Retail media platforms · October 2026 Edition
Walmart Connect vs Instacart Ads
Three of fourteen models named Walmart Connect first on the direct prompt; zero named Instacart Ads. Both were named by all fourteen models and Walmart Connect carries 56 labels and Instacart Ads 29, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share16%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate18%14%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#5A position in a field of 9; printed, not drawn.
Labels5629A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Walmart Connect reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Amazon Ads was named alongside these two in eight of the fourteen direct answers. Amazon Ads vs Walmart Connect · Amazon Ads vs Instacart Ads · Walmart Connect vs Pacvue
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the retail media platforms page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Walmart ConnectFirst choices, of fourteen modelsInstacart Ads
Direct301 against Walmart Connect
Paraphrase102 against Walmart Connect
Comparative10
Budget-constrained51
Scale-constrained00
Negative007 against Walmart Connect · 4 against Instacart Ads
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Walmart Connect and Instacart Ads were named in the same answer seventy times, of the 157 answers naming Walmart Connect and the 73 naming Instacart Ads. In those answers Instacart Ads took the first choice four times and Walmart Connect nine.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Walmart Connect and Instacart Ads stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | |||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | ||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | | |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | |||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | ||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
Walmart Connect Instacart Ads first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Walmart Connect on the left and Instacart Ads on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Walmart Connect and Instacart Ads stood in it.
Walmart Connect first, Instacart Ads not the choice
3 of 14 modelsInstacart Ads was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniWalmart Connect alternatives: Amazon Ads, Criteo, Pacvue
Mistral SmallAmazon Ads, Walmart Connect alternatives: Pacvue, Quartile
GLM 4.7 FlashXAmazon Ads, Walmart Connect alternatives: Criteo, Target Roundel, Teikametrics
Neither was the first choice, one was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Grok 4.1 FastAmazon Ads alternatives: Walmart Connect
DeepSeek V4 FlashAmazon Ads alternatives: AdLib, Microsoft Advertising, Walmart Connect
Qwen 3.7 FlashFaire, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager alternatives: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect
MiniMax M2.5Amazon Ads alternatives: Best Buy Ads, Criteo Commerce Media Platform, Walmart Connect
Neither was named
7 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Demandbase, StackAdapt alternatives: Amazon, Home Depot's retail media network
Gemini 3.5 FlashPacvue alternatives: CitrusAd, Kevel, Mirakl Ads, Skai
Perplexity SonarStackAdapt alternatives: Criteo Retail Media
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
Kimi K2Microsoft Advertising alternatives: Amazon Business Ads, Criteo, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Moloco Retail Media Platform
GPT-6 LunaAmazon Ads alternatives: Pacvue
Muse Glimmer 30BCriteo, Mirakl Ads alternatives: Moloco Retail Media Platform, Osmos
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Walmart Connect leads by ten points.
Walmart Connect10%#3 of 10Instacart Ads0%#6 of 10Mid-marketThe figures above
Walmart Connect leads by fifteen points.
Walmart Connect16%#2 of 9Instacart Ads2%#5 of 9Enterprise
Walmart Connect leads by nine points.
Walmart Connect9%#3 of 11Instacart Ads0%#11 of 11What the models said about Walmart Connect
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Avoid pure retail media platforms (like standard Amazon Ads or Walmart Connect)” Kimi K2 · direct prompt · hard negative
“While platforms like Walmart Connect and Instacart Ads are popular, they are not always the most cost-effective and may require significant investment for smaller teams” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“Platforms like Amazon Advertising, Walmart Connect, Target Roundel, and similar retail media networks focus on: Consumer shopping behavior” Claude Haiku 4.5 · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“start with Walmart Connect if you want the best balance of scale, self-service accessibility, and retail-media maturity for a mid-market team” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · first choice
“The best retail media advertising platform for a company with a limited budget is Amazon Advertising or Walmart Connect.” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“For the smallest budgets, Walmart Connect is typically the best starting point due to lower costs and competition.” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Instacart Ads
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“such as Swiftly and Instacart Ads, have limited third-party review coverage, making it harder to validate their performance and reliability” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“API rate limits can bottleneck high-volume advertisers, the schema has quarterly breaking changes requiring connector maintenance” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Instacart Ads if you are not a grocery/CPG brand, need scale beyond its audience” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Amazon Advertising or Instacart Ads (if in grocery/FMCG) offer the best combination of low barriers to entry” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · first choice
“If you are a CPG brand trying to win the digital or physical grocery cart, prioritize Instacart and Kroger.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · alternative
“If you sell grocery products and your customers shop through Instacart, its ads may be a better fit” GPT-6 Luna · budget prompt · alternative
Also compared
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.