How Walmart Connect Is Creating Value for Its Partners

Unique retail media offering lets brands connect with omnichannel shoppers

6/15/2023

Walmart Connect lets brand advertisers reach shoppers across Walmart's physical and digital footprints.

Walmart Connect, the retailer’s closed loop omnichannel media business, is on a mission to create highly personalized shopping experiences for Walmart customers while also delivering value to its brand advertisers. The organization’s Partner Lab is offering innovative new opportunities for those advertisers, and NBCUniversal recently signed on to test a first-to-market offering.

Through the new partnership, and for the first time ever, NBCUniversal is making its live sports streaming inventory available through a retail media network. As such, brands will be able to use Walmart Connect to reach streaming viewers during live sports programs.

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“At NBCUniversal, we know that partnerships fuel progress – and we’re delighted to partner with Walmart Connect to bring brands and sports fans closer together through the content and shopping experiences that keep them on the edge of their seats,” said Joe Cady, EVP of advanced advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. “Sports enthusiasts are an unmatched audience, and with the power and scale of NBCUniversal’s digital advertising capabilities, combined in a privacy-minded way, with Walmart Connect’s shopper data, we’re able to add even more value for advertisers. It’s a win-win across the board.”

In addition to its sports inventory, NBCUniversal is also making its premium programming available to advertisers through Walmart Connect’s premium CTV bundle.

Further, Roku, TalkShopLive and TikTok are sharing their latest results on the Walmart Connect platform. Roku, which piloted shoppable ads through its partnership with Walmart Connect, reports that 57% of its streamers have paused an ad to shop the product online.

“We believe a frictionless omnichannel shopping experience is where the industry is going and should go,” said Jeff Metzner, VP of Walmart team marketing and communications at Procter & Gamble. “The ability to purchase a product directly from a connected TV ad has potential to reduce that friction for the consumer, so we’d like to see these capabilities continue to develop.”

As for TikTok, the social media platform and Walmart Connect piloted a first-to-market retail media insights-powered ad product that allows advertisers to serve in-feed ads. TikTok found that 45% of its users bought a product because they saw it on TikTok. Walmart Connect also found that its TikTok ads with targeted audiences are generating two times higher engagement rates than standard campaigns.

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to expand our partnership with Walmart Connect,” said Matt Cleary, U.S. head of retail and e-commerce, global business solutions at TikTok. “By marrying TikTok’s ability to drive product discovery with Walmart Connect’s rich customer insights and broad product assortment, we are creating new ways for brands to reach key audiences in a measurable and joy filled environment, further connecting the path between inspiration and action.”

Finally, TalkShopLive partnered with Walmart Connect to test how suppliers can create and amplify livestream content at scale on Walmart.com/live, as well as on TalkShopLive’s platform, brand and publisher sites, and across the web. A recent livestream with multiple electronics suppliers on Walmart.com/Live saw higher engagement and conversion than average benchmarks for Walmart Live.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 20 countries. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named it as one of its Retailers of the Century.