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How Instacart Is Expanding Growth Beyond Grocery Delivery Services
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Key Takeaways
Instacart is linking marketplace scale, retailer software, advertising and AI to broaden growth.
Storefront Pro users saw 10-plus-point online sales lifts and stronger 90-day retention.
Advertising revenue rose 16% to $286 million as AI and shelf tools broaden the platform.
Maplebear Inc. (CART - Free Report) , doing business as Instacart, is moving beyond its roots as a grocery-delivery marketplace. Its platform now spans enterprise software, retail media, artificial intelligence and connected-store tools.
The investor question is whether these businesses can deepen retailer relationships and support more durable growth as competition remains intense.
Instacart’s Marketplace Keeps Gaining Scale
Instacart’s first-quarter 2026 gross transaction value rose 13% year over year to $10.29 billion, marking its ninth straight quarter of double-digit growth. Orders increased 10%, while average order value rose 3% to $113.
The marketplace is benefiting from better search, more visible promotions, loyalty integrations and price parity. Management has said customers who use search are about five times more likely to place a first order, while price-parity retailers are growing faster on the platform.
Instacart’s Storefront technology now powers more than 380 grocery e-commerce sites. Storefront Pro is a key part of that push, helping retailers run branded online channels while using Instacart’s commerce and fulfillment technology.
Grocers upgrading to Storefront Pro have seen, on average, a more than 10-percentage-point lift in year-over-year online sales and a greater than five-percentage-point improvement in 90-day new-user retention. That gives CART room to cross-sell fulfillment, advertising, connected-store and AI products.
Instacart Advertising Adds a Higher-Margin Engine
Advertising and other revenue increased 16% year over year to $286 million in the first quarter. The business is supported by more than 9,000 brands and more than 310 Carrot Ads partners.
Off-platform advertising arrangements also broaden Instacart’s inventory by letting brands use its first-party data across major digital platforms. Advertising and other revenue represented 2.8% of gross transaction value, still below management’s longer-term 4%-5% ambition.
Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) remains a relevant comparison because Walmart Connect gives brands a large retail media channel tied to online and in-store shopping. DoorDash Inc. (DASH - Free Report) is another key peer as it expands grocery, convenience and commerce-media capabilities across its local delivery platform.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CART Uses Grocery Data to Deepen Its AI Edge
Instacart has data from more than 1.6 billion lifetime orders. That can improve search, substitutions, meal planning, basket building and advertising relevance. Cart Assistant, its conversational shopping tool, is available to about 25% of U.S. customers. The Arpalus acquisition adds shelf-intelligence technology that could improve inventory visibility, product availability and fulfillment accuracy.
Instacart’s Growth Signals Remain Constructive
The platform story is constructive because Instacart is tying together marketplace scale, retailer software, advertising and AI. The challenge is execution, especially as operating costs, competitive pressure and regulatory risks remain part of the investment case.
The Growth Score of A supports the view that CART has attractive growth characteristics. The Value and Momentum Scores of B are still favorable, but they also leave room for investors to weigh margin trends, competitive intensity and the pace of adoption across Instacart’s broader technology platform.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
How Instacart Is Expanding Growth Beyond Grocery Delivery Services
Key Takeaways
Maplebear Inc. (CART - Free Report) , doing business as Instacart, is moving beyond its roots as a grocery-delivery marketplace. Its platform now spans enterprise software, retail media, artificial intelligence and connected-store tools.
The investor question is whether these businesses can deepen retailer relationships and support more durable growth as competition remains intense.
Instacart’s Marketplace Keeps Gaining Scale
Instacart’s first-quarter 2026 gross transaction value rose 13% year over year to $10.29 billion, marking its ninth straight quarter of double-digit growth. Orders increased 10%, while average order value rose 3% to $113.
The marketplace is benefiting from better search, more visible promotions, loyalty integrations and price parity. Management has said customers who use search are about five times more likely to place a first order, while price-parity retailers are growing faster on the platform.
Maplebear Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Maplebear Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Maplebear Inc. Quote
CART Expands Its Enterprise Technology Reach
Instacart’s Storefront technology now powers more than 380 grocery e-commerce sites. Storefront Pro is a key part of that push, helping retailers run branded online channels while using Instacart’s commerce and fulfillment technology.
Grocers upgrading to Storefront Pro have seen, on average, a more than 10-percentage-point lift in year-over-year online sales and a greater than five-percentage-point improvement in 90-day new-user retention. That gives CART room to cross-sell fulfillment, advertising, connected-store and AI products.
Instacart Advertising Adds a Higher-Margin Engine
Advertising and other revenue increased 16% year over year to $286 million in the first quarter. The business is supported by more than 9,000 brands and more than 310 Carrot Ads partners.
Off-platform advertising arrangements also broaden Instacart’s inventory by letting brands use its first-party data across major digital platforms. Advertising and other revenue represented 2.8% of gross transaction value, still below management’s longer-term 4%-5% ambition.
Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) remains a relevant comparison because Walmart Connect gives brands a large retail media channel tied to online and in-store shopping. DoorDash Inc. (DASH - Free Report) is another key peer as it expands grocery, convenience and commerce-media capabilities across its local delivery platform.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CART Uses Grocery Data to Deepen Its AI Edge
Instacart has data from more than 1.6 billion lifetime orders. That can improve search, substitutions, meal planning, basket building and advertising relevance.
Cart Assistant, its conversational shopping tool, is available to about 25% of U.S. customers. The Arpalus acquisition adds shelf-intelligence technology that could improve inventory visibility, product availability and fulfillment accuracy.
Instacart’s Growth Signals Remain Constructive
The platform story is constructive because Instacart is tying together marketplace scale, retailer software, advertising and AI. The challenge is execution, especially as operating costs, competitive pressure and regulatory risks remain part of the investment case.
CART currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The stock also has a VGM Score of A, with a Growth Score of A, Value Score of B and Momentum Score of B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Growth Score of A supports the view that CART has attractive growth characteristics. The Value and Momentum Scores of B are still favorable, but they also leave room for investors to weigh margin trends, competitive intensity and the pace of adoption across Instacart’s broader technology platform.