Sam’s Club adds video to retail media network capabilities
Sam’s Club continues to augment the features of its retail media network.
The warehouse club retailer, a division of Walmart Inc., is now providing advertisers participating in its Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP) retail media network full-funnel video advertising onsite, in-app and offsite.
Advertisers participating in the MAP network can now layer connected TV (CTV) ads, sponsored videos and interactive videos with first-party Sam’s Club member data to reach new-to-brand and lapsed members and drive awareness for new item launches.
If targeted Sam’s Club members are watching content on a streaming device, they will see relevant MAP CTV advertisements through a partnership with The Trade Desk (TTD) that enables advertisers to engage members across brand-safe third-party premium inventory.
In addition, while members are searching for items in the Sam’s Club app, MAP will serve them sponsored product ads with videos within the search grid on search results pages. And interactive product detail page videos based on interactive video technology from Eko let members engage with an item and explore how it works, key features and dimensions.
CTV ads and sponsored sideos will be measurable through the Sam’s Club Media and Sales Performance Dashboard, an integrated dashboard that serves as a central source of data for campaign performance with Sam's Club MAP. The ads leverage AI to optimize conversions and return on ad spend (ROAS) based on viewership, behavior and frequency.
Sam’s Club builds up retail media network
Sam’s Club has been bolstering its targeted ad capabilities. In July 2023, the retailer provided advertisers participating in its retail media network the ability to see what revenue is generated by which ads, providing measurable return on ad spend (ROAS) for omnichannel campaigns and connecting search and sponsored product ads to offline sales.
In addition, Sam’s Club began allowing customers to add products to their online cart directly from MAP ads. Other MAP features aimed at advertisers included the ability to target category or “browse pages,” in addition to previously available search and keyword targeting, as well as the ability to showcase “hero” products or new offerings in ads.
In April 2023, the retailer began offering retail media network members access to the MAP Partners Club. Partner service providers and tech companies can help advertisers participating in MAP add features such as bidding and budget optimization, day-parting, and advanced analytics and insights to their campaigns.
Sam’’s Club also recently began enabling MAP advertisers to attribute in-store purchases to their search ads. MAP collects real-time, first-party omnichannel data on customer transactions, including in-store, in-app and online.
And in February 2023, the retailer began making real-time, intelligently retargeted display advertising available across tens of thousands of sites on the open web through MAP. Provided in partnership with The Trade Desk and LiveRamp (RAMP), this offering leverages first-party member data, advertiser data and artificial intelligence (AI)-based, real-time behavioral insights from Sam’s Club.
“At Sam’s Club MAP, we are always looking for new ways to bring more value to our members, and building an additive ads experience across video ad formats enables us to do that in a brand-safe and high-engagement environment,” said Lex Josephs, vice president and general manager of Sam's Club MAP. “We know our members stay engaged longer and show stronger click-through rates when we serve them up videos, and our new capabilities will help advertisers engage our members with video advertising.”
Bentonville, Ark.-based Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart Inc., operates nearly 600 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.