According to an earnings release, of the fourth quarter, Walmart Inc. net sales exceeded $150 billion, with U.S. net sales crossing $105 billion. The big box retailer said that its global advertising business reached $2.1 billion. It also said that active advertisers who used Walmart Connect increased by 136 percent. This is the first time that the company has added advertising financials separately, in its report.
Analysts said that “large growth opportunities” are visible ahead as they discussed the fourth quarter as well as the full year results. They predict that Walmart Connect would reach the top ten advertising platforms in a few years.
Automation has helped the big box retailer in a huge way. About half of the advertisement sales in this quarter were a result of automated channels, according to the executives. This is more than twice
the sales seen year-on-year in quarter four, which is the quarter that generally sees the most sales due to the holiday season.
Walmart Connect, the advertising arm of the giant retailer is now driving growth, much more than what has been seen in the past year as well. There is a huge demand for retail media. Stores use their large amounts of data on in-store and online purchases to benefit the advertising business.
As a result of the pandemic as well as due to other factors, online sales are booming as consumers digital habits are increasing. On the other hand, brands are also seeing lesser amounts of key-ad targeting such as cookies.
John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart said on the earnings calls that the “key to the growth of advertising” was to have the “large seller and supplier base” that could reach their “customer base.”
Walmart’s fourth quarter earnings was good as the big box retailer’s comparative U.S.sales rose by 5.6 percent. Its revenue also beat the estimates of analysts.
