Walmart expands ad-tech reach through Yahoo and Magnite partnership

Walmart is turning its TV screens and shopper data into a bigger profit engine. Walmart Connect said it is opening access to VIZIO inventory through Yahoo DSP using Magnite’s supply-side technology, a move aimed at making Walmart’s connected-TV ad inventory easier for more advertisers to buy.

For hourly associates and managers, the point is not the jargon. It is that Walmart’s growth strategy is shifting further toward higher-margin media revenue, not just low-price merchandise sales. Walmart’s 2025 annual report describes the company as a people-led, technology-powered omni-channel retailer and says its global advertising business grew 27% in fiscal 2025. Walmart also said it serves about 150 million U.S. customers each week online and in stores, which is the scale behind its push to connect shopping behavior with ad sales.

That strategy has already shown up in VIZIO. Walmart completed its acquisition of the smart-TV company on December 3, 2024, after announcing the deal on February 20, 2024 for $11.50 per share in cash, or about $2.3 billion in fully diluted equity value. Since then, VIZIO has become a central part of Walmart’s connected-TV play, giving the retailer another channel to reach shoppers inside the home and, in theory, pull ad dollars closer to its own ecosystem.

The March 23 NewFronts added another layer. Walmart and VIZIO said they would unveil new integrations, branded content innovations and new connected-TV campaign results, including a unified account login experience for new VIZIO OS TVs and onn TVs powered by VIZIO. They also announced a first-to-market product placement integration with L’Oréal, a sign that Walmart is trying to tie content, commerce and ad placement together more tightly than a traditional retailer would.

Magnite said the expanded partnership is meant to simplify access to premium connected-TV supply and make impressions more brand-safe, transparent and addressable. Yahoo DSP’s Adam Roodman said the goal is to reduce friction in the buying process so advertisers can plan, activate and measure campaigns more easily.

For Walmart workers, the broader meaning is straightforward: the company is building a business that can fund itself in more ways than one. When ad revenue grows, it can help support price investment, digital services and store modernization. It can also shape which products get pushed harder online, which suppliers pay for visibility and how tightly store execution has to match the promises made in digital campaigns. That is why a deal that looks like ad-tech on the surface is really another sign that Walmart is thinking and spending more like a platform company, with stores, eCommerce and media all feeding the same corporate strategy.