Massive In-Store Data Launch for Walmart Mexico

Walmart Connect Mexico is rolling out what it says is the world's largest In-Store Audience Intelligence system, using thousands of AI sensors across hundreds of 'Supercenter' stores. The company is working with real-time retail media audience detection, segmentation and activation specialist Advertima.

Walmart de México y Centroamérica operates in six countries - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honnduras, Mexico and Nicaragua - and employs more than 240,000 associates. Walmart Connect is the omnichannel Retail Media business of Walmart Mexico, enabling brands and advertisers to reach the group's customers across the full shopper journey, including thousands of physical stores and clubs, ecommerce platforms, and immersive brand experiences.

The group says this will be the first time real-time audience measurement and audience-based activation have been scaled at this level inside physical retail - where most purchases are still made - matching the performance monitoring capabilities associated with online retail.

Advertima's Audience AI processes in-store campaign monitoring data locally on AI-powered edge devices, does not identify individuals, and generates anonymous audience segments without storing imagery. The company is headquartered in Switzerland and worked with major retailers in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

The project will have three initial use cases: audience measurement across non-digital in-store promotional spaces, primarily supporting trade and shopper marketing campaigns; audience measurement across digital in-store media, including digital signage; and real-time audience targeting on digital in-store media via Direct I/O bookings.

Each Advertima sensor captures the shop floor in 3D over distances exceeding 30 meters and supports multi-3D zoning, allowing a single sensor to inform multiple digital and non-digital media touchpoints in parallel - the firms say this was a critical requirement given the size, layout, and operational complexity of Walmart's hypermarket environments.

According to Advertima, industry sources such as eMarketer consistently show that physical retail in Latin America will account for more than 80% of total retail sales, well into the next decade. It notes: 'The physical store, therefore, remains the dominant environment for shopper engagement and the largest long-term opportunity for Retail Media monetization.'

Jonatan Fasano, Business Development Director at Walmart Connect Mexico says the company 'has always built Retail Media around audiences, performance, and measurable outcomes.' He notes: 'When we looked at how In-Store Retail Media needs to evolve, it was clear that the same principles must apply inside the physical store as well. Advertima demonstrated a clear understanding of what this requires in hypermarket environments, and the ability to execute it at scale in a privacy-first way.' Iman Nahvi, co-founder and CEO of Advertima says Walmart Connect 'has shaped Retail Media like few other players in the industry.' He continues: 'That the organization effectively defining this category aligns with our view of how In-Store Retail Media must work in the future is the strongest validation we could receive. It reinforces that Audience Intelligence - not screens - is the foundation of the next generation of Retail Media.'

Web sites: www.walmartconnect.com.mx and www.advertima.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.