Instacart IPO Puts Spotlight on Its Evolution Into Ad Seller
- Grocery delivery service has built up its ad operations
- Shares closed up 12% after surge during trading debut Tuesday
The Instacart website.
Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
As Instacart started trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday, investors weren’t betting on a grocery-delivery company. They’re betting on a data and advertising business.
The company, best known for its army of gig-economy workers filling grocery orders, has spent years building up its ad division — a higher-margin operation that capitalizes on a trove of shopping data. That evolution helped add sizzle to the IPO, which priced at the top end of its marketed range Monday, and surged as much as 43% after its trading debut Tuesday. Instacart is now testing public investors’ appetite for its new model.