Instacart and Allegiance Expand Retail Media Partnership

Instacart has expanded its partnership with retailer-owned co-op Allegiance Retail Services.

The collaboration involves the introduction of Instacart’s Caper Carts at select Foodtown stores, as well as new omnichannel capabilities designed to unify Allegiance’s digital, loyalty, and in-store experiences, the companies announced in a news release Tuesday (Jan. 27).

“Independent grocers play a vital role in their communities, and we’re proud to work alongside Allegiance to equip their members with the tools they need to succeed and grow,” said Merrick Rosner, head of revenue and solution sales, independent grocery for Instacart.

“Across the U.S., independent retailers using Instacart’s technology are achieving meaningful results – from substantial e-commerce growth to significant increases in profitability through retail media revenue. By expanding their partnership with Instacart, Allegiance is giving its members even more ways to grow by meeting customers wherever and however they shop.”

As part of the partnership, Instacart’s enterprise commerce platform Storefront Pro is now powering eCommerce capabilities across all Allegiance retailers, and bringing Instacart’s Carrot Ads retail media tools to these businesses.

In addition, Instacart’s AI-powered Caper Carts are now live at three different Foodtown locations with more deployments planned for this year. Allegiance is also expanding its use of FoodStorm, Instacart’s order management system for prepared foods and catering.

The partnership is happening at a time when, as PYMNTS wrote earlier this month, retail media networks “are moving from the margins of advertising strategy to the center of how brands and retailers compete, as data and media increasingly converge to shape consumer experiences and marketing outcomes.”

Recent coverage here has followed this evolution. For example, CVS has discussed how it is turning its massive store of first-party data into a retail media advantage that links loyalty, transaction and behavioral insights to advertising performance.

In addition, PYMNTS has reported on how retail media networks are unlocking commerce by using first-party data to better understand intent and gauge results across channels.

Meanwhile, recent PYMNTS Intelligence research finds that consumers are increasingly buying their groceries through digital channels as prices climb.

Although grocery costs are often used as shorthand for inflation, grocery baskets themselves have not shifted dramatically in size or composition. Instead, the research finds that financial stress is leading to a bifurcation in grocery shopping behavior, especially in the move toward online channels.

“Consumers under high financial stress are 6 percentage points more likely to purchase groceries online than those under low stress,” PYMNTS wrote recently. “This pattern does not reflect a general surge in online shopping, but a targeted move toward grocery purchases that offer more visibility into prices, discounts and budgets.”