Walmart wishes its advertising business was bigger
Retail corporation has not done enough to convert customers’ data into dollars, particularly online
New York — Walmart is big in almost every way: 4,755 stores, 1.5-million employees and $380bn in revenue in the US alone. But one part of the world’s largest retailer remains minuscule. “We have a tiny ad business,” CEO Doug McMillon told investors in October. “It could be bigger.” With about 300-million shoppers visiting its stores each month, according to Forrester Research, and millions more on its websites, Walmart draws in more people than Google, Facebook or Amazon. That audience, and the purchase data they generate, are catnip for big advertisers such as Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz. But Walmart and other retailers have historically not done enough to convert that data into dollars, particularly online. Having watched Amazon.com build a massive advertising business, brick and mortar stores are looking to do the same. Walmart, Target Corporation and grocery chains Kroger and Ahold Delhaize are quietly courting big brands with a sales pitch that goes something like this: Facebook ...
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