New Economic Impact Report Quantifies Instacart's Role as Grocery Industry Growth Engine and Job Creator
Instacart drives $22.5 billion in added grocer revenue, 237,000 added jobs, $24 billion in shopper earnings, and $3 billion in customer savings, new data shows
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- An Economic Impact Report released today by Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, features new internal and third-party data revealing how its platform powers growth, earnings, and food access across the grocery economy in the U.S. and Canada. What began more than a decade ago as a same-day grocery delivery app has grown into a vital ecosystem that fuels economic opportunity, strengthens communities, and makes fresh, affordable food more accessible for millions.
Instacart's impact on the grocery industry: Instacart has helped U.S. grocers generate more than $22.5 billion in additional revenue and create over 237,000 new grocery jobs since 20121, according to new analysis by Dr. Robert Kulick of NERA Economic Consulting included in the report. Nearly one in three of those jobs have been at small, independent grocers — more than double the industry average — helping local businesses compete and thrive in an increasingly omnichannel industry. Through its partnerships with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners, Instacart now supports delivery and pickup from nearly 100,000 stores across North America.2
"Our analysis shows that Instacart has had a significant and measurable impact on grocery retailers across the United States," said Dr. Robert Kulick of NERA Economic Consulting. "By helping grocers expand their reach and meet growing consumer demand for omnichannel offerings, Instacart has supported the creation of more than 237,000 grocery jobs and driven over $22 billion in additional revenue for brick-and-mortar retailers. This impact not only benefits individual stores and their employees, but also contributes to broader economic growth in local communities nationwide."
Instacart's impact on customers: Customers, too, are feeling the positive impact — especially on their wallets. More than 25 million people across the U.S. and Canada rely on Instacart each year3, placing more than 1.5 billion orders4 and saving more than 1 billion hours since 20125 — time they've been able to spend with family, at work, or in their communities. Between January 2023 and June 2025 alone, customers saved more than $3 billion6 through deals, discounts, and loyalty programs — an average of more than $5 per marketplace order.7 Instacart's reach now extends to 98% of U.S. households, including nearly every home enrolled in SNAP and 95% of households in low-income, low-access areas, helping to close the gap in food accessibility nationwide.
Instacart's impact on shoppers: Shoppers — the independent contractors who fulfill customer orders — are another critical pillar of this ecosystem. Instacart shoppers across North America have collectively earned more than $24 billion8 through the platform, turning grocery shopping into a source of flexible income that adapts to their lives. For many of the approximately 600,000 shoppers on the platform9, this flexibility enables them to balance caregiving responsibilities, pursuing their education, or retirement, while still earning on their own schedule.
Instacart's impact on CPG brands: Instacart's impact extends beyond retailers and shoppers to the brands that fill customers' carts. The company's retail media platform now supports more than 7,500 CPG brands10, driving an average 25% lift in sales for advertisers11 and helping more than 680 Black- and women-owned emerging brands12 reach new customers and scale their businesses. With innovations like digital ads for fresh produce — a first in the industry — Instacart continues to expand how food and grocery brands engage with consumers online.
One common thread that emerges from this new report is Instacart's powerful impact on small businesses. The company has helped create 68,000 jobs at small, local grocers13 and, over the past year, supported more than 1 million businesses using Instacart Business14 to keep shelves stocked and operations running efficiently. Instacart also helps emerging brands grow — with 57% of customers discovering a new brand or product on the platform15, giving smaller brands a meaningful opportunity to break into a competitive marketplace. Together, these small retailers and brands demonstrate how Instacart's technology helps local businesses compete, scale, and thrive in today's grocery economy.
"For more than a decade, Instacart has helped power the grocery industry — connecting retailers, shoppers, brands, and families in ways that create real economic opportunity," said Dani Dudeck, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Instacart. "This report tangibly shows how every order placed on our platform fuels local growth, supports small businesses, and strengthens the communities we serve."
Beyond the numbers, Instacart's impact is also deeply community-driven. Through Community Carts and partnerships with more than 300 organizations, the company has helped facilitate the donation of 360,000 grocery items and other essentials to food banks, schools, and disaster relief efforts.16 Instacart has also donated nearly 14 million meals through a partnership with Feeding America. These initiatives are part of Instacart's broader mission to strengthen the neighborhoods it serves — ensuring that nutritious food and economic opportunity remain within reach for all.
Instacart's 2025 Economic Impact Report offers the most comprehensive view yet of how the company's technology and partnerships create shared value across the economy — driving growth for retailers and brands, unlocking earnings for shoppers, and saving families time and money.
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.
1 Industry data based on 2025 NERA Economic Consulting study.
2 As of December 31, 2024.
3 Unique marketplace orderers in the trailing 365 days in the U.S. and Canada. For the period July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
4 As of Q3 2025. Based on both delivery and pick-up orders since Instacart's entry into the market.
5 As of Q2 2025.
6 As of Q3 2025. Based on savings data on marketplace orders from Q1 2023 through Q3 2025.
7 As of Q3 2025. Based on order data from January 2023 to September 2025.
8 As of Q2 2025.
9 As of Q2 2025. Based on shoppers who completed at least one order during the month ended June 30, 2025.
10 As of Q2 2025.
11 Based on the average of internal tests run across all brand partners during the last four quarters ended September 30, 2025 using an updated methodology with a 28-day lookback period. There can be no assurance that the outcomes for these tests can be maintained or replicated due to a variety of factors, some of which may not be within Instacart's control or cannot be anticipated.
12 As of Q2 2025.
13 Industry data based on 2025 NERA Economic Consulting study.
14 As of Q1 2025.
15 As of Q1 2025, based on an internal survey of customer satisfaction.
16 Based on items ordered between January 1, 2021 and November 5, 2025.
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SOURCE Maplebear Inc. dba Instacart