Walmart\u2019s rumored plan to acquire Vizio went from theoretical to reality this week, with the retail giant set to pay $2.3 billion for the smart TV manufacturer. The move will bolster Walmart\u2019s retail media offering, Walmart Connect, adding streaming capabilities that will help it attract more brand marketing ad dollars. The deal will also allow Walmart to add to its existing data at a time when the rapid growth of retail media has made the space more competitive and Amazon continues its effort to get a bigger slice of the market.<\/p>\n
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The big piece is gonna be connecting the pipelines for measurement,\u201d Steven Frey, director of integrated media planning at Media by Mother, said, adding that Vizio\u2019s ACR data \u201cis definitely something that Walmart has not dealt with in its current iteration. Connecting that into Walmart\u2019s overall tech stack, I think is gonna be a pretty monumental lift but is probably where they\u2019re going to get a lot of value.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frey continued, \u201cIf they can connect basically those data warehouses to enact full-funnel measurement, I think that\u2019s where they really start unlocking the big value.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amie Owen, head of commerce at UM, echoed that sentiment: \u201cThe value is the data.\u201d<\/p>\n