Quick Commerce and the Retail Media Revolution
Quick commerce has transformed the way consumers shop, redefining convenience with near-instant delivery of groceries, meals, and household essentials. However, beyond its impact on logistics and e-commerce, quick commerce is now emerging as a major force in digital advertising. As consumer behaviours shift toward on-demand purchases, these platforms are leveraging their vast first-party data and high-intent audiences to become key players in the retail media landscape.
At the same time, Retail Media Networks (RMNs), once dominated by major retailers, are evolving. A new generation of commerce intermediaries – including Uber, DoorDash, and Instacart – is entering the space, creating advertising opportunities that were previously unavailable. With quick commerce projected to account for a growing share of retail media investments, brands that understand this shift stand to gain a significant advantage.
Quick Commerce and the Rise of Retail Media Investment
Retail media has long been associated with e-commerce giants and brick-and-mortar retailers, but a new wave of quick commerce platforms is now capturing ad budgets. The appeal is clear: these platforms generate vast amounts of first-party data from millions of real-time transactions, allowing brands to reach consumers at the exact moment of purchase. Unlike traditional search and social media advertising, which often focus on awareness or intent-based targeting, quick commerce ads are served in environments where shoppers are actively making buying decisions.
Unlike traditional retailers, quick commerce platforms don’t own or manage inventory—they simply connect consumers with merchants. This means they avoid the costs of warehousing, logistics, and supply chain management, which typically eat into retail margins. As a result, every dollar they make from advertising is high-margin revenue, making their ad business more scalable and profitable than traditional Retail Media Networks.
The growth of retail media as a whole underscores this shift. Retail media ad spend has quintupled since 2019, with off-site retail media expected to surpass $28 billion by 2028 (eMarketer).. As more advertisers seek to diversify beyond traditional digital ad channels, quick commerce platforms are increasingly well-positioned to capture these budgets.
Expanding Ad Inventory: Beyond Apps to Connected TV and In-Store Advertising
Quick commerce companies are not just transforming online advertising; they are also expanding their reach into new digital and physical environments. Instacart, for example, has pioneered in-store retail media solutions, including smart carts and digital shelf displays that allow brands to engage shoppers as they navigate the aisles. This approach brings the advantages of digital advertising—targeting, measurement, and attribution—into the physical world, creating seamless omnichannel experiences for consumers.
Beyond in-store innovations, quick commerce platforms are also moving aggressively into off-site advertising. Partnerships with publishers and streaming platforms enable brands to target consumers beyond the app, extending their reach to shoppers who have engaged with their services but may not be actively browsing at that moment. Connected TV (CTV) is another rapidly growing channel in this space. With retail media CTV ad spending projected to exceed $10 billion by 2028 (eMarketer), shoppable TV ads are becoming an increasingly valuable way for brands to drive conversions while consumers watch content.
This expansion signals a fundamental shift in how retail media works. Quick commerce is no longer just about driving sales within its own ecosystem; it is evolving into a broader digital advertising network that spans multiple channels.
The Power of Data and Measurement in Quick Commerce Advertising
For advertisers, one of the most compelling aspects of quick commerce advertising is its measurement capabilities. Unlike other digital ad platforms, which often struggle with fragmented attribution, quick commerce platforms provide closed-loop measurement, allowing brands to track exactly how their ads translate into sales.
This demand for measurement innovation has led to increased adoption of Media Mix Modelling (MMM), a technique that enables advertisers to evaluate effectiveness without relying on third-party cookies. With the decline of cookies and growing concerns about data privacy, this type of measurement is becoming essential for brands looking to optimize their campaigns in a privacy-compliant way.
Additionally, because quick commerce platforms capture SKU-level purchase data, advertisers can analyse performance at a granular level. Instead of broad demographic targeting, brands can fine-tune their campaigns based on real-time consumer behaviour—what people are buying, when they are buying it, and even how frequently they make repeat purchases. This level of precision makes quick commerce advertising one of the most accountable and performance-driven digital ad formats available today.
Quick commerce platforms also have a unique advantage over traditional retailers: cross-merchant data. Unlike single-store retail media networks, they collect transactional insights across multiple merchants, offering brands a broader and more comprehensive view of consumer behaviour. This allows advertisers to refine targeting strategies and optimize campaigns across different shopping environments.
Why Quick Commerce Advertising Is Gaining Traction
The unique combination of high-intent audiences, rich first-party data, and seamless attribution is driving increased interest from brands across industries. Unlike traditional digital advertising, where consumers may browse but not buy, quick commerce platforms allow advertisers to engage with shoppers at the moment they are making a purchase decision. This results in significantly higher conversion rates compared to other digital ad formats.
As privacy regulations tighten and the industry moves away from third-party cookies, first-party data is becoming a critical asset. Quick commerce platforms, which operate within logged-in, transaction-based environments, are particularly well-suited to thrive in this new landscape. Brands are now shifting their ad spend toward these platforms, recognizing that they offer the ability to deliver personalized, relevant ads while maintaining compliance with evolving data privacy laws.
Hyper-local targeting is another key advantage. Because quick commerce operates at a city or even neighbourhood level, brands can create localized promotions tailored to specific regions, weather conditions, or even time of day. This is particularly valuable for grocery brands, restaurants, and consumer packaged goods companies looking to reach customers in precise geographic areas.
The Future of Quick Commerce Advertising
As more advertisers move away from traditional digital channels in search of higher-performing alternatives, quick commerce is poised to become an increasingly important part of the retail media landscape. The platforms that invest in AI-driven targeting, automation, and real-time measurement will be best positioned to attract ad spend and deliver measurable results.
With the rapid evolution of connected TV, in-store media, and off-site advertising, quick commerce platforms are set to become a dominant force in digital advertising. Their ability to combine first-party data with immediate purchase intent makes them uniquely valuable in a world where performance, measurement, and privacy compliance are top priorities.
Quick commerce is no longer just about fast delivery—it has become a key player in the evolution of retail media advertising. As the industry shifts toward privacy-first solutions and measurable ad performance, quick commerce platforms offer brands a powerful new way to engage consumers in highly relevant, real-time shopping moments.
For advertisers, this is more than just a trend—it’s an opportunity to be part of the next wave of digital advertising. As retail media continues to evolve, quick commerce is proving that it is not just a logistics solution, but a full-scale advertising ecosystem in its own right.
