Walmart has big plans to grow Walmart Connect — the retailer’s U.S. advertising business — this year.

“The role of our advertising business is earning increased attention — especially after the announcement of our agreement to acquire VIZIO, our rollout of new in-store experiences, and pilots with major media partners,” Walmart Connect senior vice president and general manager Rich Lehrfield said in a press release.

Walmart ranks No. 2 in the Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000. The Top 1000 is a database ranking North America’s leading retailers by online sales.

These are Walmart’s Connects plans for 2024.

More advertising options in more places

Walmart’s plan is to make advertising easier, particularly for marketplace sellers, who are the fastest growing advertiser segment, Lehrfield said. Their spending grew 63% in 2023. 

To facilitate further growth, Walmart Connect will add:

• Greater on-site display access: Walmart Display advertising will become more programmatic and auction-based, opening to brands of all sizes in April. The self-service Walmart Ad Center will also make on-site display ads available to emerging brands.
• Non-endemic brands: Walmart will accept advertisers that don’t sell with the retailer but offer “complementary” products. Automotive, entertainment, financial services, quick-service restaurants and travel will all be included to start.
• International expansion: The retailer will add more self-service tools for international marketplace sellers.

Advertising beyond Walmart.com

Walmart Connect says omnichannel shopping is more important than ever for its advertisers. Therefore, it’s offering more places to advertise beyond the Walmart website. Those will include:

• In-store demo areas with samples.
• Self-service capabilities for in-store campaigns, beginning with TV wall ads.
• Media partnerships with Roku and TikTok.

Better targeting and measuring

Walmart also wants to provide more precise measuring tools to advertisers, who want to get the most out of advertising spending, Lehrfield said. Walmart Connect is testing in-store attribution for sponsored search ads, with plans to continue improving the feature throughout 2024. It also has plans to introduce conversion lift for in-store campaigns and store lift and reach for in-store demos.

Walmart Connect will also bring better analysis tools to Walmart’s demand-side platform (DSP) and expand access to Walmart AdMix and more precise targeting tools.

Greater creative capabilities 

Walmart says it will also help advertisers tackle creative challenges in their advertising goals. First, Walmart Connect will introduce more integrated marketing solutions, like seasonal programs and supplier-led store events.

Advertisers will also get access to more self-service tools for their advertising campaigns this year, including video and new templates. In addition, Walmart plans to roll out machine learning tools to help advertisers build and optimize the creative portions of their ads.

When did Walmart Connect start?

Walmart formed Walmart Connect in 2021, formerly called the Walmart Media Group.

“We’ve built a substantial business that can serve clients in a way no one else can — as a closed-loop omnichannel media company,” chief customer officer Janey Whiteside said in a statement at the time. “By expanding our offerings, we’re creating measurable value for our partners and customers alike in our ecosystem and beyond.”

Since then, the retailer has made moves to grow its advertising business, most recently with its proposed acquisition of Vizio.

Walmart Connect generated about $3 billion in sales last year and is growing quickly. In Walmart’s fiscal fourth quarter report, chief financial officer John David Rainey said sales increased 22% year over year. Rainey said advertising will likely continue to play a large role and drive Walmart’s profitability thanks to its higher margins as compared to groceries.

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