Instacart Advertising for CPG Brands: 5 Things You Should Know Before Trusting the Metrics | Left Hand Agency CPG High Five
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Instacart has become one of the biggest retail media platforms in grocery.
Instacart advertising for CPG brands is attractive because it sits close to purchase, offers strong measurement, and can absolutely drive sales. But some of the metrics require deeper interpretation.
We recommend the platform often. But like most retail media platforms, some of the metrics need a little interpretation.
Here are five things brands should keep in mind before taking every number at face value.
1. “New-to-Brand” Does Not Always Mean Truly New
Instacart typically defines New-to-Brand (NTB) based on whether a shopper has purchased your brand on Instacart within a recent lookback window, often 26 weeks.
That’s still useful. But it’s not always the same thing as a completely new customer.
Someone who bought your brand:
8 months ago
in-store instead of on Instacart
or just occasionally as a light buyer
…may still get counted as “new-to-brand.”
And in a lot of CPG categories, people simply don’t buy that often.
So NTB can sometimes reflect:
reactivation
retailer switching
or someone rediscovering the brand
…not necessarily first-time acquisition.
Still a valuable metric. Just worth understanding how to interpret it.
2. ROAS May Look Better Than the Brand Economics Actually Are
One thing that catches some brands off guard: Instacart ROAS is based on the retail transaction value inside the platform.
But some retailers charge more on Instacart than they do in-store.
So:
the consumer may pay more
attributed sales dollars may go up
but the brand’s wholesale revenue may barely change.
If a product sells for:
$5.00 in-store
but $6.25 on Instacart
…the platform may calculate ROAS against the $6.25 value.
That doesn’t mean the metric is wrong. It just means platform ROAS and manufacturer economics are not always telling the same story.
That’s why a lot of stronger commerce teams also look at:
units
household penetration
incrementality
and contribution margin
…alongside platform ROAS.
3. Sponsored Search Often Captures Demand That Already Exists
Instacart can be really effective at converting shoppers who are already ready to buy.
But like most retail media platforms, some of that intent existed before the ad ever showed up.
Especially on branded search terms.
If someone searches your exact brand name and clicks the sponsored placement, the platform may attribute the sale to advertising even if the shopper was already planning to buy you.
That doesn’t make sponsored search less important. Defending shelf space and keeping competitors out still matters.
But there’s a difference between:
capturing existing demand and
creating new demand.
Those are very different objectives.
4. Instacart Has More Residual Value Than Brands Sometimes Realize
One of the more interesting parts of Instacart is what happens after the first purchase.
Once someone buys your product, you can start showing up in:
Buy Again placements
shopping history
saved carts
and reorder behavior.
The platform makes repeat purchasing pretty frictionless once consumers get into a habit.
That first conversion can end up carrying more long-term value than brands initially expect.
A lot of that repeat behavior won’t fully show up in short attribution windows.
5. “Accept No Substitutes” Might Be One of the Best Loyalty Signals on the Platform
One of the more interesting metrics on Instacart is substitution behavior.
If shoppers consistently select: “Accept No Substitutes”
…that’s often a pretty strong signal of real brand preference.
Especially in grocery, where so many purchases are interchangeable.
When shoppers actively reject alternatives, it usually says something meaningful about:
product attachment
differentiation
or habit strength.
In some cases, it may actually tell you more about loyalty than ROAS does.
Where Instacart Advertising for CPG Brands Actually Fits?
Instacart sits in a really interesting middle ground.
It’s obviously performance-oriented. It’s close to purchase and highly measurable.
But it also affects:
visibility
repeat behavior
digital shelf presence
and long-term shopping habits.
A lot of brands still evaluate the platform mostly through a ROAS lens.
That’s probably too narrow.
The better conversations usually end up being about penetration, repeat behavior, incrementality, and long-term household value.
We are Left Hand Agency, a CPG media buying agency helping brands grow with short and long-term strategies. Our memory-driven strategies deliver results your marketing and finance teams will champion.
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