Walmart had a mixed day with investors following its earnings call. But the Walmart Connect advertising business was a bright spot, with growth of 30% YoY to $.7 billion in 2022.
Advertising may be just a fraction of Walmart’s overall revenue – but it’s a nerve center for growth. One might wonder why advertising and other businesses that appear marginal to Walmart’s current revenue makeup, such as third-party online marketplace sellers and subscription memberships, are front and center for the company right now.
Walmart went further than it ever has in support of its advertising business when the retail big kahuna reported earnings on Thursday. The company broke out advertising revenue for the first time, with Walmart clearing $2.1 billion worldwide. $500 million of that total was credited as revenue earned as a reduction to an advertiser’s cost of sales (make of that what you will). The other $1.6 billion was pure media biz.
More and more ecommerce sales are preceded by paid product listings. The advance of ecommerce advertising in the past year and a half can be seen in the revenue growth in Amazon earnings reports and the promulgation of retail media platforms such as Walmart Connect, Target’s Roundel and Google Shopping. Marketers, too, are getting used […]
