What did Walmart announce on June 22, 2026 at Cannes?

Walmart published a corporate update setting out the next era of global commerce media: an expanded Walmart Connect, a deeper Sam's Club Member Access Platform integration, and broader first-party-data access to Google DV360 for YouTube campaigns.

How big is Walmart Connect today?

Walmart Connect ad revenue reached roughly $6.4 billion in 2025, having tripled in five years. The pitch at Cannes is that this puts Walmart in serious contention against Amazon Ads and Amazon DSP for upper-funnel video budget.

Why does this matter for Amazon-first brands?

Brands selling on both Amazon and Walmart now have a credible, measurable third surface for upper-funnel video budget. For Amazon-only brands, competitor spend on Walmart-attributed YouTube can pull sessions off shared-shelf ASINs, so BSR drift on hero ASINs is the leading indicator to watch.

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Walmart Connect lays out vision for global commerce media era

On June 22, 2026, Walmart used the opening of Cannes Lions to set out its next era of global commerce media: an expanded Walmart Connect, Sam's Club Member Access Platform folded in, and first-party-data pipes into Google DV360 for YouTube. With ad revenue tripled to roughly $6.4B in 2025, Walmart is now pitching brand advertisers on closed-loop measurement against in-store and online sales, putting the retail-media duopoly on notice.

MaxCOO at Nova Analytics

Jun 22, 2026 · 4 min read · 701 words

Updated June 22, 2026

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What's happening

On June 22, 2026, Walmart used the opening day of Cannes Lions to set out what it calls the next era of global commerce media. The corporate update on corporate.walmart.com lays out an expanded Walmart Connect with Sam's Club Member Access Platform folded deeper into the offer, broader first-party-data pipes into Google Display & Video 360 for YouTube, and a new pitch to global brand advertisers for closed-loop measurement against in-store and online sales.

The headline number behind the pitch is that Walmart Connect ad revenue tripled in five years to roughly $6.4 billion in 2025. The strategic message is that retail media is no longer just a lower-funnel performance line. Walmart wants its first-party shopper data to underwrite upper-funnel video on YouTube and CTV inventory the way Amazon has been doing with Amazon DSP and Prime Video.

Why it matters for Amazon brands

For brands that sell on both Amazon and Walmart, this is the moment the retail-media duopoly turned into a three-way contest for the same video budget. Walmart is now able to tell a competitor brand on a shared shelf that a $50k YouTube test can be measured against actual Walmart purchases inside seven days, and a similar story is coming for Sam's Club. The Amazon-only test you ran last quarter just gained a comparable.

For Amazon-only brands, the second-order risk is sharper than the first. Walmart-attributed YouTube spend on a competitor SKU usually shows up first as a sessions drift on your Amazon listing, not as a Walmart unit move. The shelf is shared even when the budget is not.

What you should do now

1.
List shared-UPC SKUs across Amazon and Walmart
If a competitor brand starts running Walmart-attributed video against a UPC you both sell, the cheapest early signal is on your Amazon listing. Pull the shared-UPC list and tag the SKUs as a weekly watch list.
2.
Re-baseline upper-funnel video share
Inside Nova's PPC analytics, read product-level ad spend on hero ASINs over the last 60 days. If most of your video budget is concentrated in one surface, treat the Walmart-on-YouTube path as a fair test alongside, not a replacement.
3.
Watch BSR drift on hero ASINs weekly
Competitor off-Amazon spend usually shows up first as a sessions lift, then a BSR shift on the listing. The cheapest leading indicator is the BSR tracker on your own ASINs refreshed weekly.
4.
Read every test against contribution margin
Any test budget shifted to off-Amazon video should be measured against contribution margin on the Amazon SKUs it lifts, not raw ROAS. Tie the test back to the live P&L at SKU level so the kill or scale call is honest.

How Nova helps

Nova gives brand managers and agencies per-SKU PPC analytics and contribution-margin P&L across the 23 Amazon marketplaces it supports. When Walmart Connect spend lifts competitor SKUs on shared shelves, the Amazon-side impact lands in sessions, units, BSR and margin before it shows up in any retail-media dashboard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this topic

Walmart published a corporate update setting out the next era of global commerce media: an expanded Walmart Connect, a deeper Sam's Club Member Access Platform integration, and broader first-party-data access to Google DV360 for YouTube campaigns.
Walmart Connect ad revenue reached roughly $6.4 billion in 2025, having tripled in five years. The pitch at Cannes is that this puts Walmart in serious contention against Amazon Ads and Amazon DSP for upper-funnel video budget.
Brands selling on both Amazon and Walmart now have a credible, measurable third surface for upper-funnel video budget. For Amazon-only brands, competitor spend on Walmart-attributed YouTube can pull sessions off shared-shelf ASINs, so BSR drift on hero ASINs is the leading indicator to watch.

Verified Sources

All information verified from official Amazon sources and trusted industry analysts as of publication date.

About the Author

Max

COO at Nova Analytics

Max leads operations at Nova Analytics, helping Amazon sellers optimize their business performance through data-driven insights and strategic automation.

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