Walmart is one of the most prominent advertisers in the United States, but its advertising sales are also looking to get even bigger.
The retail giant, which offers video advertising inventory around stores and through its TV manufacturing unit Vizio, announced Tuesday that it intends to acquire Vibe.co, a platform that allows advertisers to buy and create digital ads. Walmart sees this acquisition as one way to drive more business from small and medium-sized marketers who might not normally buy commercials on national media platforms.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but Walmart indicated that the deal is subject to a waiting period and other customary closing conditions.
“Walmart Connect is focused on making commerce media more accessible, measurable and activable for advertisers of all sizes,” Ryan Mayward, general manager and senior vice president of Walmart Connect US, said in a prepared statement. “Vibe.co has created a purpose-built platform that simplifies streaming TV advertising. Together, we can help more businesses connect with customers across the streaming landscape while measuring the effectiveness of these campaigns through Walmart’s commerce capabilities.”
Walmart is just the latest national ad seller to make new efforts to attract local and regional advertisers. Many of these marketers want to strengthen their customer base with national commercials or delve deeper into video advertising to increase sales.
The new agreement builds on Walmart’s recent partnerships with Magnite, Yahoo DSP, and Google DV360.
Walmart offered a glimpse into its vision for ad sales Tuesday, revealing in part that it intends to roll out a new video series to Vizio users in which celebrity hosts and influencers talk about specific types of shopping opportunities, such as early summer patio and garden sales or interest in back-to-school.
Vibe.co co-founders Arthur Querou and Frank Tetzlaff will join Walmart Connect after the transaction closes. The parties expect the transaction to close by the end of fiscal year 2027. Walmart said it does not expect the transaction to have an impact on its recent forecasts related to sales and operating income.
