Walmart Connect, the company's retail media division, has
two new pathways for brands to access connected TV (CTV) and omnichannel programmatic inventory, which has become the performance engine for retail media networks.
"Connect Select," the first of two services, provides a curated marketplace in Walmart DSP. It is designed to
make omnichannel inventory -- especially CTV -- more accessible to a wider range of advertisers.
Connect Select is powered by Walmart’s first-party shopper data and direct-supply paths. It enables advertisers to go beyond impressions by linking CTV exposure to real
customer behavior.
Combined with measurement capabilities, advertisers can see how CTV influences the full funnel and optimize toward actual business outcomes, including reducing
wasted ad spend and improving media efficiency.
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Managing campaigns across multiple platforms has become one of the most challenging operational
barriers, but the shift toward an interoperable ecosystem makes advanced strategies like CTV more accessible without sacrificing control or transparency.
This is how retail media networks have become one of the fastest-growing ad segments, with U.S. ad spend projected to reach $69.33 billion in 2026 -- up by about $10.53 billion between 2025 and 2026, according
to Emarketer.
Amazon and Walmart are expected to capture more than 89% of those new incremental dollars.
Vizio provides inventory at launch
for Connect Select to provide premium CTV publishers -- including content from Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery and supply-side platforms (SSPs) including FreeWheel, Index
Exchange, Magnite, and PubMatic.
“Performance in programmatic, especially in CTV, is directly tied to the quality and efficiency of supply,” said
Rajeev Goel, co-founder and CEO at PubMatic.
PubMatic's integration with Connect Select as a preferred supplier is intended to deliver curated, high-performing CTV inventory through
direct paths.
SSP partnerships improve on the marketplace's efficiencies through post-auction optimizations.
Advertisers can also access omnichannel formats including online video, display,
and audio. Deals are available through Inventory Controls and Deal Desk.
Walmart Connect also has expanded its technology
partner ecosystem to include Walmart DSP campaign activation and management, making offsite strategies more
accessible.
Partners like tech platforms Pacvue and Skai joined at launch, so advertisers can now plan, activate, and optimize full-funnel retail media
campaigns onsite and offsite in one environment. It's helping to support growth of these networks across media channels.
The brands getting the most from Walmart
create full funnel, according to Jeff Cohen, chief business development officer at Skai. He said it's about giving advertisers a "unified view of performance across search, onsite display, and offsite
media, so upper-funnel investment is no longer a leap of faith."