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
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