Associated Food Stores Expands Instacart E-Commerce and Retail Media Solutions to Owned Banners and Member Retailers

Rhea-AI Summary

Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) announced on November 11, 2025 that Associated Food Stores (AFS) will deploy Instacart's white-label e-commerce solutions, Storefront and Storefront Pro, across five owned banners and more than 40 member-owned banners.

The rollout brings e-commerce, retail media monetization via Carrot Ads, and Caper Carts to banners including Fresh Market, Lin's, Macey's, Broulim's, Davis Food & Drug, Kent's, and Lee's. AFS members join over 350 existing Storefront customers.

Positive

• Davis Food & Drug sales +24% after adopting Storefront Pro
• Davis monthly retail media revenue grew 2–3x with Carrot Ads
• Rollout scale: deployed across 5 owned + 40+ member banners
• Network size: AFS members join 350+ Storefront customers

Negative

• None.

Insights

Retail tech partnership analyst

Instacart expanded white‑label e‑commerce and retail media across Associated Food Stores' owned and member banners, boosting digital monetization and online sales.

Instacart's Storefront and Storefront Pro rollout across five owned banners and over 40 member banners brings a unified e‑commerce layer and access to the Carrot Ads retail media stack to local grocers such as Fresh Market, Lin's, Macey's, Broulim's, and Davis Food & Drug. The technical mechanism links branded storefronts, AI smart carts (Caper Carts), electronic shelf labels (Carrot Tags), and a single retail media network so retailers can sell products online, host promotions, and capture advertising revenue through the same platform.

Dependencies and risks include merchant adoption and execution, integration of in‑store hardware with the white‑label software, and the ability of local teams to sell and fulfil online orders; these factors determine whether reported gains replicate broadly. The release cites a 24% sales uplift and a "2-3x" monthly retail media revenue increase at one merchant, which demonstrates proof of concept but does not guarantee network‑wide outcomes.

Watch metrics over the next 6–18 months: incremental online GMV and take‑rate, retail media revenue per store, merchant onboarding cadence, and fulfilment cost trends; also monitor further rollouts and any disclosed aggregated performance figures on a multi‑merchant basis by November 11, 2025. This partnership is a net positive for digital monetization and e‑commerce reach across AFS members, conditional on consistent execution and scalable merchant economics.

The adoption of Instacart's white-label e-commerce solutions comes after recent rollouts of Instacart enterprise technologies at AFS member retailers, including Davis Food & Drug and Stewart's Marketplace

SAN FRANCISCO and SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced that Associated Food Stores (AFS), a retail co-op, is bringing Instacart's white-label e-commerce solutions, Storefront and Storefront Pro, across five owned and operated banners and over 40 member-owned banners. Through this partnership, AFS will bring e-commerce and retail media capabilities to its owned and operated banners, including Fresh Market, Lin's, and Macey's, and independent member stores, including Broulim's, Davis Food & Drug, Kent's, and Lee's, providing them with a simple and fast way to expand into online grocery.

"We're excited to partner with AFS to bring our white-label e-commerce solutions and retail media monetization to their owned and operated stores and independent retail banners," said Nick Nickitas, General Manager of Independent Grocery and Mid-Market Retail Partnerships at Instacart. "AFS has always championed innovation for local grocers, and together we're scaling their digital transformation. With Instacart, AFS retailers are providing a seamless, connected shopping experience for their guests in-store and online, while maximizing retail media contribution to enhance profitable growth."

"Partnering with Instacart gives our local, independent retailers the ability to offer their shoppers a world-class online shopping platform - one that meets or exceeds what other regional or national grocers are doing today," said Jason Sokol, Vice President of Marketing at AFS. "With Storefront Pro, retailers have access to Carrot Ads, which fuels new opportunities for retail media growth while providing guests with a simple, reliable way to shop their favorite local stores online."

"Instacart's Storefront Pro has allowed us to go online quickly and confidently with a best-in-class e-commerce solution that delivers strong growth and revenue opportunities," said CJ Davis, President of Davis Food & Drug. "With Instacart's premium white-label e-commerce solution, we saw a 24% increase in sales and our monthly retail media revenue grew by 2-3x with Instacart's retail media solution Carrot Ads¹." 

As a Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates (ROFDA) member, AFS is also leveraging Carrot Ads as their retail media network, providing in-store and online retail media revenue opportunities for owned and operated and member retailers using Storefront Pro and Caper Carts, Instacart's AI-powered smart cart. 

This AFS partnership builds on their member retailers' existing partnership with Instacart to bring the company's enterprise-grade suite of technology to deliver a unified, seamless, and personalized experience to their customers in-store and online:

• Davis Food & Drug introduced Caper Carts to all stores in 2024 in addition to Carrot Tags, Instacart's electronic shelf label software.
• Stewart's Marketplace debuted Caper Carts in 2024, along with Carrot Tags, earlier this year.
• Soelberg's Market launched Caper Carts in 2024. This year, Soelberg's has expanded its e-commerce presence, joining the Instacart App and powering their owned and operated website with Instacart's premium white-label e-commerce solution, Storefront Pro.

Storefront and Storefront Pro provide AFS' grocery banners and independent members with a solution to expand e-commerce capabilities. Retailers enabling Storefront Pro will also unlock new retail media capabilities by giving them access to Instacart Carrot Ads, allowing them to monetize their digital and physical footprints through a unified retail media network. AFS member retailers join over 350 Storefront and Storefront Pro customers, along with hundreds of catering storefronts too, powered by Foodstorm.

To learn more about Instacart Storefront and Storefront Pro, visit: https://www.instacart.com/company/retailer-platform/storefronts.

About Instacart
Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com. Maplebear Inc. is the registered corporate name of Instacart.

About Associated Food Stores
Associated Food Stores is a retailer-owned wholesale cooperative based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since 1940, it has empowered independent grocers with full-service warehousing, distribution, logistics, and retail solutions. What began as a partnership between 34 grocers to strengthen buying power and compete with national chains has grown into a network of nearly 500 stores across the Intermountain West. More than 80 years later, Associated Food Stores remains rooted in its founding mission—while continuing to lead with innovative solutions for a changing industry. Learn more at afstores.com.

¹ Over a 12-week period from 7/15/2024 - 9/29/2024 compared to the same period prior year and average monthly revenue compared to the same period prior year.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/associated-food-stores-expands-instacart-e-commerce-and-retail-media-solutions-to-owned-banners-and-member-retailers-302610971.html

SOURCE Maplebear Inc. dba Instacart

FAQ

What did Instacart announce about AFS on November 11, 2025 (CART)?

Instacart said AFS will adopt Storefront and Storefront Pro across five owned banners and 40+ member-owned banners.

How did Storefront Pro affect Davis Food & Drug sales and media revenue?

Davis reported a 24% sales increase and monthly retail media revenue rose 2–3x after adopting Storefront Pro and Carrot Ads.

Which AFS banners will use Instacart e-commerce solutions (CART)?

Owned banners include Fresh Market, Lin's, and Macey's; member stores include Broulim's, Davis Food & Drug, Kent's, and Lee's.

What retail media solution will AFS retailers get with Storefront Pro?

Retailers enabling Storefront Pro unlock Instacart's Carrot Ads, a unified retail media network for online and in-store monetization.

How many Storefront customers does Instacart have after the AFS expansion?

AFS member retailers join over 350 Storefront and Storefront Pro customers.