DoorDash’s agreement to acquire Instacart, a deal expected to finalize in 2027 or early 2028, brings together large-scale delivery and grocery delivery intermediary operations. The acquisition also combines two substantial commerce media platforms, which increases the reach for all advertisers, while likely making commerce media campaigns accessible to smaller advertisers and regional grocers.

DoorDash’s $1.33 billion in US commerce media ad revenue this year, combined with Instacart’s $1.20 billion—$2.53 billion total—exceeds Uber’s projected $2.11 billion, per EMARKETER’s forecast.

Improving data for grocery advertisers

The acquisition brings substantial resources to advertisers, including added reach and first-party data, based on the scale of DoorDash’s and Instacart’s audiences.

“A combined DoorDash and Instacart would account for nearly a fifth of US grocery ecommerce sales, putting them in the same league as major grocers like Kroger, Albertsons, and Target,” said Arielle Feger, senior analyst at EMARKETER. “They still wouldn’t come close to Walmart or Amazon in terms of revenue, but their real advantage is the data.”

DoorDash launched its DashMart grocery delivery project five years ago, managing product inventory with third-party grocers like Albertsons, Giant Eagle, and others.

The combined reach of both platforms “will enable the best possible logistics and software infrastructure to produce the best possible grocery delivery experience for grocers, consumers, Shoppers, and advertising partners,” according to a DoorDash statement following its October earnings call.

“By combining data from restaurant orders and purchases across a wide range of retail categories, [DoorDash and Instacart] could give advertisers a much fuller picture of how consumers shop, what they buy, and what influences their decisions,” said Feger.

Reach through expanded partnerships

Instacart’s grocery offerings are expanding through embedded partnerships. New partners broaden audience reach and diversity, adding new types of shoppers and marketers that advertisers can reach with commerce media campaigns.

“Momentum with our ecommerce solutions continues, with new Storefront Pro partners including Grocery Outlet and Festival Foods,” Instacart’s CEO Chris Rogers said in a recent LinkedIn post. “We scaled our embedded partnership with Airbnb nationally, so guests across the US and Canada can order groceries directly in the Airbnb app, and launched with Skip in Canada, bringing the Marketplace into Skip’s app and its 50,000+ restaurant partners into ours.”

DoorDash has adopted a similar approach to expanding retail partners and products for delivery.

“We’re bringing more categories online and available for fast delivery,” said DoorDash CEO and co-founder Tony Xu in a LinkedIn post. “The average customer in the US can now get 500K+ retail items delivered [in] under an hour.”

Retailers mentioned in Xu’s announcement include Macy's, Vans, The North Face, and Anthropologie.

Accessibility for smaller advertisers and regional retailers

Bringing together two diverse, expanding networks could make commerce media more attractive to smaller advertisers, while technology could make it easier for regional sellers to stand up commerce media offerings of their own, according to Feger.

“Instead of spreading their budgets across multiple retail media networks, brands could reach shoppers across a much larger group of retailers through a single platform,” Feger said. “That kind of scale, combined with more streamlined planning, buying, and measurement, could help advertisers get more out of limited budgets and resources.”

From a commerce media perspective, the technologies make media network capabilities feasible for regional retailers.

“Instacart’s Carrot Ads already powers advertising for other retailers and commerce platforms, while DoorDash’s Symbiosys brings off-site capabilities,” Feger explained. “Together, they could give smaller retailers the tools to build a full-funnel media business without having to develop the technology themselves. That could be especially valuable for regional grocers that have rich shopper data but lack the resources to fully monetize it.”

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