• DE&I Commitment
  • Careers
  • SIGN IN
  • Book a Meeting
    Book a Meeting
  • Company
    Learn a little more about us, our values, and our team
    Our Values
    We don't just talk the talk; we live by our core values
    About Us
    Empowering brands to realize their potential with data, insights, and technology
    Leadership
    Meet our leadership team
    Secure Data Architecture
    Our promise of data security and privacy. We keep your data safe from publishers, competitors and bad actors
    Corporate Social Responsibility
    We are committed to making a positive impact on our communities and our planet
  • Platform
    Plan, manage, optimize, and measure your campaigns with our omnichannel platform
    Omnichannel Advertising
    A platform that connects all walled garden media for more effective campaigns
    Data Connectivity
    Make data-driven decisions as you plan and strategize
    Product Capabilities
    Take your campaigns to the next level by enhancing your platform capabilities
    See the industries we serve
    Learn how our customizable solutions can help with your unique needs
    Explore our partner integrations
    See the media, retailer, and data partners we work with
  • Case Studies
  • News and Events
    Check out recent announcements and see what we’re up to
    Newsroom
    Check out our recent media mentions and announcements
    Events
    Join us for our next conference or webinar
    Omnichannel platform launch
    Read the press release to see how we're helping marketers win the walled gardens
    Cannes Lions 2023
    Don't miss your chance to meet with Skai leadership in Cannes
  • Resources
    From new releases, to industry trends and best practices, Skai has you covered
    Marketer Insights
    Read the latest blog posts and thought leadership from Skai and other industry experts
    Skai Research
    Explore our studies, reports and whitepapers so you can keep up on the latest industry trends
    Quarterly Trends Report
    See the key digital marketing trends from Q1 2023
    The Breakthrough
    The only resource hub built for marketers in the new era of omnichannel
Back to Blog

2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Instacart

Joshua Dreller, Sr. Director, Content Marketing @ Skai™

October  06, 2021

Welcome, Marketers! Every year around this time, each of our publisher partners provides internal research with helpful data & tips that can shed some light on some of the forces and factors that might come into play during the all-important fourth quarter. This post is part of a Skai 2021 holidays series that shares these publisher insights to help you make any last-minute adjustments to your holiday shopping season advertising plans. Click the links within the content below to visit the publisher sources to get even more information.

With a marketplace spanning nearly 55,000 brick and mortar stores across more than 5,500 cities in the US and Canada, Instacart has “the largest grocery catalog in the world.” For many people at home during the holidays, Instacart is their go-to service to order food and gifts to get ready for the busy festive season. 

Instacart Ads are a fantastic way for consumer goods companies to get in front of consumers during the peak periods of Thanksgiving and Christmas. For Retail Media advertisers, this channel offers not just grocery brands to help drive retail sales, but also a host of other key CPG categories.

You can find great tips and tricks into how to maximize your Instagram advertising programs, check out the Instacart Ads blog. For now, please enjoy these insights from Instacart about just how busy they get during the holiday season and which categories spike during this time.

Instacart Insights from Thanksgiving 2020

Even though a lot of families and friends were apart for the holidays last year, it didn’t mean that the holiday eating slowed down. For many people stuck-at-home, Instacart offered the opportunity to get great food and other items delivered directly to their door.

Instacart Categories Week-Over-Week Growth:

The Week Before Thanksgiving 2020

Holiday food item sales spiked in the week leading up to the holiday

Last year—during the week before Thanksgiving 2020—Instacart saw a 35%+ increase in new users week-over-week (WoW) to help create the perfect Thanksgiving feast.

There was a surge in sweets and baking items that week as well

  • The Dessert category experienced a 51% week-over-week (WoW) increase which made it the 4th highest week in Dessert sales for 2020.
  • There was a 142% week-over-week increase in Dessert Toppings sales growth. It was the highest week in 2020 for Dessert Toppings
  • Baking items also sold well that week with a 74% increase in the Baking Supplies category. Popular dessert baking products were also up:
    • Pie Crust sales grew 212% WoW
    • Nuts sales were up 105%
    • Evaporated Milk sales increased by 125% WoW

People ordered the items they needed to be ready for their Thanksgiving visitors

During the week of Thanksgiving 2020 vs. the prior week:

  • Platform sales were up 17%
  • Order volume was up 21%
  • 20% more customers were shopping
  • Search volume for the top 5,000 terms was up 21%

Instacart Insights from Christmas 2020

The week leading up to Christmas was a busy one for Instacart as 11% more users shopped through the platform versus the previous week. Orders with key seasonal categories (Pies, Egg Nog, etc.) spiked during that period.

Instacart Categories Week-Over-Week Growth:

The Week Before Christmas 2020

‘Tis the season to be merry!

People were stocking up on alcohol the week prior to Christmas…

Week-over-Week (WOW) increase in alcohol sales: week ending 12/23/20

  • Brandy 61%
  • Gin 40%
  • Tequila 45%
  • Whiskey 48%
  • Beer 35%
  • Rum 54%
  • Traditional cocktail ingredient 70%
  • Mixer 58%
  • Prepared cocktails 41%
  • Spearklign 106%
  • Still Wine 35%
  • Cordials 72%
  • Cognac 66%

Instacart customers were still busy ordering Christmas week

People were snuggled all up in their beds, while visions of Instacart deliveries danced in their heads

During the week of Christmas 2020, Instacart platform sales were up 15%

Versus the prior week:

  • 11% increase in customers shopping
  • 10% lift in search volume
  • 12% growth in order volume

Skai’s Retail Media advertising solutions: Unified retail data at your fingertips

Power your Retail Media campaigns with key insights and data that informs all of your go-to-market & marketing activation decisions.
Does your current Retail Media advertising platform offer the important data you need to properly manage your programs?
  • Advertising, retail & contextual intelligence
  • Category & competitive intelligence
  • Consumer & market Intelligence

For more information, visit the Skai Retail Media solutions page.

You can also reach out to schedule a quick demo to see all of these great features in action.

Request a Demo of Skai

Related Posts

  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Roundel
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Walmart
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Gopuff
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Amazon
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Pinterest
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Microsoft Advertising
    Read More
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email
  • Copy Link
    Copied!
Tags: Create, Data, Holiday, Instacart, Measure, Optimize, Plan, Publisher Holiday Trends, Research, Retail Media, Target, xTLx

    Subscribe to Updates

    Media that matters.
    Marketing that works.
    © 2023 Kenshoo, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
    Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Recruitment Privacy Policy.
    • Connected Data
      • Market Intelligence
      • Our Approach
      • By Need
      • By Solution
    • Connected Strategy
      • Dynamic Marketing Mix
      • Budget Forecasting
      • Strategic Consulting
    • Connected Media
      • Overview
      • Retail Media
      • Paid Search
      • Paid Social
      • App Marketing
      • Auditing
      • Expert Services
    • Measurement
      • Incrementality
      • Experiments
      • Cross-Channel Attribution
    • Resources
      • Blog
      • Glossary
      • Case Studies
      • Training & Enablement
      • Developer Hub
      • The Breakthrough
    Privacy Preference

    We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

    Privacy Preference

    Save All

    Save

    Accept Only Essential Cookies

    Manage Cookie Preferences

    Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

    Privacy Preference

    Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

    Save All Save Accept Only Essential Cookies

    Back

    Privacy Preference

    Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website, Imprint
    PurposeSaves the visitors preferences selected in the Cookie Box of Borlabs Cookie.
    Host(s).skai.io, skai.io
    Cookie Nameborlabs-cookie
    Cookie Expiry1 Year
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    PurposeThis cookie stores selections made by the user in the Accessibe tool in order to maintain those settings on future visits. These cookies help us make our website compliant with our obligations under US law.
    Privacy Policy https://accessibe.com/privacy-policy
    Cookie NameacsbState, acsbReset
    Cookie Expiryn/a
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s)skai.io
    Cookie Namewordpress_sec_,wordpress_test_cookie,wp-postpass_*, wordpresspass_*, wordpressuser_*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year

    We use these cookies to enhance functionality and allow for personalisation, such as live chats, videos and the use of social media.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s).chilipiper.com, skai.chilipiper.com
    Cookie Namefs_uid, CHILI_PIPER_CLUSTER, guest-session, _sp_ses*, _sp_id*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s).comeet.co, www.comeet.co
    Cookie Namevisid_incap_, nlbi_#######, incap_ses_, referrer22_00a, incap_ses_1364_2167377
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s)skai.io
    Cookie NamemoduleFormPardotDownload
    Cookie Expiry30 days

    Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Google used for website analytics. Generates statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
    Cookie Name_ga, _ga_*, _gat,_gat_*,_gid, GOOGLE_ABUSE_EXEMPTION, AEC, __Secure-ENID, SOCS, CONSENT
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderHotjar Ltd., Dragonara Business Centre, 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ 3141 Malta
    PurposeHotjar is an user behavior analytic tool by Hotjar Ltd.. We use Hotjar to understand how users interact with our website.
    Privacy Policy https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/
    Host(s)*.hotjar.com
    Cookie Name_hjClosedSurveyInvites, _hjDonePolls, _hjMinimizedPolls, _hjDoneTestersWidgets, _hjIncludedInSample, _hjShownFeedbackMessage, _hjid, _hjRecordingLastActivity, hjTLDTest, _hjUserAttributesHash, _hjCachedUserAttributes, _hjLocalStorageTest, _hjptid, _hjSessionUser_2229986, _hjIncludedInPageviewSample, _hjIncludedInSessionSample, _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress, _hjFirstSeen
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    PurposeVWO is AB Testing software that we'll use to test different elements of the website - form placement, nav, different page layouts, etc.
    Privacy Policy https://vwo.com/compliance/cookies-notice/
    Host(s).skai.io, dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com
    Cookie Name_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_goal_{GOALID}, _vis_opt_test_cookie, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_exclude, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_split, _vis_opt_s, _vis_opt_out, _vwo_uuid, _vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID}, _vwo_ds, _vwo_sn, _vwo_uuid_v2, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_choose, _vwo_referrer, _vwo, _vwo_global_opt_out, _vwo_ssm, uuid
    Cookie ExpirySession / 10 Years

    Marketing cookies are used by third-party advertisers or publishers to display personalized ads. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderLinkedin
    Cookie Namelidc, li_gc, lang, AnalyticsSyncHistory, UserMatchHistory, li_sugr, bcookie, TDCPM, TDID, bscookie, ln_or
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderSkai
    Cookie Nameken_gclid
    Accept
    Name
    Provider6sense
    Cookie Name_gd_session, _an_uid, _gd_visitor, _gd_svisitor, 6suuid
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderPardot
    PurposeCookie name associated with services from marketing automation and lead generation platform Pardot. The visitor value is the visitor_id in your Pardot account. This cookie is set for visitors by the Pardot tracking code.
    Host(s).pardot.com, pi.pardot.com, skai.io
    Cookie Namepardot, visitor_id*, lpv*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 10 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Google used for conversion tracking of Google Ads.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
    Cookie NameIDE, 1P_JAR, NID, _gcl_au, OTZ, test_cookie
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Cookie NamePHPSESSID, sid, okto-autoposter-XXX, oktgid, oktsid, oktlogid-XXX, oktolead-XXX-Email, oktolead-XXX-Company, oktolead-XXX-FirstName, oktolead-XXX-LastName, oktolead-XXX-Phone, oktolead-XXX-Country, oktolead-XXX-Url, oktolead-XXX-State, oktolead-XXX-Comment, optout
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderMeta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Facebook used for website analytics, ad targeting, and ad measurement.
    Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies
    Cookie Name_fbp,act,c_user,datr,fr,tr,m_pixel_ration,pl,presence,sb,spin,wd,xs
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year

    Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderWistia
    Host(s).wistia.com
    Cookie Namecb_anonymous_id, _sp_ses.2b40, _li_dcdm_c, __hssrc, _gcl_au, _clsk, hubspotutk, _sp_id.2b40, __hssc, __hstc, _uetsid, _uetvid, _gid, _ga, _ga_GQR109DZ3Y, _lc2, fpi, _ex-pricing-cta, _fbp, cb_group_id, cb_user_id, _clck
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderMeta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock Instagram content.
    Privacy Policy https://www.instagram.com/legal/privacy/
    Host(s).instagram.com
    Cookie Namepigeon_state
    Cookie ExpirySession
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOpenstreetmap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, United Kingdom
    PurposeUsed to unblock OpenStreetMap content.
    Privacy Policy https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
    Host(s).openstreetmap.org
    Cookie Name_osm_location, _osm_session, _osm_totp_token, _osm_welcome, _pk_id., _pk_ref., _pk_ses., qos_token
    Cookie Expiry1-10 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderTwitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock Twitter content.
    Privacy Policy https://twitter.com/privacy
    Host(s).twimg.com, .twitter.com
    Cookie Name__widgetsettings, local_storage_support_test
    Cookie ExpiryUnlimited
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderVimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA
    PurposeUsed to unblock Vimeo content.
    Privacy Policy https://vimeo.com/privacy
    Host(s)player.vimeo.com
    Cookie Namevuid
    Cookie Expiry2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock YouTube content.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en
    Host(s)google.com
    Cookie NameCONSENT
    Cookie Expiry6 Month

    Borlabs Cookie powered by Borlabs Cookie

    Privacy Policy Imprint