Walmart announced on Tuesday a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery that lets advertisers use its shopper data to target and measure ads on linear television. The deal expands Walmart Connect beyond the retailer’s digital properties and gives it a new way to compete for brand advertising budgets traditionally spent on TV.
The partnership makes Walmart’s first-party data available on a high-reach platform, differentiating the retailer in the competitive retail media market. It follows Walmart’s recent acquisitions of Vizio and ad-tech firm Vibe.co, part of a strategy to build an advertising ecosystem across online, connected TV and traditional television. The deal reportedly responds to advertisers’ demand to use Walmart’s data across more media channels.