Walmart gets interactive | Walmart Insights Newsletter

PLUS: Shoptalk in five headlines 🖐

Author

Zihan Lyu
April 02, 2025

Heads up! To ensure you continue receiving our newsletters, please add [email protected] to your contact list!

Welcome to Walmart Insights, your go-to newsletter for updates and analysis on the trends shaping retail and eCommerce at Walmart.

Editor’s Pick 🌟

📣 Shoptalk in Five Headlines

From marketplace breakthroughs to AI-driven growth, this year’s Shoptalk brought bold predictions and big product reveals. Here are five key headlines shaping the future of retail and eCommerce:

🧠 AI Moves From Buzzword to Bottom Line
Whether driving smarter search or streamlining supply chains, AI was everywhere—and brands are getting serious about turning innovation into efficiency.

📈 Fospha Launches Halo to Measure DTC’s Impact on Amazon
At Shoptalk, Fospha announced the release of its Halo measurement product, bridging the gap between DTC and marketplace attribution. For the first time, marketers can accurately measure the halo effect of their DTC ads on Amazon sales—unlocking new ways to optimize full-funnel performance.

🛍️ Ulta’s Digital Transformation Is Just Getting Started
Ulta Beauty revealed plans to launch a new marketplace and double down on personalization, backed by Adobe and powered by first-party data from its 44M+ loyalty members.

💎 Pandora Reinvents Modern Luxury
From lab-grown diamonds to in-store storytelling, Pandora is redefining what “premium” means—shifting focus from status to personal meaning.

🌐 Marketplace Momentum Is Rewriting the Growth Playbook
From Walmart to Wayfair to startups, everyone’s betting big on marketplaces to drive assortment expansion, experimentation, and new revenue streams.

Specialty Bites 🍪

BUSINESS EXPANSION

Baby & Mom Retail's launch on Walmart US signifies a strategic entry into the global market, reaching a vast American audience across 48 states and Washington, D.C. Their expansion signals the company's intent to dominate eCommerce, supported by a doubling workforce and expanded infrastructure.

INTERACTIVE MEDIA INNOVATION

Walmart's partnership with Eko to expand the use of interactive product videos and delve into metaverse commerce marks a significant shift in eCommerce, aiming to enhance customer engagement and convenience. By integrating advanced video technology and virtual shopping environments, Walmart plans to influence purchasing decisions and increase sales across various product categories.
For marketing professionals, this development highlights the importance of adopting immersive technologies to provide innovative consumer experiences and drive commerce in digital settings.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Walmart's partnership with AI firm Cropin integrates advanced technology into its supply chain, enhancing yield forecasting and crop health monitoring. This move addresses disruptions from weather and market volatility. By utilizing Cropin's tools, Walmart aims to optimize produce quality and waste reduction.

MOBILE PAYMENTS INNOVATION

Walmart Pay's new feature allows users instant credit access upon approval, bypassing the wait for physical cards. This advancement in mobile payments improves user convenience and aligns with trends indicating increased mobile wallet usage through incentives. It positions Walmart as a competitive player in mobile payment adoption.

Influencer Corner 📢

Escapism is the new marketing currency.

Relatable content isn’t cutting it. The brands breaking through are building full worlds—complete with lore, characters, rituals, and places for people to escape into.

Start with repeatable micro-stories. Layer in short-form content. Then expand with smart collabs and real experiences.
It’s not content for content’s sake. It’s a system.

Canvas and agentic AI capabilities for marketers
| Dennis Yao Yu

ChatGPT with Canvas

Imagine crafting product descriptions that don’t just describe an item, but tell a story tailored to specific audience segments with Canvas in ChatGPT.

Instead of relying on generic, one-size-fits-all messaging, marketers can use this tool to transform basic product details into compelling, conversion-driven narratives for more personalized content that engages customers and drives sales.

Canvas also shines when scaling content production. With ChatGPT’s capabilities, teams can generate diverse marketing assets—emails, social posts, promotional copy—faster and with greater consistency. Less time spent on repetitive tasks and more focus on strategy and creativity.

Agentic AI

Agentic AI takes things to the next level by acting as an autonomous decision-maker. This is more about executing strategies.
AI systems integrate advanced learning algorithms and data-driven insights to analyze situations, make informed decisions, and even take action without constant human intervention.

Optimization Hub ⚙️

MARKETING STRATEGIES

April marketing optimizes SMS and email strategies to enhance conversion rates with targeted campaigns around holidays like April Fools, Easter, and Earth Day. Personalized customer experiences and storytelling cultivate loyalty, as AI-driven insights suggest engagement opportunities. Marketers are urged to continuously test and refine messaging.

AI SHOPPING INNOVATIONS

Amazon's new AI-powered Interests feature allows select U.S. customers to receive personalized product updates tailored to their preferences, showcasing a shift towards proactive eCommerce interactions. Using large language models, it promises a more efficient shopping experience by continuously scanning for relevant products and deals. This initiative highlights an evolving landscape where AI tools streamline consumer engagement, offering marketers insights into enhancing customer personalization.

RETAIL MEDIA EXPANSION

Best Buy, Instacart, and DoorDash are enhancing their Retail Media Networks to attract advertisers seeking transparency and accountability. Best Buy utilizes first-party data for targeting on social platforms, Instacart offers in-store advertising through Caper Carts, and DoorDash introduces post-purchase ads and sponsored placements. These developments highlight the shifting priorities in retail media, emphasizing the growing importance of integrated advertising solutions across digital and physical channels for marketing professionals.

What did you think of this week's edition?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

ClickZ is a Contentive publication in the DTC Ecommerce division