Observed Signal · Sep 9, 2026 · Market Signal · Source: ABCS Insights · Impact: 3.5/5
ABCS Insights Joins the Walmart Connect Partner Network
ABCS Insights announces its new partnership with Walmart Connect as a measurement partner, expanding its retail media measurement capabilities.
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Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Walmart Connect Expands to Linear TV with WBD
Walmart Connect announced a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring its shopper data to linear TV, enabling addressable advertising on channels like TBS and Food Network through Walmart DSP. The deal uses a private marketplace powered by FreeWheel, offering closed-loop sales measurement. Separately, Zeta Global agreed to acquire Digital Audience, a data infrastructure firm, to enhance its identity and activation capabilities across channels. Ofcom has opened an investigation into Meta over its Instagram Instants feature, examining whether risk assessments were conducted before launch, with potential fines if breaches are found.
Walmart Connect pitches brands directly with lift studies
Walmart Connect is directly approaching brand clients with on-site brand lift studies ahead of the holiday shopping season, bypassing agencies to prove ad performance and measure incrementality. This move aims to justify ad spend and position Walmart as a full-funnel partner competing with Amazon. Three agency executives confirmed to Digiday that multiple clients were approached, though names were not disclosed. The studies, offered based on advertiser spend, are costly and can take up to nine weeks for reporting, and advertisers lack independent access, leaving retailers to grade their own homework. Walmart's global ad business grew 38% in Q2 2026, and US retail media ad spending is expected to reach $69.33 billion in 2026, increasing scrutiny on ROI. This initiative signals a competitive push in retail media measurement as advertisers finalize Q4 budgets and plan for 2027.
Walmart Connect Expands to Full-Funnel Performance
Walmart Connect is evolving from a search-driven retail media platform into a full-funnel advertising powerhouse designed to drive sales. In this Marketecture episode, Ari Paparo chats with Khurrum Malik, VP of Business and Product Marketing at Walmart Connect, about integrating on-site search, off-site media, and CTV via Vizio with closed-loop measurement to tie exposure to sales outcomes. The discussion covers expanding beyond PLA and search into brand, video, CTV, and off-site media, aided by CES previews of AI-powered ad tools, search incrementality GA, and third-party benchmarks that position Walmart Connect against digital and social norms. Takeaways include Walmart Connect’s multi-billion-dollar scale with 30%+ growth, an omni-channel footprint of 4,600+ stores and 150 million weekly shoppers, and a shift toward incrementality and IROAS as the measurement baseline rather than attribution alone. The episode also emphasizes couch-to-cart activation and the importance of true sales impact in retail media.
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