Walmart Connect 's first-party audiences are showing up in places that weren't o
By Jeffrey Cohen · October 9, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Walmart Connect's first-party audiences are showing up in places that weren't on most media plans a year ago. Spotify. Live linear TV. CTV through Yahoo DSP. I spent the week in New York for Advertising Week and Walmart Connect's Partner Connect, and that was the thread running through every conversation.
Three things stuck with me.
Audiences are following people to where they watch and listen. Advertisers on Walmart DSP can now reach Walmart audiences across Spotify's audio, video and display. Walmart is also calling live linear TV a first, through Warner Bros. Discovery inventory.
Measurement is the point. It's closed-loop, tied to actual Walmart sales. In one Hidden Valley Ranch CTV campaign, Walmart reported 55% incremental reach beyond linear and 27% lower CPMs. That's third-party measured, and results vary by advertiser.
More channels means more places to lose the thread. Brands and agencies are already juggling retail media, CTV, audio and search. The advantage goes to the teams that can see it all together.
That's the work we keep doing with Walmart at Skai: giving brands and agencies an omnichannel view of their retail media, so Walmart reads as part of one plan and not a separate report.
Diana Finster summed it up well. Making commerce media work better for advertisers takes all of us, partners included. Thanks to Diana, Tommy Wong and the Walmart Connect team for hosting.