Walmart Makes Major Updates to Insights Offerings, Retail Media
News at a glance:
- Walmart Luminate Insights Activation, a self-serve integration with Walmart Connect, is now generally available to all Luminate Charter supplier advertisers and their agencies. The combination makes the path from insight to activation more efficient for Walmart Display campaigns.
- In 2025, Luminate will rebrand to Scintilla, a Latin term meaning “spark.”
- Digital Landscapes, a new self-service Luminate solution that reveals insights into the digital behaviors of online Walmart shoppers, is also now generally available.
Walmart Luminate to Rebrand in 2025
On Oct. 1, Walmart Data Ventures held its second-annual Inspire event, bringing together 1,200 suppliers and merchants to introduce new opportunities and discuss first-party insights. Walmart revealed that beginning next year, it will rebrand Walmart Luminate, its integrated insights ecosystem, to “Scintilla.”
Scintilla is a Latin term meaning “spark,” which Walmart chose as “a nod to its legacy” and because it “signifies the power of a single insight to ignite a new idea,” according to a statement. The new name is also the retailer’s way of positioning Data Ventures for the future as it expands to new markets and banners. Back in May, Walmart launched its Luminate product suite in Mexico, and it will launch in Canada later this month.
In 2021, the retail giant established Walmart Data Ventures, a division dedicated to developing new business applications from first-party data. The idea then was to enhance the customer experience across the entire value chain through Walmart Luminate, which was designed to aid suppliers’ retail strategies — from product assortment to product development — regardless of the size.
In the U.S., Walmart Data Ventures has continued to gain momentum, per the statement. Compared to 2023, the client base has increased by 173%, and representation from small-to-medium sized businesses has grown more than 100% year-to-date. Additionally, Walmart said every supplier up for renewal this year has signed on for at least another three years.
Walmart Luminate Insights Activation Launches
Walmart and Data Ventures leaders revealed that Walmart Luminate Insights Activation for Walmart Connect, the mass merchant’s retailer media network, is now available to all Luminate Charter suppliers after a successful beta launch.
The Insights Activation module is a self-serve integration/automated solution designed to streamline the insights-to-activation process for suppliers. It leverages Walmart Luminate to determine trends in shopper data and is powered by Walmart Connect to target the right audiences for follow-up media activations. This combination marks the first time Walmart is bringing these two solutions together.
With this launch, brands can use the integration to inform and enhance their Walmart Display (onsite and offsite) campaigns.
“For example, insights might reveal that brand-loyal shoppers are purchasing less often than they typically would, and so dollar sales within that audience are trending down,” Bhanu Bhardwaj, group director of product management, Walmart Connect, said in a blog post. “In this case, a brand may receive a suggestion to run a Walmart Display campaign targeting those customers.”
Luminate’s Digital Landscapes Expands Availability
At the Oct. 1 Inspire event, Walmart announced the general availability of Luminate’s Digital Landscapes, a self-service insights solution that beta launched in June and provides insights on digital shopper behaviors. The offering enables advertisers to analyze daily engagement trends and track sources that are driving traffic — from searches on Walmart.com and the mobile app to external search engines and social platforms.