Key takeaways:
- Walmart is unifying its U.S., international and Sam’s Club advertising businesses under one global commerce media strategy led by Seth Dallaire.
- Walmart’s global advertising revenue grew 37% last quarter, with Walmart Connect U.S. up 44% excluding VIZIO.
- Sam’s Club is rebranding its Member Access Platform to Sam’s Club Connect.
As advertisers gather in Cannes this week to debate the future of media, Walmart laid out a new vision for its global advertising business that spans Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club. The strategy, detailed in a blog post published Monday, is led by Seth Dallaire, Chief Growth Officer at Walmart Inc., and centers on building shared commerce media platforms across the three businesses rather than running them as separate operations.
Walmart said the goal is to combine scale, full funnel advertising solutions and first party measurement signals to drive growth for advertisers while creating more relevant shopping experiences for customers wherever they choose to shop.
The company is increasing alignment across Walmart Connect U.S., Walmart Connect International and Sam’s Club through shared technology, tools, platforms and capabilities, which it said will enable faster innovation and a more consistent advertiser experience globally.
“The future of commerce media isn’t about advertising in a single channel but understanding and serving customers and members wherever and however they choose to shop,” Dallaire said in a statement. “Walmart has a unique advantage because we interact with customers everywhere, in stores and clubs, online, through membership, across marketplaces and increasingly through connected media experiences. Few companies can connect those touchpoints at our scale.”
Scale, Solutions and Signals
Walmart frames its strategy around three pillars. The first is scale: the retailer connects the physical and digital customer journey across more than 10,000 stores and clubs worldwide, giving advertisers access to real world shopping behavior at a size few competitors can match.
The second is solutions. Walmart said its full funnel media offerings help brands engage customers at every stage of the shopping journey, from discovery to purchase, and that it will continue expanding connected in-store and digital capabilities.
The third is signals. Walmart’s first-party data gives advertisers visibility into customer engagement and more confident measurement of what is working and why, which the company said is increasingly important as commerce and media converge.
Walmart Connect U.S. now reaches more than 150 million weekly customers through omnichannel solutions, while Walmart Connect International extends those capabilities into Mexico, Canada and Chile. In its most recent quarter, Walmart said global advertising revenue grew 37%, while Walmart Connect U.S. grew 44% excluding VIZIO.
Sam’s Club MAP Becomes Sam’s Club Connect
The announcement includes a rebrand for Sam’s Club’s advertising business. Sam’s Club Member Access Platform, known as MAP, will now be called Sam’s Club Connect. Walmart said the new name reflects how much the business has grown, citing stronger capabilities, deeper advertiser partnerships and a more established position as a growth platform built on one of retail’s most engaged membership ecosystems.
The rebrand also aligns the ad platform’s identity more closely with the Sam’s Club master brand and with Walmart’s broader commerce media strategy. Walmart said Sam’s Club Connect is designed to help advertisers better understand the member journey and to make business outcomes easier to measure.
What Stays Separate
Walmart was clear that Walmart Connect U.S., Walmart Connect International and Sam’s Club Connect will continue to operate as distinct businesses serving the specific needs of their markets. Walmart described the three as increasingly aligned around a shared vision even as they remain operationally separate.
Dallaire Previewed the Strategy at Evercore ISI Consumer Retail Conference
Dallaire made similar remarks on June 10 at the Evercore ISI Consumer and Retail Conference, where he described Walmart’s retail media, membership and marketplace operations as a single interconnected system rather than separate bets. Sam’s Club’s advertising business was among those he referenced at the time.
Today’s announcement formalizes that alignment for Sam’s Club, Walmart Connect U.S. and Walmart Connect International specifically, through shared technology and a shared brand identity.
