can see an ad and get the advertised products in their hands in as fast as an hour.

Roku opened its home screen to allow advertisers to place targeted shoppable ads, with product purchases occurring on Instacart. Brands also can reach consumers on Roku by delivering more relevant ads based on their Instacart purchase behavior.

Advertisers can support Roku campaigns with Instacart first-party data.

The audience segments cover a range of targeting objectives such as consumers who have bought products from a specific category and brand, or those new to the category or brand, as well as more specific purchases such as consumers who have purchased kids' products or zero-sugar products. 

Earlier this week, Instacart touted a smart grocery shopping cart that can map out areas of a store to find a specific product. The Caper Cart has run in a limited test in select grocery stores for several years.

Dropping products into the cart automatically tallies them on the screen with help from several cameras, sensors, and a scale built into the cart. Scanning a QR code on the cart and at checkout without waiting in line seems to be the big draw.

When it announced the product, Instacart said triasl were ongoing at Bristol Farms in Corona del Mar, California.