In the latest move by WalMart in its prolonged competition with Amazon, the retail chain has moved its online ad sales in-house, as it has done so with its media sales recently. This will help expand that business, as WalMart is hoping to own a larger market share in online ad sales.
With 300 million shoppers visiting WalMart stores each month, and millions more shopping on their e-commerce site, the retailer’s audience surpasses Google, Facebook or Amazon, according to Forrester research cited in a recent Bloomberg report. Therefore, ad sales are, without a doubt, a massive revenue stream for the company.
Up until now, WalMart’s digital ad sales were handled by Triad – which is a part of GroupM’s performance marketing group. This move is expected to cause a lot f job cuts. Ad Age reported that Triad will be enforcing non-compete clauses in their contracts, thereby preventing employees from moving to Walmart Media Group.
With the current and estimated growth in WalMart’s ad sales, the company has a wealth of transactional and other customer data that could help brands optimize their campaigns. This year, Amazon is estimated to monetize 16% of the searches on its site, compared to Walmart’s 1%, according to Ad Age citing a report from Gartner’s L2.
In Q4 2018, WalMart reported a 1.9% increase in total revenue, reaching $138.8 Billion. The brand’s e-commerce sales jumped 43% and the company’s grocery pickup and delivery segment contributed to the e-commerce growth. WalMart also said it is embracing new technology, like robots to scan store-shelf inventory and clean floors, and VR devices to train employees.
