Instacart is targeting value and affordability as the levers to unlock its next phase of growth, CEO Chris Rogers told the Groceryshop conference in Las Vegas this week.

Rogers laid out the company's strategy to break down the cost barriers that keep consumers from moving their weekly grocery hauls online. High item markups have long made online grocery shopping more expensive than in-store trips, and Instacart sees removing that price gap as the key to converting more shoppers into regular delivery users.

The plan involves working more closely with retailers on strategy rather than simply fulfilling their orders. Through these partnerships, Instacart wants to shed its reputation as just a delivery app and reposition itself as a full-stack operating system for grocery — a platform layer that powers retailers' e-commerce operations end to end.

The move signals how Instacart is defining its role in the grocery ecosystem: less a consumer-facing courier competing on convenience, more an infrastructure partner helping traditional grocers compete on price and digital experience. For marketers and retail media buyers, a larger base of habitual online grocery shoppers would strengthen the retail media network Instacart monetizes across its partner stores.

The affordability push comes as consumers remain highly sensitive to grocery prices and as retailers weigh how aggressively to invest in e-commerce margins. If Rogers' strategy succeeds, the addressable market for online grocery — and the advertising inventory that comes with it — grows accordingly.