Walmart Connect integrates shopper data into YouTube streaming via Google DV360

Walmart is aggressively decoupling its data from proprietary silos to match Amazon’s off-site reach. By placing shopper data within Google’s DSP, Walmart enables brands to execute full-funnel campaigns that connect high-intent streaming viewership to verified retail transactions. For the streaming ecosystem, this intensifies the competition for CTV ad dollars as retail media networks (RMNs) become the primary gatekeepers of performance-based video inventory. Platform owners must now offer similar 'closed-loop' attribution to remain competitive against RMN-powered buys. Watch for shifts in agency spend toward YouTube specifically to capture Walmart’s massive buyer-graph during the 2026 holiday season.

The YouTube integration arrives as Walmart finalizes the absorption of VIZIO, a $2.3 billion deal that closed in late 2024. According to Walmart earnings reporting from February 2025, global advertising revenue reached $4.4 billion for the prior fiscal year, a 27% year-over-year increase. By June 2026, analysts at eMarketer project that U.S. connected TV (CTV) ad spending will reach nearly $38 billion, with YouTube capturing roughly 12% of that market, or $9.21 billion. This scale makes YouTube the essential destination for retail media networks seeking to extend their reach beyond the 'walled garden' of their own e-commerce sites.

Google has concurrently expanded its 'Commerce Media Suite' to support this influx of retail data. Per Marketing Brew in March 2026, Google added similar SKU-level reporting and audience integrations for over 30 retailers, including Kroger Precision Marketing and Best Buy. These updates within Display & Video 360 allow brands to use Google’s Gemini AI to optimize campaigns against retailer-specific sales data in real-time. By May 2026, the IAB reported that digital video ad spend reached an $80 billion run rate, with social video growth (13%) outpacing traditional CTV (11%) for the first time, largely driven by creator-led content on YouTube.

Walmart’s pivot toward off-site data activation is essential for maintaining its growth trajectory. Marketplace Pulse noted in November 2025 that Walmart Connect’s advertising business was growing six times faster than its overall retail sales. As CFO John David Rainey highlighted in 2025, the high-margin nature of this ad business—often exceeding 70% gross margins—now provides the critical capital needed to subsidize lower-margin retail operations like drone delivery and automated fulfillment. This transformation positions Walmart not just as a retailer, but as a central infrastructure provider for the programmatic video ecosystem.