Walmart Case Study: Partnerships and Digital Marketing

While Amazon has recently overtaken Walmart when it comes to overall sales, the US based retailer still holds the accolade of being the world’s largest company by revenue [although Amazon is predicted to claim this title by 2024], one which it has held for many years.

However, Walmart is not one to be usurped from its long-held throne without a fight and has recently been making ground back against its ecommerce focused rival. Through a combination of omnichannel innovation and intelligent digital marketing, Walmart is continuing to prove that legacy brands still have a place in this rapidly evolving and digitally focused retail landscape.

This would seem a prime opportunity therefore to peek behind the scenes at the retail giant and attempt to unpick just what continues to make its offering so appealing to customers and see if we can distil any lessons which can help make our own retail ventures more efficient and effective.

Social Media

Like any brand worth its salt today Walmart knows how to make the most of its various social media channels to boost its profile online and get its brand messaging out to an engaged and active audience.

In 2022, a big part of mastering social media is leveraging the power of new media to reach new audiences and demographics. For those who are unaware, by new media we mean influencers – prominent social media celebrities which have the power to reach hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users and influence their decision-making process when it comes to making purchases.

Walmart presently works with select influencers and leverages their platforms to promote groceries, apparel, and its Walmart+ loyalty program. Affiliate links shared on platforms including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok allow influencers to earn a commission whenever a customer makes a purchase after viewing their content.

Now it seems Walmart is seeking to take its influencer program a step further. In July 2022, the company filed for trademarks on Walmart Creator and Walmart Creator Collective. This seems to point towards Walmart launching a digital platform that will use social media influencers to help the retailer and its 100,000 third-party sellers promote their goods and services online more effectively than previously possible.

Walmart has declined to comment on the filing, but all signs point towards Walmart Creator taking the form of a social media consulting service which will help train social media stars on how to become better influencers.

Walmart Connect

Another method Walmart uses to spread its influence around the digital sphere is through its Walmart Connect advertising platform.

"Walmart is America’s largest retailer, serving 90% of U.S. households and employing over 1.5 million associates nationwide,” says the company website. "With Walmart Connect, we’re building on that success to bring customers and advertising partners together like never before.”

Walmart Connect helps third-party suppliers by linking their marketing with Walmart’s and potentially exposing them to a vastly larger audience than they would otherwise be able to reach. The closed-loop and automated system uses customer behavior data to help target Walmart customers with advertising in a more intelligent manner than would otherwise be possible.

Now, Walmart has outlined plans to expand the Walmart Connect integration by focusing on premium advertising experiences.

As part of the expansion, Walmart will begin testing on-site video ads, as well as developing new advertising protocols for TV and video. The program will also involve omnichannel experiences inside Walmart stores which are set to include advertising on self-service checkout screens, display and wall TVs, special in-store events, and sampling.

"Meaningful connections happen can occur in a number of ways: In one of our stores, on our app or website, across the internet or even on social media,” said the company in a blog post. "Customers can discover and purchase new products through our search and native display ads, or through creative in-store or social experiences. For example, football fans on TikTok may have seen our #GetTheWChallenge to inspire their shopping for the Big Game. During the holidays, customers discovered new products through Walmart’s Gift Finder AR experience or purchased ingredients through co-created shoppable Pinterest recipes.”

Partnerships

Despite being the largest company in the world, Walmart still understands the value of making strategic partnerships to better serve its customers and stakeholders. To this end, the company has established several such partnerships, each with a specific goal or purpose in mind.

• Instacart: Helps Walmart remain a leader in the eGrocer space by enabling same-day and two-hour express delivery.
• Shopify: Expands the online marketplace penetration of Walmart and helps customers access small and medium brand and products which are made in the USA.
• TikTok: By far the most popular social network among GenZ and allows Walmart to reach this cohort in a location where they spend significant amounts of time.
• FedEx: Enables Walmart to facilitate a hassle-free and convenient returns service by collecting unwanted products from customers’ homes.
• Home Depot: Improves Walmart’s capabilities in the home category by leveraging the brand’s robust delivery network.
• Netflix: Gives Walmart the ability to tap into enthusiastic and engaged fandoms to promote merchandise based on popular franchises.

As you can see, each partnership has been established to achieve an objective. Nothing is done frivolously. Partnering with outside agencies gives Walmart the ability to strengthen certain elements of its business which feed directly into customer experience, or access new markets and demographics it may otherwise struggle to engage with. For example, GenZ people may view Walmart as their parents’ store, but if it is able to engage them on their own level on TikTok, it can demonstrate what it has to offer younger people as well.

Virtual Reality and the Metaverse

Anyone who follows tech news closely enough will remember the video which circled around at the beginning of 2022 which claimed to show how Walmart envisioned shopping in a virtual environment will be.

Despite being a demo from 2017, the tech on display is not wildly different from the current efforts being shown off by Zuckerberg et al regarding the Metaverse project. While some commentators seemingly love the idea of a libertarian Web 3.0 environment where the internet is no longer owned by no one, but rather has been separated off into separate fiefdoms by enormous tech conglomerates, some are less excited at the prospect.

The main issue with the metaverse and Walmart’s vision of virtual reality shopping is that is doesn’t provide a more convenient experience than current ecommerce and social media interactions do. Customers want to be able to quickly pop online, order a product, check their socials, and then get on with their day, not strap themselves into a VR setup and mess around with cumbersome controls to achieve the same end result.

Technology should always be seeking to solve a problem, not create a bunch of new ones. Walmart’s demo of VR shopping may be interesting from a purely conceptual perspective, but it seems unlikely customers would ever choose this option versus getting out a smartphone and completing the task with a few swipes of their thumb.

Walmart hasn’t announced any plans to implement VR technology in this manner, but we think it provides an elegant cautionary tale for retailers in the digital space to always consider what problems need solving and what customers actually want from an ecommerce experience – instead of what massive tech companies think is cool.

Final Thoughts

Walmart has worn the crown of largest businesses for such a long time for good reason and as we take this journey through its marketing strategy it’s easy to see why. It seems what will make the difference when it comes to Walmart’s future position in the industry will come down to how well it is able to continue on this solid trajectory and not get distracted by unnecessary bells and whistles such as the Metaverse.

Walmart is sure to be part of the conversation at eTail West 2023, being held in February and March at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Springs, CA.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.