Minimart 8/28: Something big is coming...

Plus: Instacart's new metric, Sprouts' 2026 strategy, and more...

August 28, 2025

Hi there!

We have some BIG news coming your way in just 10 days - and it’s about to be a major uplevel for Hayden Consultancy. 👀 

I've been working on something pretty incredible behind the scenes that I can't wait to spill all the details on, so be sure to follow along on LinkedIn and Instagram to stay tuned!

In the meantime, we've got a jam-packed edition of retail media updates to dive into. From Target's leadership shakeup to Macy's surprising Amazon partnership, there's a lot happening in our world right now.

Let's get into it!

— Eleanor

Now, onto this week in retail media and shopper marketing →

What’s in our cart?

Biena Tasty Thins Veggie Crisps

One of my go-to crunchy snacks. These thin, airy chips are made with chickpeas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and peas - but you’d never know! If you’ve got a picky eater on your hands (I know a thing or two about that…) these are great way to sneak in some veggies and make for the best hummus vehicle.

Bachan’s Original

This 👏 sauce 👏 belongs 👏 on 👏 everything.

If you’ve never tried Bachan’s, you are sorely missing out! This Japanese barbecue sauce is a flavor bomb of umami, spiced-sweetness, and a hint of OG BBQ flavor. I put it on everything from wings to veggies and it never fails to elevate a meal.

Graza (Glass Edition)

Everyone’s favorite olive oil just dropped its newest form factor, and we are so hype. After totally revolutionizing the olive oil aisle with their iconic squeeze bottles, Graza listened closely to what their customers wanted and put their high-quality olive oil in opaque glass bottles - featuring a fancy pop-up spout to maintain their easy pour! Can’t wait to get my hands on this.

Retail Roundup

Featured retailer marketing updates, deadlines, tips, and more!

📊 Instacart Launches "Out-of-Aisle Impression %" Metric

Instacart just rolled out a new metric in Ads Manager for inspiration ad formats (recipe and occasion-specific ads). The "out-of-aisle impression %" shows what percentage of your ad impressions come from adjacent and complementary aisles.

What this means:

  • Cross-category reach: Track how your ads appear when shoppers browse outside your product's typical aisle (ex. a recipe ad for your sauce in the pasta aisle)

  • Upper-funnel insights: Understand your brand's reach into new shopping occasions and use cases

  • Campaign optimization: Identify which inspiration campaigns truly expand your audience vs. just reaching existing shoppers

Pro tip: You can use this metric to justify budget allocation toward inspiration campaigns. If you're seeing 80%+ out-of-aisle impressions, you have solid evidence that recipe and/or occasion ads are driving true incremental reach.

🎯 Albertsons Conquesting Campaign Strategy

Albertsons is doubling down on competitive targeting with enhanced conquesting capabilities - a strategy where brands bid on competitor brand names and keywords to intercept shoppers searching for rival products.

Key benefits:

  • Premium placement: Your products appear when shoppers search for competitor brand names

  • Category domination: Expand beyond your typical brand searches to own entire product categories

  • Smart bidding: Target competitor keywords with automated bid adjustments based on performance

Suggested action: Review your competitor landscape and identify high-value brand terms to target. Start with your top 3-5 direct competitors and expand from there.

Macy's Partners with Amazon for Retail Media Ads

Macy's Media Network announced a partnership with Amazon Retail Ad Service, making it the first major department store to leverage Amazon's retail media technology. Starting this fall, advertisers will be able to purchase sponsored product ads on Macy's site through Amazon's familiar platform and partners like Skai.

Partnership highlights:

  • Advertisers can buy Macy's inventory without going through Macy's direct sales reps

  • Integration with existing Amazon Ads workflows and API partners

  • Criteo partnership remains intact as a "complementary" solution

  • Data sharing limited to transaction data through AWS clean rooms

While Macy's existing Criteo partnership continues, this dual-platform approach could create new opportunities for campaign management. It reminds me a lot of when Target had Citrus and Criteo - I imagine this is a test to decide which they'll use more long term.

🚚 DoorDash Criteo Integration

Similarly, we're hearing that Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands will be available on Criteo for DoorDash campaigns. More details to come, but the DoorDash platform isn't going anywhere as the primary option. Seems like it's becoming more common for partners to test multiple platforms at once to compare results. 👀 

Kroger introduced a Featured Product Overlay that makes Top of Aisle (TOA) placements instantly shoppable. Shoppers can now add products directly from TOA displays without navigating to product pages, which should improve conversion potential.

🌱 Sprouts 2026 Strategy Released

Sprouts unveiled its 2026 playbook with key initiatives around rewards, personalization, and retail media expansion:

  • Sprouts Rewards: 2% back, app-based points + rewards, classes, recipes, special offers for enhanced consumer data collection

  • Founders & Forages: Origin story sharing via email/landing page to build authentic brand narratives

  • Personalization: Tailored email offers (monthly + quarterly), "New for You" product recommendations

  • Retail Media: Expanded onsite (homepage, weekly ad, app/storefront), offsite paid, and owned media capabilities

✅ This Week's Retail Media To-Do List

Double-check your Instacart reporting setup: Remember that your Attributed Sales in Ads Manager includes cross-platform results (Costco Sameday, Sprouts, Uber Eats, etc.), while your Total Sales in the Insights Tab only shows Instacart.com performance. Make sure you're pulling the right metrics for your analysis!

Thanks for reading!

— Eleanor