Dive Brief:
- Walmart Connect, the retailer’s U.S. advertising arm, announced an expansion of its offsite retail media strategy through partnerships with additional demand-side platforms and supply partners that can now activate the company’s data, according to a company blog post.
- Yahoo's DSP is joining the initiative, offering inventory for Vizio, Walmart's connected TV platform, via Magnite. The move represents the first time Walmart is connecting with the two platforms to allow advertisers to activate Walmart’s customer data outside of the Walmart DSP.
- Additional platform partnerships will include more Yahoo DSP integrations and capabilities. The expansion, which is currently in a closed, proof of concept phase, arrives as retail media networks increasingly prioritize offsite strategies.
Dive Insight:
Walmart Connect is expanding access to its first-party audience data and measurement capabilities through new DSP and supply-side platform partnerships, starting with Yahoo and Magnite. The move represents a major next step for the network in growing its offsite capabilities following the end of its four-year exclusivity deal with The Trade Desk last fall. Walmart initially partnered with The Trade Desk in 2021 to power its standalone DSP.
Walmart Connect’s growing focus on offsite comes as a number of other retail media networks, from Dollar General to Home Depot and Albertsons, similarly look to provide more full-funnel capabilities. Offsite retail media ad spending in the U.S. is forecast to top $17 billion in 2026, a 29.5% year-over-year increase, according to EMarketer.
Walmart Connect’s offsite strategy is intended to bring its audience insights and closed-loop measurement into DSPs and programmatic buying environments where advertisers already are, beginning with a focus on CTV inventory. Walmart acquired Vizio, a connected TV device maker, for $2.3 billion in 2024 to help advertisers reach audiences across the increasingly valuable CTV and streaming landscape.
The supply-side technology from Magnite is able to support advertisers with audience decisioning across several DSPs while also leveraging Walmart’s data enablement model. The deal also provides access to Walmart’s closed-loop measurement to help advertisers better connect media exposure to actual sales outcomes. In 2025, offsite display campaigns through Walmart Connect delivered a median of 52% new-to-brand customers for advertisers, per release details.
Walmart is also continuing to focus on its existing DSP through efforts including the recent launch of Connect Select, a curated media inventory marketplace that is meant to streamline access to relevant omnichannel inventory, with a focus on CTV.
Walmart Connect, excluding Vizio, saw a 44% year-over-year increase in revenue during the retailer’s fiscal 2027 Q1, according to an earnings statement. The company’s global advertising business recorded a revenue increase of 37% over the same period.
