Walmart is widening its retail media ambitions beyond its own buying tools, betting that advertisers want its shopper data and sales measurement inside the platforms they already use.
Walmart Connect earlier this year declared it is expanding access to its first-party audiences and closed-loop measurement through outside programmatic partners, starting with Yahoo DSP and VIZIO inventory enabled through Magnite. The move marks a notable step in what amounts to a more open-web strategy: instead of keeping activation largely within Walmart’s own DSP, the retailer is making its data available across additional buying environments.
“Advertisers are under pressure to deliver more efficient and measurable growth across a fragmented media landscape,” Ryan Mayward, GM and SVP of Walmart Connect, wrote in the company post. He said the goal is to reduce workflow duplication while preserving access to Walmart’s shopper signals and measurement.
Walmart Pushes Its Shopper Data Into More Media-Buying Channels
The broader access to Walmart data could help brands reach consumers across channels while still tying ad exposure to commerce outcomes. The strategy puts the Arkansas-based retailer in closer competitive conversation with Amazon DSP, but the two approaches are not identical.
Both Walmart and Amazon are trying to solve the same marketer problem: how to use retailer first-party data to target audiences beyond owned-and-operated properties, especially across connected TV and the broader open internet, while proving whether those impressions drove sales.
A More Open Approach Than Amazon’s Retail Media Model
In Walmart’s case, the company is emphasizing interoperability. Its latest announcement highlights access through third-party demand-side platforms and Magnite’s supply-side technology, allowing buyers to activate Walmart audiences inside existing workflows rather than forcing them into a single proprietary platform.
That is a contrast with Amazon DSP, which has historically been associated with a more vertically integrated model. Amazon’s advantage has long been the depth of its commerce data, direct links to its media and shopping ecosystem, and a mature in-house DSP that lets advertisers buy both Amazon-owned and third-party inventory. Walmart, by contrast, is signaling that openness itself can be a selling point.
The distinction matters because many large brands and agencies already have entrenched programmatic systems. Walmart’s pitch is that advertisers should not have to change buying habits to use Walmart data.
“By making Walmart Connect’s audiences and measurement available for activation to buyers in the Yahoo DSP, we’re reducing friction in the buying process,” Adam Roodman, general manager of Yahoo DSP, said in Walmart’s announcement.
Connected TV is Emerging As A Key Battleground
Walmart is leaning hard into connected TV as a proving ground for that model. The company said its expanded setup will help advertisers reach high-intent audiences across CTV environments, including VIZIO supply, with “greater scale, efficiency, signal fidelity, and control.” This focus coincides with streaming continuing to attract both viewers and brand budgets.
Still, Walmart is not abandoning its own platform. The company said Walmart DSP “remains a key tool” for accessing its full off-site stack, even as it opens new pathways through outside partners. That creates a hybrid strategy: keep the proprietary rails, but let advertisers use Walmart data elsewhere too.
For marketers, the comparison with Amazon DSP may come down to control versus convenience. Amazon offers scale through a powerful native platform tied to a vast commerce ecosystem. Walmart is increasingly positioning itself as the more flexible alternative, offering retailer data and closed-loop attribution without requiring advertisers to stay inside one platform.
If that openness resonates, Walmart’s latest move could help narrow one of retail media’s biggest competitive gaps: not the quality of commerce data, but how easily marketers can put it to work.