Walmart Connect Eyes CTV and Vizio Partnership to Drive Shoppable TV Revolution

CANNES – Walmart Connect is deepening its push into connected television advertising, fueled by its acquisition of Vizio and a growing appetite from brands for performance-driven media. Speaking with Beet.TV’s Andy Plesser at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Ryan Mayward, senior vice president of retail media sales at Walmart Connect, said the company is transforming how retail and streaming media intersect.

“We’ve been on a CTV journey for the last two or three years,” Mayward said, describing Walmart’s evolution from monetizing its own shopping app to targeting customers across external platforms through its demand-side platform (DSP) in partnership with The Trade Desk. Initially focused on display, Walmart soon expanded into streaming video, launching campaigns with Paramount+, NBCUniversal and Disney.

The goal: reach Walmart customers wherever they’re watching and tie ad exposure to measurable sales outcomes.

“That’s been a rapidly growing part of our business,” Mayward said, adding that CTV is now the fastest-growing component of Walmart Connect’s offsite media strategy. “Advertisers are finding value in what we’re doing.”

Value from performance

That value is increasingly tied to performance. Mayward emphasized how CTV ads are accelerating the entire purchase funnel — or, more accurately, collapsing it.

“We know a person can go from awareness to purchase in a very short period,” he said. Walmart defines consideration by customer behavior such as visiting a product detail page or brand shop in its app. Studies, including one with GroupM, show a lift in branded searches after CTV ad exposure, especially when combined with other media.

Vizio’s vital role

As part of its CTV push, Walmart’s $2.3 billion acquisition of smart-TV manufacturer Vizio is proving central to its strategy.

“We found a lot of kinship in the Vizio crew,” Mayward said, praising their customer focus and operating system. Walmart is already piloting new capabilities — including targeted ads based on Walmart purchase data — across Vizio’s WatchFree+ content and, now, the Vizio home screen.

The partnership gives Walmart its own owned-and-operated inventory source, complementing its deals with media giants like Disney and NBCUniversal.

“There’s lots more to come,” Mayward said.

Future of shoppable video

Looking ahead, shoppable video remains a key ambition. While formats like QR codes and text-to-shop have shown promise, Mayward admits the industry hasn’t cracked the code yet.

“We want to engage customers in a low-friction way,” he said. “We haven’t quite nailed the formula that works for the brand, content owner, device maker and customer — but we’re working on it.”

By next year, Walmart expects to have tested multiple shoppable formats and hopes to share deeper learnings — all in pursuit of making TV ads not just watchable, but instantly actionable.