Hy-Vee RedMedia: the Midwest grocer's retail media network, explained

Hy-Vee sells more than groceries, and RedMedia was pitched on that breadth. At launch Hy-Vee listed pharmacy, dietetics, specialty health care, banking, wine and spirits and online ventures as part of its portfolio. It said this mix shows lifestyle preferences better than most retailers can (Hy-Vee, 22 September 2023). Hy-Vee has not said which of these services feed ad targeting, or how health-related data is kept out of it.

The second difference is how the network was built. Hy-Vee rented most of its machinery. Grocery TV runs the in-store screens and connects them to The Trade Desk. Instacart's Carrot Ads serves sponsored products on Hy-Vee.com. Rippl, a consortium of regional grocers run by Bridg, adds offsite reach and pooled audiences. Ahold Delhaize USA went the other way and wrote its own ad platform, Edge (Ahold Delhaize, 13 October 2025). Hy-Vee's route was faster, and it brought accredited onsite metrics with it.

Renting has a dependency cost. DoorDash agreed in October 2026 to buy Instacart for about $17 billion, with closing expected at the end of 2027 or early 2028 (CNBC, October 2026). DoorDash says it expects to keep Instacart's enterprise technology products. Until the deal closes, Hy-Vee's onsite ad stack sits with a company that is about to change hands.

Onsite. RedMedia began selling sponsored product ads on Hy-Vee.com in September 2025 through Instacart Carrot Ads. They appear in search and browse results. Display ads were announced for later in 2025; we could not confirm their launch.

In-store. Grocery TV powers more than 10,000 screens across more than 400 locations, placed at entrances, checkouts, service counters, aisles and end caps (Grocery Dive, 12 December 2024). Brands could buy them from February 2025. Hy-Vee had earlier installed Samsung cloud-based signage in all stores. The in-store retail media guide covers how screen networks are priced.

Offsite. At launch RedMedia promised ads on "brand-safe sites". Grocery TV's link to The Trade Desk lets RedMedia run offsite and in-store campaigns together. Since July 2025, Rippl has offered RedMedia audiences inside a network of 58,000 locations and over 140 million shoppers (Grocery Dive, 30 July 2025).

RedMedia targets on purchase behaviour and brand preferences, according to Hy-Vee. Through Rippl, brands can also reach shoppers at category, brand and product level across many regional chains, with closed-loop measurement tied to in-store revenue (P2PI, 31 July 2025). Advertisers receive audiences and reports; we found no option to receive shopper-level records or a dedicated clean room.

In April 2025 Hy-Vee became the first retailer on Grocery TV's closed-loop measurement product. It ties screen impressions to sales and reports return on ad spend and incremental return on ad spend (iROAS). Grocery TV said early tests averaged 4.7x ROAS (company claim, P2PI, 29 April 2025).

Onsite, Instacart's MRC accreditation for Carrot Ads covers impressions, clicks, click-through rate and viewable impressions on partner sites, and Instacart names Hy-Vee as a partner (Instacart, 6 November 2025). The accreditation covers delivery metrics, not sales attribution.

1. Contact RedMedia. The team plans managed campaigns across screens, onsite and offsite. Hy-Vee's launch release gave RedMedia@Hy-Vee.com as the contact.
2. Run search ads through Carrot Ads. Brands already on Instacart Ads can extend campaigns to Hy-Vee.com, or use the self-service model.
3. Add in-store screens in the categories where shoppers decide at the shelf, and ask for a Grocery TV lift study.
4. Use Rippl for scale. If you need one audience across many regional grocers, buy through Rippl and attribute sales across the group.
5. Agree measurement up front. Confirm which metrics are accredited and which come from vendor studies.

It suits:

• brands with strong Midwest distribution;
• advertisers already buying Instacart Ads or The Trade Desk;
• CPG brands that sell in categories where in-store screens influence choice.

It suits less:

• brands without Hy-Vee distribution;
• advertisers who want one contract and one data model, since RedMedia spans several vendors;
• health and wellness advertisers who need a written account of how health data is handled.

• Whether display ads on Hy-Vee.com launched as planned in late 2025.
• Which Hy-Vee services (pharmacy, health care, banking) contribute data to targeting.
• RedMedia revenue, rate card and minimum spend.
• Hy-Vee's launch release dates the network to 2023; a 2025 P2PI article says 2022.

1. Hy-Vee, "Hy-Vee Offers Access to its Diverse Portfolio to Launch New Kind of Retail Media Network" (22 September 2023). https://www.hy-vee.com/corporate/news-events/news-press-releases/hyvee-offers-access-to-its-diverse-portfolio-to-launch-new-kind-of-retail-media-network/
2. Hy-Vee, "Hy-Vee Names Retail Media Leader as its Chief Marketing Officer" (27 January 2025). https://www.hy-vee.com/corporate/news-events/news-press-releases/hyvee-names-retail-media-leader-as-its-chief-marketing-officer/
3. Grocery Dive, "Hy-Vee adds more than 10,000 in-store screens" (12 December 2024). https://www.grocerydive.com/news/hy-vee-thousands-screens-advertising-retail-media/735324/
4. Path to Purchase Institute, "Hy-Vee First to Deploy Grocery TV's Closed-Loop Retail Media Solution" (29 April 2025). https://p2pi.com/hy-vee-first-deploy-grocery-tvs-closed-loop-retail-media-solution
5. Grocery Dive, "Hy-Vee expands retail media reach by joining consortium" (30 July 2025). https://www.grocerydive.com/news/hy-vee-expands-retail-media-rippl/756232/
6. Path to Purchase Institute, "Hy-Vee Strengthens Retail Media Capabilities" (31 July 2025). https://p2pi.com/hy-vee-strengthens-retail-media-capabilities
7. Path to Purchase Institute, "Hy-Vee Expands Digital Ad Placements" (10 September 2025). https://p2pi.com/hy-vee-expands-digital-ad-placements
8. Instacart, "Instacart Receives Expanded MRC Accreditation for Carrot Ads" (6 November 2025). https://www.instacart.com/company/pressreleases/instacart-receives-mrc-accreditation-for-carrot-ads
9. CNBC, "DoorDash to acquire Instacart for $17 billion" (October 2026). https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/28/doordash-instacart-maplebear.html
10. Ahold Delhaize, "Ahold Delhaize USA introduces Edge, a new proprietary retail media ad platform built for grocery retail" (13 October 2025). https://newsroom.aholddelhaize.com/ahold-delhaize-usa-introduces-edge-a-new-proprietary-retail-media-ad-platform-built-for-grocery-retail/