Brief Overview

  • Walmart Connect, Walmart's U.S. advertising division, announced the expansion of its off-site retail media strategy with new demand-side platforms (DSPs) and supply-side partners, which can now activate Walmart's first-party data, according to a company blog post.
  • Yahoo's DSP will join the program, offering inventory from Vizio, Walmart's connected TV platform, through Magnite. This marks the first time Walmart has partnered with these two platforms, allowing advertisers to activate Walmart's customer data outside of the Walmart DSP.
  • Additional platform partnerships will include further integration and feature expansion with Yahoo DSP. The expansion is currently in a closed proof-of-concept phase, coinciding with retail media networks increasingly focusing on off-site strategies.

Deep Insights

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. This move marks a significant step in the network's off-site capability growth, following the conclusion of its four-year exclusive partnership with The Trade Desk last fall. Walmart initially partnered with The Trade Desk in 2021 to power its independent DSP.

Walmart Connect's growing focus on the off-site space comes as several other retail media networks, from Dollar General to Home Depot and Albertsons, also seek to offer more comprehensive full-funnel capabilities. According to eMarketer forecasts, U.S. off-site retail media ad spending will exceed $17 billion in 2026, up 29.5% year over year.

Walmart Connect's off-site strategy aims to bring its audience insights and closed-loop measurement capabilities into the DSPs and programmatic buying environments where advertisers are already active, with an initial focus on CTV inventory. Walmart acquired connected TV device maker Vizio for $2.3 billion in 2024 to help advertisers reach audiences in the increasingly important CTV and streaming space.

Magnite's supply-side technology can support advertisers in making audience decisions across multiple DSPs while leveraging Walmart's data-driven models. The agreement also provides access to Walmart's closed-loop measurement capabilities, helping advertisers better correlate media exposure with actual sales outcomes. According to release details, off-site display campaigns through Walmart Connect in 2025 delivered a median of 52% new-to-brand customers for advertisers.

Walmart is also continuing to strengthen its existing DSP, including the recent launch of Connect Select, a curated media inventory marketplace designed to simplify access to relevant omnichannel inventory, with a focus on CTV.

According to financial reports, Walmart Connect (excluding Vizio) achieved 44% year-over-year growth in the first quarter of the retailer's fiscal 2027, while the company's global advertising business grew 37% in revenue during the same period.