Achieving fast, scalable, and consistent ad creative across Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart isn’t a luxury anymore—it’s table stakes. We know firsthand how overwhelming it is for marketing teams and agencies juggling retail media: every platform wants its own sizes, banners, and placements, and the manual grind eats up valuable resources. In this guide we’ll break down the real, practical workflow that lets you build one high-performing ad set and deploy it seamlessly across three of the world’s top retail networks—all while keeping your brand sharp, your workflow sane, and your clients happy.
Why Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart Deserve One Strong Ad Set
Retail media’s growth has moved way beyond digital test budgets. With Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, and Instacart Ads all pulling top-tier investment from brands, the challenge is clear: each network is moving fast, wants a slightly different set of sizes and specs, and competitive pressure is stronger than ever.
- Amazon is the retail media leader, setting the benchmark and delivering measurable results for most performance-driven advertisers.
- Walmart Connect leverages its massive reach, with digital commerce fueling impressive ROAS and clickthrough gains year after year.
- Instacart is a core channel for grocery and CPG, uniquely positioned to serve high-intent shoppers right as they’re filling carts.
One killer creative concept, consistently deployed across these networks, is your ticket to competitive advantage—if you can solve for all their display requirements at scale.
The Core Problem: Creative Fragmentation Costs You Time and Consistency
The retail media landscape looks unified at the strategy level, but it shatters when you open up creative specs. You can face a list like:
- Multiple homepage placements
- Category and search banners
- On-site and off-site programmatic units
- Dozens of IAB-standard plus retailer-initiated display sizes
If you try to individually build every file, it’s not uncommon to see 40–60 ad variations for a single idea—just for basic coverage. This slows time-to-launch and saps creative quality as designers race the clock.
Our Approach: One Concept, Responsive Multi-Size Creative
We believe (and have proven in campaign after campaign) that the best way to win across Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart is to start with a master retail concept structured specifically for multi-network use. Here’s how we break it down:
Retail-Optimized Creative Framework
- Hero product visual set in real-life context
- Core benefit headline (6 words or fewer)
- Short support detail (only on units where it fits)
- Unambiguous brand logo, sized for even the smallest banners
- Universal, retail-neutral call to action (example: “Shop now”)
We avoid retailer-specific text, so one master ad set can serve everywhere. This framework holds up whether your campaign is brand-first, performance-focused, or driving a seasonal spike.
Key Sizing: The Standard Set That Covers All Three Networks
Rather than chasing edge-case custom units, we focus on the sizes that maximize reach and minimize design overhead. These are the sizes you’ll see again and again across Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart:
- 300 x 250 (Inline Rectangle)
- 320 x 50 (Mobile Leaderboard)
- 728 x 90 (Leaderboard)
- 336 x 280 (Large Rectangle)
- 970 x 250 (Billboard)
- 300 x 600 (Half Page)
- 160 x 600 (Wide Skyscraper)
- 320 x 100 (Large Mobile Banner)
This isn’t just theory. By starting with this set, you cover the bulk of high-value placements, from homepage features to category banners and mobile-first ad slots.
The Workflow: Building and Scaling With SizeIM
Our team’s creative production for retail media has fundamentally changed since we adopted a responsive multi-size workflow. Here’s exactly how we approach these multi-retailer campaigns with SizeIM powering the engine:
- Choose your base template or build from scratch—Structure the creative with hero product, benefit statement, and on-brand visuals.
- Set up your Brand Kit in advance—We lock in logos, official brand colors, safety zones, fonts, and other visual guardrails for consistency.
- Select the required sizes as a batch—For most campaigns, we hit the “select all” option on 8–15 key formats, covering everything we need for each retailer.
- Add in your headline, support copy, and CTA—We use retail-agnostic language so our ads can run everywhere without tweaks.
- Auto-generate all sizes—SizeIM creates each ad, responsively adapting layouts, keeping readability and brand standards intact.
- Fine-tune edge sizes (if needed)—For long, skinny, or particularly small units, quick manual tweaks let us keep essential visuals crisp.
- Download complete creative sets—The end result: all ad sizes for Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart ready to upload in minutes, not hours.
Instead of spending 15–20 minutes per size, we do the bulk of the work in 30–45 minutes per concept—then only refine instead of rebuilding. Multiply that across three networks and you easily save 20+ design hours per campaign.
Tuning for Each Network: How to Apply Network-Specific Details
While creative stays visually consistent, we make subtle adjustments inside each retailer’s platform for best results:
- Amazon: Leverage the same creative suite for display and streaming units. Headlines for Sponsored Brands or Products are swapped out in the ad console (not in the creative file) to match search behaviors or seasonality.
- Walmart: Use the same visuals, but orient supporting text fields to value or savings when appropriate. The marketplace values simplicity and cost-effectiveness in messaging rather than flashy creative.
- Instacart: Tap into grocery-specific keywords and optimize for category placements where shoppers are browsing quickly. Use the same visual set, then localize targeting or offer language through the Instacart ad interface rather than redesigning creatives.
This approach means we’re not doubling or tripling design labor when adjusting between networks. The real optimization lives in audience targeting, not creative production.
Reporting: Why a Single Creative Set Unlocks Cleaner Measurement
By running the same creative concept everywhere, we can isolate performance by network—not by design variation. That leads to better insights and more actionable decisions, such as reallocating budget to the best-performing network or quickly swapping offers to respond to market shifts. When your design is a constant, your data is sharper and decisions are easier.
For even deeper strategy tips on this mindset, see our post on what’s changing (and what isn’t) in retail media creative in 2026.
Real-World Example: Launching One Ad Set Across Three Retailers
Let’s say you’re launching a new protein granola product. Here’s how we’d approach the campaign in practice:
- Start with a visual: bowl of granola in morning light.
- Headline: “Protein-packed crunch for busy mornings.”
- Supplemental: “10g protein, less than 5g sugar per serving.”
- CTA: “Shop now.”
We’d configure all branding in the template, lock in our standard 15-size package, and let SizeIM auto-generate the batch. In the network consoles, we’d swap out headlines or offers as needed, but the visual creative stays the same—so we can deploy, adjust, and analyze without creating chaos or inconsistent brand experiences.
Making It Repeatable: The Retail Creative Playbook
Scaling this approach requires repeatable processes, not just good tools. We build out a playbook for each client or brand team:
- A standard list of required ad sizes per campaign
- Brand kits set up in advance
- Template sets mapped to awareness, promotion, and repeat-purchase tactics
- Clear approval flow: design concept validation, message review, then final signoff before deployment to all three networks
By systematizing the process, we turn the chaos of multi-platform production into a series of repeatable wins for both internal teams and clients.
Quantifying the Win: Hours and Headspace Saved
If you’re used to doing everything manually, consider this: for three core creative concepts per quarter, each in 15 sizes and for three networks, you’d easily cross over 135 files. At 20 minutes each, you’re looking at 45+ design hours just on production. With SizeIM, we consistently cut that to 12–15 hours—including time for reviews and tweaks. That shift means more time crafting winning concepts—and less time doing repetitive grunt work.
The Next Steps: Putting Your One Set to Work
Ready to simplify? Here’s how we recommend getting started:
- Define your size matrix—Decide (and align stakeholders) on the sizes you’ll always produce for Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart.
- Craft or adapt your master creative framework according to retail media best practices.
- Build brand kits and template standards in your creative platform for effortless starting points.
- Run a 90-day test—Deploy one creative concept across all three networks, measure results, and compare against campaigns where creative was built out network-by-network.
- Refine, repeat, and scale as you see the time, cost, and performance gains roll in.
Retail media moves faster every season. If your team can turn out complete, compliant sets in an hour instead of a week, you’ll win more—and work smarter.
Where to Go From Here
If your goal is to unlock cross-retailer scale without burning out your designers or downgrading your brand, a responsive multi-size workflow is essential. We’ve witnessed the impact firsthand—faster launches, higher creative consistency, and measurable ROI gains.
Curious about streamlining your workflow further? Check out SizeIM for a tour of our multi-size ad generation platform. There’s no need to keep reinventing the wheel for every new retailer—design once, scale everywhere, and focus your energy where it matters.
