Introduction to Walmart Connect In-Store Measurement Capabilities

There are many holy grails in digital advertising—solutions to challenges often impossible to achieve. One of those clearly at the top of the marketing holy grail list has been the connection between online advertising and offline sales. 

When Walmart launched its retail media network, Walmart Connect, it wasn’t just about capturing advertising dollars but revolutionizing how online and offline data could be integrated to provide unprecedented insights into consumer behavior. With over 2800 US locations and 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of a Walmart store, its in-store attribution solution is a big deal—a really big deal!

In today’s post, we’ll share what you need to know about Walmart Connect’s in-store metrics, how to effectively use them, and how Skai’s advanced platform features enhance these efforts. 

Unveiling the metrics

Walmart Connect’s in-store attribution is designed to enhance how brands understand and measure the impact of their advertising efforts on in-store sales. 

At the core of Walmart Connect’s new capabilities are three key metrics:

In addition to introducing new metrics, Walmart Connect has implemented varying attribution windows to provide deeper insight into the shopper journey over time. These windows include 3-day, 14-day, and 30-day periods, each offering a different perspective on consumer behavior and the delayed effects of advertising:

• 3-day attribution window. This shorter window is crucial for capturing immediate reactions to ad campaigns. It’s beneficial for products with shorter decision cycles, such as grocery or everyday household items, where consumers will likely make quick purchases following ad exposure.
• 14-day attribution window. Extending the window to two weeks allows brands to measure the impact of advertising on products that may require more consideration or multiple store visits. This window is ideal for capturing how ads influence purchases that aren’t necessarily impulse buys but don’t involve lengthy decision processes.
• 30-day attribution window. The longest window provides insights into the long-term impact of advertising campaigns. This is especially relevant for higher-value items or purchases requiring significant consideration and comparison. The 30-day window helps advertisers understand how their campaigns contribute to building product awareness and eventually leading to a purchase.

These varied attribution windows are essential for advertisers to understand whether their ads are effective and when they are most effective, which can significantly influence how future campaigns are timed and targeted. This flexibility in measuring ad impact over varying timeframes allows brands to customize their strategies based on specific goals and customer behaviors, ultimately boosting their marketing effectiveness.

For Skai clients, in-store metrics are automatically available in Skai for your Walmart Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Videos campaigns. To view your in-store performance in Skai, simply add the following metrics to the Campaigns, Ad groups, Keywords, or Ads grids:

How Skai enhances in-store measurement

The great news for Skai clients is that all standard retail media features on Skai’s platform are now fully compatible with Walmart Connect’s in-store metrics and treated like any other actionable data point within our system. You can set up alerts, make optimizations, and integrate these metrics seamlessly into your existing campaign management workflows, just as you would with online data. 

The following are just a handful of Skai’s capabilities that enhance campaign management and performance using these comprehensive in-store metrics.

• Ad scheduling & dayparting. Optimize ad delivery to coincide with peak shopping hours, potentially increasing in-store purchases. For instance, increase ad visibility for home improvement tools on Saturday mornings when DIY enthusiasts are likely to shop.
• Advanced dashboards & reporting. Provides comprehensive insights into both online and offline campaign performance, enabling real-time strategy adjustments. For example, track a campaign for electronics to see immediate feedback on in-store sales after specific online promotions.

• Bulk actions. Skai’s ability to perform bulk actions simplifies scaling campaigns, adjusting bids, or pausing underperforming ads across multiple products or categories based on in-store sales data.
• Cross-channel signals. Utilize Skai to integrate insights from various marketing channels to refine campaign targeting and content, ensuring messages resonate with consumers who exhibit both online browsing and in-store purchasing behaviors.
• Custom metrics & reporting. Tailor Skai’s reporting tools focus specifically on in-store performance metrics, allowing for a detailed analysis of how online activities influence offline sales. For example, custom reports can be created to analyze how online ad impressions for grocery items correlate with in-store sales at different Walmart locations.
• Dimensions & categories. Analyze performance data by specific product dimensions and categories to identify which areas yield the highest in-store conversion rates, tailoring future campaigns to these insights. For instance, advertising strategies for clothing items should be adjusted based on seasonal performance trends observed through Skai’s category analysis.
• Experiments. Use Skai’s experimentation tools to test different campaign variants, from ad copy to targeting methods, to determine what maximizes in-store conversions and apply successful elements more broadly.

• Keyword harvesting. Employ Skai’s keyword harvesting tools to optimize search advertising based on keywords that drive both online engagement and in-store purchases. For example, refine keyword strategies for health and wellness products by analyzing which terms lead to the highest in-store sales during flu season.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many more Skai capabilities are already built for retail media campaigns that can utilize in-store metrics.

Clients should reach out to their Skai reps for more information.

Walmart Connect + Skai

Walmart Connect’s new in-store measurement capabilities provide brands with a valuable opportunity to effectively align online advertising with offline sales impacts. These insights offer a clearer understanding of advertising ROI and highlight the importance of an integrated marketing approach.

To maximize the benefits, brands should adopt a test-and-learn strategy to build a strong point of view on how in-store metrics can be used—or even when they shouldn’t. Then, using Skai’s platform, advertisers can experiment with different advertising tactics, analyze the outcomes, and refine strategies based on their learning.

Skai’s Retail Media solution empowers marketers to plan, execute, and measure digital campaigns that meet consumers when and where they shop. As part of our omnichannel platform, connect the walled gardens and manage campaigns on 100+ retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Instacart, alongside major publishers across paid search, paid social, and apps.

For more information, schedule a brief demo to see how our Walmart Connect support can help boost your retail media strategy.