Who Owns Your Data?
Third party e-commerce providers have control. Here's how to get it back.
Chris Greco
A regional grocer told me over coffee:
“We flipped on Instacart. Digital’s up. We’re winning.”
Six months later, the tickets were there—but the why was missing. They could see orders; they couldn’t see the searches that failed, the items removed from cart, or who was quietly shifting from pickup to delivery. Instacart could.
This isn’t a villain story. It’s a control story.
The Flip
When a third party sits between you and your customer, every click becomes their first-party data asset. Instacart is explicit that it uses first-party data—“browsing, searching and purchasing” on its properties—to power Instacart Ads.
They’ve now productized those insights: Instacart’s Consumer Insights Portal gives brands real-time access to aggregated shopping behavior across tens of thousands of stores. As Instacart’s ads GM Ali Miller put it recently, the company has moved “up the funnel” with richer retail-media targeting.
Retailers, meanwhile, see operational dashboards like Carrot Insights (order volume, OOS, trends) for Instacart-powered storefronts—but that is not the same as owning the raw customer relationship or the full behavioral exhaust.
Translation: you’ll see the receipt. They’ll see the fingerprint.
Instacart’s Position (in their own words)
On first-party data for ads: “To power Instacart Ads, we use first-party data collected through a customer’s activities on Instacart.”
On retailer data visibility (white-label vs marketplace): Instacart’s privacy policy says that on Instacart White Label sites, Instacart “may share with the Retailer information collected from your interactions… including your Personal Information [and] order details.” (That’s the retailer-controlled stack.)
On Connect/Storefront data governance: For Instacart Connect, customer data is provided by the retailer and governed by contract; Connect data is logically separated from Marketplace data.
On the commercial push to shape retailer behavior: New CEO Chris Rogers is urging price parity online vs. in-store—“affordability is probably the biggest unlock to online grocery adoption”—and showing the business case to retailers.
None of that is nefarious. It’s strategic. Instacart is building a high-margin retail-media and insights engine on top of the shopper signals flowing through their apps and properties—exactly what Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger do on their own stacks.
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Why Independents Feel the Pinch
You don’t own the interface on marketplace.
If the customer opens their app, Instacart owns the session data and leverages it for ads/insights. (Again: first-party data on Instacart powers Instacart Ads.)
You get dashboards, not the spine.
Carrot Insights improves ops, but it’s not the same as raw behavioral telemetry (searches with zero results, product comparisons, add-then-remove events) across channels that you can pipe into loyalty, pricing, and promo science.
Retail media gravity pulls upstream.
As Instacart expands end-to-end retail media and audience products, CPGs can target with Instacart’s first-party data—even off-platform via partners. That’s value created atop your customers’ digital journeys.
Industry reporters have noted retailers are “all too familiar with Instacart’s data-gathering capabilities” and the firm’s deepening ad focus since Fidji Simo’s arrival.
The “Trust but Verify” Checklist for Grocers
If you use Instacart’s Marketplace (their app):
Assume Instacart retains first-party behavioral data and uses it for ads/insights; ask exactly what customer-level fields you receive (PII, identifiers, session events).
Map what Carrot Insights does deliver (ops metrics) vs. what your merchandising and loyalty teams actually need (search, browse, abandon, cross-shop).
If you use Storefront Pro / White-Label / Connect (your site, Instacart tech):
Confirm in writing what PII and event streams are shared back (Instacart’s policy allows sharing on white-label). Ensure data rights and portability in your MSA.
Validate that Connect data is contract-governed and separated from Marketplace; negotiate for raw exports or a secure feed into your CDP.
If you buy or sell Retail Media:
Document where targeting audiences originate (Instacart first-party vs. your 1P); clarify co-mingling rules, use cases, and expiry windows.
Playbook: Take Back the Signal (Without Burning the Bridge)
Own the front door wherever possible.
If your name is on the bag, your brand should be on the URL/app—and your stack should capture the signal. Instacart’s white-label can share shopper info back to you; secure that in the contract and wire it into loyalty and pricing.
Treat data like inventory.
Your most perishable SKU is behavioral data. Move it daily into models that power price elasticity, promo guardrails, and “profit-first” personalization. (Operational dashboards ≠ decision exhaust.)
Codify data reciprocity.
Any third party touching your shoppers must provide transparent data access and portability—beyond receipts—so you can measure long-term value, not just last-click sales.
Use Instacart—don’t get used by it.
Marketplace can be an acquisition or convenience channel; your owned stack should be the retention engine. Industry coverage confirms Instacart’s trajectory toward ads/insights—plan accordingly.
Bottom Line
Whoever owns the data owns the decision.
Instacart is doing exactly what great platforms do: ingest first-party signal, monetize it with media and insights, and shape retailer behavior around it—as outlined in its SEC filing.
Your counter is simple, not easy: own your interface, contract your rights, and turn your data into defense. Otherwise, you’re a guest in your own digital store.