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2024_10_0 Release Notes

Release date: October 22, 2024

The release notes describe changes to Storefront for this release, including new features and enhancements. In addition to these changes, Instacart continually updates the platform to improve accessibility, performance, and stability and to ensure the best user experience for your customers.

New features​

The following new features are available in this release.

Slot manager tool (Storefront Pro 5)​

Use the Slot manager tool in Instacart Platform Portal to view and manage campaigns and creatives assigned to dynamic slots in your storefront.

You can manually set the ranking for campaigns that target the same dynamic slot to determine the order that they appear in the slot. Previously, the ranking of campaigns in the same slot was based on the date the campaign was created, ordered oldest to newest.

The following image shows the Slot manager tool in Instacart Platform Portal:

Shows the Slot manager tool for The Fresh Grocery, listing announcement and banner slots with campaigns like "Testing Fresh Grocery #2" and "Thanksgiving 2024." All campaigns are active with schedules and targeting options.

For more information, see Manage dynamic slots.

Unified drive awareness campaign template (Storefront Pro 5)​

Implemented the following enhancements to create a unified drive awareness campaign template:

  • Removed the search page marketing campaign template. You can now use the drive awareness campaign template to configure campaigns to appear on search result pages.
  • Added the ability to display secondary banners or featured collection carousels on search results pages and define the search keywords.
  • Added the ability to display secondary banners or featured collection carousels on department pages.
  • Added the ability to display featured collection carousels in dynamic slots on the homepage.

For more information, see Manage drive awareness campaigns.

In Instacart Platform Portal, you can now add secondary banners or featured collection carousels to department pages using drive awareness campaigns. When customers view the department pages that you configure, the creative is displayed. You can schedule and target the secondary banner or featured collection carousel to specific customers.

The following image shows an example of a featured collection carousel for Coffee on the Dairy & Eggs department page:

Shows a department page for "Dairy & Eggs", highlighting a featured collection carousel for coffee that includes products like De La Paz and Cameron's Coffee. Cheese options are displayed below the featured collection carousel.

For more information, see Secondary banner carousel (single and split), Featured collection carousel, and Manage drive awareness campaigns.

Announcement banners in drive awareness campaigns (Storefront Pro 5)​

In Instacart Platform Portal, you can now create announcement banners in drive awareness campaigns. Announcement banners are great for informing customers of things such as changed store hours, flash sales, or new locations. You can schedule and target these banners to specific customers.

You can also create multiple announcement banners. When there are multiple banners, they are displayed in a stacked configuration, layered on top of each other. Only one banner is visible at the top at any given time. This configuration helps maintain a clean and organized experience without overwhelming customers. You can control the ranking of the banners using the Slot manager tool.

The following image shows an example of an announcement banner:

Shows a mobile app interface for the Fresh Grocery with a search bar, an example announcement banner, and options for delivery, pickup, or in-store shopping.

To enable this feature, contact your Instacart representative.

For more information, see Announcement banner and Manage drive awareness campaigns.

Banners with color overlay (Storefront Pro 5)​

You can now add a color overlay within primary and secondary banner creatives in Instacart Platform Portal. The overlay covers a predefined portion of the image so that text and buttons can stand out.

The following image shows an example of a secondary banner with a color overlay:

Shows a secondary banner for chocolate treats with a "Shop now" button, featuring an image of chocolate bars. There is a dark green background on the banner behind the text.

For more information, see Primary banner carousel (single and split) and Secondary banner carousel (single and split).

Floating cart​

Customers now see a floating cart above the bottom navigation in native apps. The cart displays messages for Instacart+ customers about savings and free delivery. As customers add items to their cart, the number of items in the cart updates and relevant savings and offers appear. Previously, the cart icon was displayed in the header on native apps.

The following image shows an example of the floating cart:

Shows a mobile app interface for Fresh Grocery. Features a search bar, options for delivery and pickup, and an Advil ad. The "Buy It Again" section lists products like Impossible Burger and Cold Brew Coffee. An orange box highlights the floating cart with the message: "Add $16.01, get free delivery."

For more information, see Cart.

Adaptive search layout​

The adaptive search layout enhances the search results experience by dividing the layout into primary results and related items sections and introducing inspirational carousels. The primary results section displays exact matches and strong substitutions, while the related items section displays items related to the search query and inspirational carousels. These carousels, driven by proprietary machine-learning (ML) algorithms, are designed to inspire additional purchases.

For example, a search for microwave popcorn displays these items in the primary results section. The related items section displays both related products and a Movie night essentials carousel to inspire further shopping. The carousel might display candy, soda, and chips.

Previously, the search layout displayed all results in a grid layout.

The following image shows the Movie night essentials carousel in the related items section:

Shows the search results page for "microwave popcorn," highlighting "Movie night essentials" which includes products like Twizzlers, Sprite, and Ruffles.

For more information, see Search results.

Enhancements​

The following enhancements are available in this release.

Duplicate drive awareness campaigns (Storefront Pro 5)​

In Instacart Platform Portal, you can now duplicate drive awareness campaigns. This capability streamlines the process of creating campaigns by duplicating existing campaigns. When you duplicate a campaign, all fields are copied.

For the campaign that you want to duplicate, in the Campaign & Offers tool, click the row menu and then click Duplicate Campaign. You can also duplicate a campaign you are currently viewing.

The following image shows the Duplicate Campaign option in the Campaign & Offers tool:

Shows the "Campaigns & Offers" tool in The Fresh Grocery. Options include viewing and duplicating campaigns with status and date details. The "Duplicate Campaign" option is highlighted.

The following image shows the Duplicate Campaign button when you view a campaign:

Shows the "Drive awareness" campaign page. Options include deactivating, editing, and duplicating the campaign. The "Duplicate Campaign" option is highlighted.

For more information, see Manage drive awareness campaigns.

Filters as parameters in URLs for collections and searches​

Your marketing emails can now direct customers to specific collections or product searches using URLs with filter parameters. When customers click on deep links to collections with filters, they are redirected to the native app they have installed. Similarly, when they click on links to search results, they are redirected to the app. Alternatively, the search links can be opened in desktop or mobile browsers.

You can get the URLs needed for marketing emails directly from your storefront. For example, to advertise a specific collection, you can navigate to the Bakery department, apply the Gluten Free filter, and then copy the URL to use in your emails. For product searches, you can search for "ice cream,” apply the Lactose Free filter, and then copy the URL.

For more information, see Filter options.

Enhanced onboarding process​

Enhanced the onboarding process by selecting the delivery shopping context for first-time visitors, enabling them to browse the storefront and build their cart immediately. Visitors can either confirm this selection or change it. For example, if the default shopping context is delivery, customers can confirm this selection or change it to pickup or in-store. The shopping contexts available depend on the customer’s address and your fulfillment options.

Previously, customers were required to enter their address and log in before accessing the storefront (also known as a hard gate).

The following image shows the address confirmation on mobile browsers:

Shows a mobile screen of the Fresh Grocery storefront with a delivery option, a search bar, and promotional text for "The freshest finds." Below, a pop-up allows confirming or changing the shopping context.

To change the default shopping context for first-time visitors, contact your Instacart representative.

For more information, see Shopping contexts.

Enhanced search filters​

Implemented the following enhancements to the filters on search pages:

  • Added a horizontal scroll when there are many filters.
  • Added dynamic grouping attributes to help customers hone in on what they want. For example, for milk, the Fat Content filter group might appear to enable customers to filter by fat-free, 1%, 2%, and whole milk.
  • Updated the ranking logic to display filters to reflect the most common ways customers shop. Previously, filters with the most results were displayed first.

The following image shows the filter options when searching for milk: Shows a storefront with search results for "milk." Filters like Fat Content are available. Products include oat milk, organic milkshake, and cow milk.

For more information, see Filter options.

Enhanced low stock replacements post checkout experience​

Customers will now see the replacements dialog immediately after placing an order. The replacements dialog prompts customers to choose replacements if products are low in stock. Previously, customers were prompted to choose their replacements on a separate page after checkout.

If there are no replacements needed, the Post checkout recommendations dialog appears after placing the order.

The following table illustrates the changes:

BeforeAfter
Shows a confirmation page with replacement options for out-of-stock items: butter and Lunchables, with options to replace with shopper's suggestion, specific related items or refund. The replacements prompt appears on a full page.Shows an out-of-stock notification for three items: diapers, shampoo, and mayonnaise. There are options for each item to search for a specific item, replace with best match, or refund. The replacements prompt appears in a dialog.

For more information, see ​​Replacements.

Collections with as little as one product (Storefront Pro 5)​

Collections with as little as one product can now appear in featured collection carousels on your storefront. Previously, collections with fewer than four products would not appear on desktop browsers, and collections with fewer than two products would not appear on mobile.

The following example shows a featured collection carousel with a collection that contains one product:

Shows a featured product carousel with a single product collection. The carousel includes an image of breakfast items and an item tile for a 12 oz bag of coffee.

For more information, see Product carousel.

Enhanced the Collection selector (Storefront Pro 5)​

Implemented the following enhancements to the Collection selector in Instacart Platform Portal:

  • Added filters. You can now filter collections by all, retailer-created, Instacart-created, and departments.
  • Added advanced search. You can now open an advanced search dialog, which allows you to search and filter your collections efficiently. You can also sort the results by the last edited date.

The enhanced selector is available anywhere that you can select a collection, including during the creation of custom homepages or content pages, incentive campaigns, and navigation configuration.

The following table illustrates the changes:

BeforeAfter
Shows a collection search interface with "produce" entered in the search box. Below, suggestions appear: "25% Off Organic Produce" marked as "Retailer created," and "April Peak-Season Produce," both with external link icons.Shows a collection search interface with a text box labeled "Collection" featuring the prompt "Start typing a collection name." Below are buttons for "All," "Retailer created," and "Department," plus a "Type to search..." field and an "Open advanced search" button.

The following image shows the advanced search dialog:

Shows a search interface for departments and collections with the query “dairy” entered. A table lists columns: "Name," "Slug," "Type," "Author," "Products," and "Last edited." Example collection entries include “dairy-n-cheese” and "Dairy & Eggs."

For more information, see Collections.

All store locations option for visibility conditions (Storefront Pro 5)​

You can now choose Select all stores when setting visibility conditions for image tile carousels and quick link carousels in Instacart Platform Portal.

The following image shows the Select all stores option in the Store locations field when setting visibility conditions:

Shows settings for visibility conditions. The platform options include iOS, Android, Web, and Mobile. Login state is set to "All login states." Store locations are set to "All store locations" with a dropdown showing selected stores like "The Garden," "The Garden for IA 12725," and "The Garden - 0002."

For more information, see Image tile carousel and Quick link carousel.

The sponsored product ads carousel has been enhanced to use customer product interactions to show more relevant content. Relevant products are shown when the carousel loads after customers click on products and add products to their cart. This update also increases the likelihood that the carousel will appear on the storefront.

note

If the customer has not clicked on any products or added products to their cart in the current session, the sponsored product ads carousel will not be shown on the page. We are currently looking into options to further improve these scenarios.

For more information, see Sponsored products ads carousel.

Add order ahead items or change item quantities after checking out (Storefront Pro 5)​

For retailers integrated with FoodStorm, your customers can now add items to orders containing order ahead items or change order ahead item quantities after checking out. Customers can use the order status page or cart to modify their order. Previously, customers had to contact the Customer Experience team for these changes.

note

Prepared food and catering orders require some lead time. Customers can only add items or change item quantities within the specified lead time.

For more information, see the Order status page and Cart.

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