Shoppers swiping their purchases along the self-checkout scanner at Walmart soon will encounter on-screen advertisements, alongside their tally. The goal, according to Walmart’s media division, is to achieve the capability to feature ads that are personalized and specific to each shopper. If it can identify a consumer as she or he starts scanning items (e.g., by prompting them to insert their credit card before starting the transaction), it can also pull up prior purchase data and display those ads that are most likely to appeal to that specific shopper. Such personalization already is evident to Walmart’s online shoppers, who receive marketing communications aligned with their shopping behaviors and prior purchases. This initiative represents the retailer’s attempt to attain similar levels of personalization for shoppers in stores, ensuring strong appeals that go beyond static in-aisle signage and displays. In touting the options to brands that want to advertise with it, Walmart also proposed that the ad spending could be spread across platforms. Thus a consumer products brand might buy a package of advertising with Walmart that ensures its products will appear prominently in in-store displays, as well as on the checkout screen, and then pop up in ecommerce marketing communications a week or so later, when it is time to buy again.

Source: Alexandra Bruell, “Walmart Revamps Ad-Sales Business to Expand its Reach,” The Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2021