Delivery apps become shelf monitors

DoorDash and Instacart launched new tools that let brands see real-time inventory levels on store shelves, tracking what's in stock and what's missing.

DoorDash's Brand Center dashboard

DoorDash rolled out a new ads dashboard called Brand Center that shows advertisers where their products are available and tracks out-of-stock trends across regions and retailers.

Instacart's real-time shelf view

Instacart's new feature shows store managers and CPG brands real-time inventory levels, display performance, and where out-of-stock products are costing revenue. It also reveals when shoppers buy competitors' brands instead.

Reshaping ad spend decisions

Brands can now adjust advertising budgets based on product availability and sell-through rates, shifting spend to regions with better stock or away from out-of-stock locations to minimize wasted ad spend.

“You could argue it's going to help them minimize wastage on ad spend by not advertising where their products aren't listed.”

Instacart's data sources and tech

Instacart uses data from 600,000 delivery drivers and 1.6 billion-plus lifetime orders, plus computer vision technology from Arpalus, which it acquired in July to improve shelf accuracy through AI models.

DoorDash's Dasher photo system

DoorDash delivery workers photograph shelves, and AI models analyze the images to show brands availability percentages, how often items are missing, and which products are most likely unavailable by region.

Fixing problems in real time

Brands can see consumer substitution patterns, control product listings across retailers, and use a new Tasks feature to send delivery drivers to fix inventory problems directly on store shelves.

Competing with retailer ad networks

DoorDash's cross-retailer view gives brands a broader marketplace perspective than Walmart or Kroger's ad platforms, which only show sales data from their own stores.

“You're understanding trends across the total marketplace as opposed to retailer-specific.”