Retail media agency and network profile, United States
Walmart Advertising Agency: Expert Walmart Connect Ads Management
RMIQ audits listing quality, stock and Buy Box status before raising bids, then measures Walmart Connect campaigns across online and in-store sales.
Walmart Connect is Walmart's retail media network. Suppliers, Marketplace sellers and brands buy sponsored search, display, offsite and in-store ads, self-serve in Ad Center or through a partner. Walmart reports the sales those ads drive on its site, in its app and in its stores.
Scale
The Walmart retail media network in numbers
Walmart reports a dollar figure only for its global advertising; for Walmart Connect in the US, it gives growth rates.
- $6.4B Global advertising, fiscal 2026 Nearly $6.4 billion, up 46% with VIZIO included, in the year to January 31, 2026, across all of Walmart's advertising.
- 43% Walmart Connect US growth Excluding VIZIO, in the second quarter of fiscal 2027 (May to July 2026), reported August 20, 2026.
- 50%+ Marketplace sellers' ad spend growth February to April 2026. Walmart expects its US ad growth to lean toward these sellers.
- 150M US customers a week Across stores and online, Walmart's figure from its March 2025 annual report.
April to October 2026
What changed for Walmart advertisers this year
April 27, 2026
Connect Select brings curated CTV into Walmart DSP
The new marketplace inside Walmart DSP opened with inventory from VIZIO, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. Walmart says its CTV campaigns delivered a median of 44% new-to-brand buyers in fiscal 2026.
June 1, 2026
One attribution model across channels
Sponsored Search moved to a deduplicated last-touch model shared with Onsite Display, Walmart DSP and self-checkout store ads, and its reports gained in-store and omni metrics. Display's older fair-share model ended September 1.
July 29, 2026
Negative keywords for Sponsored Products
Exact and phrase negatives arrived for Sponsored Products campaigns on fixed bids, manual or automatic, in Ad Center and in partner tools such as Pacvue and Skai. Walmart's developer documentation says Dynamic Bidding and Target ROAS campaigns do not currently support them.
August 4, 2026
Walmart completes its Vibe.co purchase
Vibe.co is a self-serve streaming TV ad platform; Walmart bought it to reach small and mid-sized advertisers, including its own Marketplace sellers.
October 6, 2026
Walmart audiences on Spotify, Yahoo DSP and live TV
At Partner Connect, Walmart added Spotify to Walmart DSP, moved its Yahoo DSP integration into an alpha test with CTV inventory from publishers beyond VIZIO, and opened live linear TV from Warner Bros. Discovery to Walmart audiences.
Ad formats
Where Walmart ads appear
Walmart Connect groups its solutions into five families: Sponsored Search, Onsite Display, offsite media, Brand Shop and Shelf, and store ads.
Sponsored Products
Product ads in search results, browse pages, carousels and the Buy Box area of item pages, ranked on relevance and bid.
Sponsored Brands
Your logo, a headline and up to four products appear at the top of search results and on desktop and mobile web browse pages. The ad links to search results, a product page, or a Brand Shop or Shelf.
Sponsored Videos
Keyword-targeted videos of 5 to 45 seconds in search results, and on browse pages on desktop and mobile web.
Onsite Display
Gallery, Marquee, Brand Box, Skyline and Tile units from the homepage to checkout, targeted by shopping behavior, keyword, context or run of site.
Offsite: Walmart DSP, CTV and social
Walmart DSP, powered by The Trade Desk, takes Walmart shopper data to the open web, CTV, audio and gaming. VIZIO Home Screen ads appear when a VIZIO TV powers on, and social ads run on Meta, TikTok and Pinterest.
Store ads
Digital screens, in-store radio, and demos and sampling across more than 4,600 US stores. Eligible brands that do not sell at Walmart, such as insurers and car makers, can buy TV wall, self-checkout and audio placements.
Brand Shop and Shelf, a free storefront and shoppable landing page, need a brand registered in Brand Portal or Supplier One.
Ad specs, creative sizes and setup steps for each format are in RMIQ's Walmart Connect guide.
Buying
How Walmart ads are bought
Suppliers sign in to Ad Center with Supplier Center accounts and Marketplace sellers with Seller Center accounts, or either can buy through a partner.
Self-serve Ad Center
Walmart's own platform runs Sponsored Search, Onsite Display and, since April 2026, Meta campaigns, with automatic or manual keyword targeting and fixed, dynamic or target ROAS bidding.
The Walmart Connect Partner Network
Agencies and technology providers in Walmart's directory plan, launch and optimize campaigns for advertisers. Only Partner Network members get Walmart's advertising APIs.
Walmart managed service
Walmart also serves managed advertisers: in April 2026 it put social Add-to-Cart ads in beta for its managed-serve clients.
Sponsored Search
CPC, second price
Relevance plus your maximum CPC bid decides the winner, who pays only what is needed to win.
Onsite Display auction
eCPM, first price
In a first-price auction the winner pays its own bid, never more than its maximum. Dynamic bidding moves bids with campaign pacing.
Budget floors
Sellers from $10 a day
Marketplace sellers can run Sponsored Search from $10 a day and $50 in total, suppliers from $50 a day and $100 in total. Walmart recommends $100 a day for a first Sponsored Products campaign.
Measurement
How Walmart measures an ad sale
Walmart's closed-loop attribution ties ad exposure on its site, app and offsite channels to sales on Walmart's site and in its stores. An attributed sale followed an ad; an incremental sale is one the ad caused, which Walmart measures with test-and-control studies.
Last touch, deduplicated
Since June 1, 2026, Sponsored Search credits each sale to the last ad on the path across Sponsored Search, Onsite Display, Walmart DSP and self-checkout store ads. Since September 1, 2026, when Walmart retired Display's older fair-share model, the same applies to every campaign. Walmart advises against comparing results from before and after June 1.
Online or omni ROAS
For Sponsored Search, the default ROAS counts online sales only; an omni ROAS metric adds in-store sales. For Onsite Display and Walmart DSP, the default ROAS already includes both.
- Windows: 3, 14 or 30 days for Sponsored Search, which credits clicks only; 14 or 30 days for Display and Walmart DSP, which also credit viewable impressions
- Incrementality: Search Incrementality, a test-and-control measure for Sponsored Search, was generally available by January 2026
- Accreditation: the Media Rating Council accredited Walmart Connect's first-party click and impression metrics for Sponsored Search in October 2025
Where brands get stuck
Where Walmart campaigns stall
Walmart asked sellers at Prosper Show in March 2026 what holds them back: 54% named budget constraints, 38% measuring ROAS or proving impact, and 25% standing out in crowded categories.
The Buy Box decides delivery
"If your advertised item is not winning the Buy Box, it will not be eligible to serve ad impressions," Walmart's glossary says.
Brand gates on the bigger formats
For Marketplace sellers, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Videos need a trademark registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office and a brand onboarded to Walmart Brand Portal. A Sponsored Brands campaign is scheduled only once its brand profile, at least one keyword and two items are approved.
Budgets that run out early
Budget, the constraint 54% of sellers named, also runs short within the day: Walmart warns that a budget set too low may cap out early and miss peak shopping hours. RMIQ's ROI calculator plans at least $100 a day per network.
Access split across routes
Social Add-to-Cart is a beta for managed clients, and Walmart audiences reach CTV through three DSPs: Walmart DSP, Yahoo DSP (an alpha test) and Google's Display & Video 360 (a closed proof of concept).
How RMIQ runs it
RMIQ as your Walmart ad agency
As a Walmart advertising agency, RMIQ is listed in the Walmart Connect Partner Network directory for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands (managed or self-service), in an entry dated November 6, 2025. Walmart notes that partners are independent third parties and that a listing is not an endorsement.
Eligibility before bids
Walmart serves ads only on items that are published, in stock and winning the Buy Box. As your Walmart Connect agency, RMIQ makes listing quality, stock and Buy Box status the first check on an account, before any bid goes up.
SKU-level bidding
Walmart's auction looks at each item's relevance, built from its historical performance, customer intent and contextual relevance, together with its maximum bid. An ad group can hold up to 2,000 items, and RMIQ's PPC management sets keywords, bids and spend item by item inside those groups.
Keywords and negatives
RMIQ's free Walmart keyword tool suggests broad, phrase and exact match terms from brand, product and descriptive inputs. RMIQ's keyword audit flags keywords that generate no sales, and since July 29, 2026, Walmart lets advertisers add those as negative exact or phrase keywords on Sponsored Products campaigns that use fixed bids (Walmart's developer documentation excludes Dynamic Bidding and Target ROAS).
Online and in-store ROAS, side by side
RMIQ reports Sponsored Search's default ROAS, which counts online sales only, next to the omni ROAS that adds store sales, and starts trend lines at June 1, 2026, the baseline Walmart recommends.
RMIQ on Walmart
Walmart results from an RMIQ case study
RMIQ's case study for Zack's Mighty reports network-specific results over time, with Walmart among the networks.
Zack's Mighty
Fully managed retail media- Walmart ROAS growth: 85%
- More Walmart sales: 63%
Zack's Mighty partnered with RMIQ to run its retail media campaigns. The case study says the shift to AI-driven, SKU-level optimization brought incremental performance gains and cross-platform consistency, and took the execution burden off the brand team. The same engagement covered Instacart and Whole Foods.
Read the Zack's Mighty story
Fit
Is Walmart advertising a fit for your brand?
A good fit when
- You sell on Walmart Marketplace, where seller ad spend grew more than 50% in early 2026.
- Your products also sell in Walmart stores, since the closed loop reports in-store sales.
- You want new buyers: Walmart reports that 69% of Sponsored Brands orders for Marketplace sellers came from new-to-brand buyers, in Walmart's data from February 2024 to January 2025.
Plan for
- For Marketplace sellers, Brand Portal registration beyond Sponsored Products, plus a US trademark for Sponsored Brands and Videos.
- Rivals on your brand terms: since June 2, 2025, competitor ads can serve in positions 1 and 2 of search results for branded keywords.
Go deeper
More on Walmart from RMIQ
- Walmart Connect guide Guide Setup, ad specs, bidding and keyword strategy for each Walmart Connect format.
- Walmart keyword tool Free tool Keyword ideas with match types for Walmart search.
Other US retail media networks
FAQ
Walmart advertising agency FAQ
What does a Walmart advertising agency do that Ad Center does not?
Ad Center is Walmart's self-serve platform; an agency brings the people and the process to plan, launch and optimize campaigns. Walmart describes its Partner Network members as "a flexible, cost-effective alternative to in-house marketing," and only they get its advertising APIs. RMIQ is listed there for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands.
Can Marketplace sellers and suppliers buy the same Walmart ads?
Mostly. Walmart Marketplace advertising and supplier advertising both include Sponsored Products, with sellers starting at a $10 daily budget and suppliers at $50. For Marketplace sellers, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Videos and Onsite Display need a brand registered in Walmart Brand Portal.
Is Walmart Connect part of Walmart?
Yes. Walmart describes Walmart Connect as its closed-loop, omnichannel commerce media business in the US, serving suppliers, Marketplace sellers and brands of all sizes across onsite, offsite and in-store advertising. Its closed-loop measurement ties ad exposure on Walmart's digital properties and offsite channels to sales on Walmart's site and in its stores.
What is Walmart DSP and who can use it?
Walmart DSP is Walmart's demand-side platform, powered by The Trade Desk. It uses Walmart shopper data to buy CTV, open web, audio and gaming ads, with Connect Select for curated CTV since April 2026. Brands that do not sell at Walmart can buy it, and Walmart points newcomers to a partner.
How big is Walmart's advertising business?
Walmart's global advertising business grew 46% to nearly $6.4 billion in fiscal 2026, the year to January 31, 2026, including VIZIO and Walmart's international markets. Walmart gives growth rates for Walmart Connect alone: in the US it grew 43%, excluding VIZIO, from May to July 2026.
What are Walmart Luminate and Scintilla?
Scintilla is the insights business of Walmart Data Ventures, renamed from Walmart Luminate in 2025. Since April 2026, its Media Data Feed lets advertisers share about 500 Walmart operational and retail data elements, such as item attributes and omni sales, with their agencies and tech partners through an API.
Sources and dates16 sources
Each source is listed with the date it was published or last changed; pages that show no date are listed with the day they were read.
- Walmart Inc., fourth quarter and fiscal 2026 earnings release and earnings call, February 19, 2026
- Walmart Inc., first quarter fiscal 2027 earnings release and earnings call, May 21, 2026, and buy-side follow-up call, May 22, 2026
- Walmart Inc., second quarter fiscal 2027 earnings release and earnings call, August 20, 2026
- Walmart Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, March 13, 2026
- Walmart, agreement to acquire Vibe.co, June 23, 2026, and completion of the acquisition, August 4, 2026
- Walmart Connect, Connect Select and CTV, April 27, 2026; self-serve social, April 8, 2026; Scintilla Media Data Feed, April 28, 2026
- Walmart Connect, negative keywords for Sponsored Products, July 29, 2026
- Walmart Connect, Partner Connect 2026 and audiences across media, October 6, 2026; Google Display and Video 360 partnership, June 11, 2026
- Walmart Connect, Prosper Show 2026 recap, March 20, 2026; CES 2026 recap, January 14, 2026
- Walmart Connect, Search Incrementality, April 28, 2025; MRC accreditation, October 16, 2025; Onsite Display auction pricing, August 12, 2024; display auction, March 27, 2022
- Walmart Connect Advertising Help, Overview of attribution and Sponsored Search glossary, no date shown, read October 9, 2026
- Walmart Developer Portal, Sponsored Search API introduction, campaign FAQs, campaign creation, review and negative keyword docs, updated April to July 2026; release notes through September 2026
- Walmart Marketplace Learn, Sponsored Search, October 1, 2026; Onsite Display, May 7, 2026
- walmartconnect.com, About, Solutions, Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Videos, Onsite Display, Offsite Media, Store ads, Measurement, Partners and Partner Directory, Brand Shop, retail readiness, easy setup, non-endemic and small business pages, no date shown, read October 9, 2026
- Walmart Data Ventures, Walmart Luminate becomes Scintilla, October 1, 2024
- RMIQ, Zack's Mighty case study, August 25, 2026; ROI calculator, September 18, 2026; homepage, keyword audit, Walmart keyword tool and Walmart Connect guide, read October 9, 2026
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