Walmart Announces Expanded Vision and New Name for its Media Business
January 28 2021 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Walmart Connect, formerly Walmart Media Group,
is growing its offerings to provide unparalleled opportunities for
partners to accelerate their connection to customers in a closed
loop, omnichannel environment
The business is growing fast and poised to
become a top ten advertising platform
Today, Walmart announced an expanded vision and new name for its
media business, now called Walmart Connect. Formerly known as
Walmart Media Group, the new name reflects the company’s unique
ability to accelerate the connection between brands and its 150
million weekly customers. Walmart Connect is creating ways for
partners to be top of mind in Walmart stores, on its digital
properties and across the internet in a way that is additive to
customers’ experiences. The business will harness Walmart’s vast
omnichannel presence, the power of its closed loop system and
knowledge of its customer base to bring brands measurably closer to
their intended audience no matter how they shop.
“Walmart has always connected customers and the great brands
they love, and now we have the ability to offer an easy to use
platform to enhance those connections at scale,” said Janey
Whiteside, chief customer officer, Walmart. “We’ve built a
substantial business that can serve clients in a way no one else
can – as a closed loop omnichannel media company. By expanding our
offerings we’re creating measurable value for our partners and
customers alike in our ecosystem and beyond.”
Walmart Connect is focusing on three strategic areas that will
set it up to become one of the top ten advertising platforms in the
US over five years.
- Growing offerings across Walmart’s digital properties –
Walmart Connect is utilizing the reach of its native digital
properties including Walmart.com, pickup & delivery and the
Walmart App, to offer holistic campaigns including search and
display media, across the digital shopper experience, putting
advertiser messages right next to where customers are making
purchasing decisions. This part of the business is growing fast –
last fiscal year, it saw nearly double the amount of revenue and
more than double the number of advertisers.
- Introducing innovative in-store experiences – Walmart
Connect is unveiling new omni capabilities that allow advertisers
to reach the millions of customers that shop Walmart’s physical
stores each week. The retailer is now offering media activations on
in-store TV walls and self-checkout screens with nearly 170,000
digital screens across 4,500+ stores. Many brand messages can be
delivered with date, time and geographic specificity. These
advancements make Walmart Connect one of the largest instore
activation networks and digital out-of-home ad platform. More
opportunities for brands to be included in in-store experiences and
sampling opportunities such as the Walmart Drive-in, Spooky Street
and more will be offered over time.
- Expanding offsite media opportunities, at scale –
Walmart Connect will be leveraging its unparalleled first-party
shopper data to drive media performance for sellers outside of
Walmart’s proprietary sites. Walmart today announced a partnership
with the world's leading AdTech company, The Trade Desk, to launch
a first-of-its-kind demand-side platform for suppliers and their
media and ad agencies in time for the 2021 holiday season. This DSP
will combine the best-in-class technology and performance of The
Trade Desk platform with the robust scale of Walmart shopping data,
ultimately allowing advertisers to drive more effectiveness with
their overall media spend.
“Walmart is pioneering a new frontier in digital advertising,
providing marketers with access to shopper data for the first time,
in a way that both protects consumer privacy and improves the
consumer experience,” said Jeff Green CEO and Co-Founder, The Trade
Desk. “In doing so, marketers will be able to create much more
refined, relevant and measurable advertising campaigns, which can
be adapted on-the-fly to changing circumstances and real-time
performance. We are thrilled to be working with Walmart to bring
this vision to life.”
Walmart Connect is an important part of the company’s overall
strategy, which includes diversifying its revenue streams, and it
will be strengthened by the company’s other key initiatives. For
example, Walmart+ will nurture loyal customers and generate shopper
data; expanding the company’s ecommerce marketplace will grow the
number of sellers who benefit from Walmart Connect; and creating
new ways of commercializing content will lead to more creative
shoppable placements for items.
“It’s exciting to see our strategy come together in a way that
drives growth for our business, creates value for our partners and,
most importantly, creates a better, more comprehensive shopping
experience for our customers,” added Whiteside.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save
money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores,
online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 265
million customers and members visit approximately 11,400 stores
under 55 banners in 26 countries and eCommerce websites. With
fiscal year 2020 revenue of $524 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2
million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in
sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity.
Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting
https://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at
https://facebook.com/walmartand on Twitter at
https://twitter.com/walmart
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210128005616/en/
Molly Blakeman 1-800-331-0085 news.walmart.com/reporter
Walmart (NYSE:WMT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Walmart (NYSE:WMT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024