Walmart Connect, the retail media arm of the behemoth, is rolling out new self-service ad tools for its long tail of its Marketplace vendors. The tools will give vendors access to capabilities only larger suppliers and agencies had before and open a new revenue stream for the retailer.
Walmart also expects the move to make more lower-priced offerings from third-party sellers discoverable by increasingly cost-conscious consumers amid rising inflation.
The self-service tools are similar to what e-commerce rival Amazon has made available for several years to its thousands of third-party vendors, so Walmart Connect is playing catchup in a sense. But the tools should help Walmart compete more effectively for such third-party sales from smaller sellers, where it long has lagged Amazon, and for the ad dollars captured by Amazon, Meta, Google and other platforms from the long tail of smaller sellers, thanks to self-service ad tools.
In a blog post, Mike Greenberg, head of Marketplace for Walmart Connect, said a self-service Search Brand Amplifier will be available for Marketplace sellers starting next month, provided they’re registered with Walmart’s Brand Portal.
The Walmart Ad Center also will be streamlined for Marketplace sellers, reducing what was a three-day enrollment process to seconds, according to the post. New Marketplace sellers will be automatically onboarded to the self-serve platform, and automatic onboarding will also be rolled out to existing sellers.
Walmart Marketplace is also adding application program interface (API) partners beyond initial markets in Canada, the U.K. and India, with a focus on supporting sellers from China. It expects the new partners to be in place before the end of this quarter, in time for the bulk of holiday spending.
Greenberg in his post said Walmart data shows customers want buying suggestions, and the search platform helps. More than half of Walmart customers say they feel comfortable buying from Marketplace sellers and have done so. “Nearly 90% of those surveyed say they are becoming more cost-conscious and 32% are open to switching brands to save,” Greenberg said. “Marketplace sellers have a unique opportunity to stand out from the competition.”
