2025_02_0 Release Notes
Release date: February 25, 2025
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.
Standalone Store locator page (Storefront Pro 5)
Retailers can now link to a standalone Store Locator page through a direct URL. The Store Locator page features a searchable map of nearby locations, where customers can view all available stores, check services and hours, and set their preferred store.
The following image shows an example of the standalone Store locator page:
To add a link to the store locator page to your navigation, include the URL (/store/[slug]/store-locator) as the destination. For more information, see Manage the desktop header, Manage the mobile web menu, and Manage the More menu.
New storefront navigation layouts and tools (Storefront Pro 5)
Instacart is in the process of migrating storefronts to use new layouts. The new layouts can be configured using the new Merchandising > Navigation tool in Instacart Platform Portal. To see if your storefront has access to the new Navigation tool and layouts, contact your Instacart representative.
The new Merchandising > Navigation tool allows you to configure the navigation for your desktop website, mobile website, and native mobile apps. Previously, the Header and Footer was configured in the legacy Navigation tool, and applied across all instances of the storefront.
With the new layout options, your desktop header navigation will have two bars. You can configure the position of elements such as the account menu button, fulfillment selector, logo, and search bar and cart button.
The following image shows an example of a new desktop header layout:
You can also configure the styling of your mobile web header and native app header.
For more information, see Manage desktop navigation, Manage mobile web navigation, and Manage native app navigation.
Mobile web menu configuration (Storefront Pro 5)
In Instacart Platform Portal, you can now configure your mobile web menu using the new and enhanced Navigation tool. Instacart is in the process of migrating storefronts to use the new Navigation tool and more capabilities will be added in following releases. To see if your storefront has access to the new Navigation tool and layouts, contact your Instacart representative.
The mobile web menu launches from the menu icon in the header, and includes a link to the customer’s account settings, and a departments list. You can add, edit, move, and remove menu links in link blocks.
The following images show an example of the different sections of the mobile web menu:
- Link block 1. Link block 1 appears at the top of the mobile web menu. We recommend adding primary links to this section such as Buy it again, Savings, and Loyalty.
- Departments. This preconfigured section includes a list of links to your departments. To configure your departments list, see Manage departments.
- Link block 2. Link block 2 is an optional section where you can add additional links.
- Link block 3. Link block 3 is an optional section where you can add additional links.
The number of available link blocks and the position of the departments list depends on your current configuration. To add or remove a link block in your mobile web menu, contact your Instacart representative.
For more information, see Manage mobile web navigation.
Native app more menu configuration (Storefront Pro 5)
In Instacart Platform Portal, you can now configure the More menu of your native app using the new and enhanced Navigation tool. Instacart is in the process of migrating storefronts to use the new Navigation tool and more capabilities will be added in following releases. To see if your storefront has access to the new Navigation tool and layouts, contact your Instacart representative.
The More menu launches from the tab bar and includes preconfigured links to the customer’s account settings and order details. You can add, edit, move, and remove menu links in link blocks that appear below the customer’s information.
The following image shows an example of the More menu:
For more information, see Manage native app navigation.
Store labor performance custom report
In Instacart Platform Portal, added a new dataset with store labor performance metrics to the Custom Reports tool. This allows you to view and download the same data featured in the Store labor performance dashboard as a report.
For more information, see Datasets and templates.
Configure Widgets in Instacart Platform Portal (Storefront Pro 5)
You can now configure prebuilt widgets in Instacart Platform Portal. Prebuilt widgets allow you to embed e-commerce capabilities to a non-storefront site.
For more information, see Widgets.
Enhancements
The following enhancements are available in this release.
Enhancements to replacement items
Implemented the following enhancements for higher quality replacement suggestions:
- Items without availability data are excluded from replacement suggestions.
- Items previously disapproved by the customer are excluded from replacement suggestions.
- Customer’s preference is considered for replacement suggestions based on past history.
For more information, see Replacement items.
Exclusive In-store shopping mode for flexible store operations
Retailers can now configure store locations to enable In-store mode exclusively, while disabling Pickup and Delivery services. This functionality helps coordinate store openings or closings, where in-store shopping needs to remain available.
To enable this functionality, contact your Instacart representative.
Improved internal linking for search engine optimization (SEO) (Storefront Pro 5)
Quick Link and Image Tile formats now use links for navigation instead of buttons. This update improves site accessibility and enhances search engine visibility.
Improved canonicalization for search engine optimization (SEO)
Canonical meta tags for product and recipe pages now include human-readable slugs to improve SEO and better support search engine indexing.
Manage departments for complex retailer structures (Storefront Pro 5)
For retailers with multiple banners, you can now configure your departments in one place to be consistent across your banners in Instacart Platform Portal. Departments can be managed from the main banner, and changes will apply to all other banners in a site in approximately 1 hour.
This feature is only available for complex retailer structures. To configure this feature, contact your Instacart representative.
For more information, see Manage departments for complex retailer structures.
Collection type filter (Storefront Pro 5)
In Instacart Platform Portal, added a collection type filter that allows you to filter the list of collections by Retailer created or Instacart created.
The following image shows the Collection type filter:
For more information, see Manage collections.
Added GMV metrics to Creatives dashboard
In Instacart Platform Portal, added GMV metrics to the Creatives dashboard, allowing you to view the performance of creatives used in drive awareness campaigns.
For more information, see Creatives dashboard.