Today, customers are engaging with brands and buying products in entirely new ways. The shopping journey is no longer linear. Discovery is happening everywhere - online, in-store, on social, through live streaming – and brands have an opportunity to spark discovery with ad creative that inspires and resonates.

Walmart customers are in a discovery mindset

Almost half of our customers say they are significantly likely to seek shopping ideas and inspiration in a Walmart store or online.¹ From finding recipe ideas to planning celebrations or looking for fashion inspiration, our customers are in a discovery mindset. Of Walmart customers surveyed, 94% say they are open to trying new brands, especially in categories like food & beverage, apparel, household cleaning, and personal care. To make their purchase decisions, they are factoring in customer ratings, sales or discounts and brand recognition.¹

Discovery is distributed across many touchpoints

Walmart customers are discovering new products across a variety of touchpoints during their shopping journey, from Walmart.com, our app, in-store and on social.

In Walmart stores, the potential to learn, try, feel, and test products makes discovery a joy for customers. More than half of Walmart customers surveyed said they learn about new products or brands by shopping in person and 46% of Walmart customers agree free trials or samples would entice them to try a new product or brand.⁵

Online channels are also essential to the discovery cycle. More than half of our online customers surveyed said they find new products through online search¹ and 48.5% of Walmart app visits include a search.³ Customers are searching generally for products without specific brands, like "chips", "laundry detergent", or "body wash."³ These searching behaviors offer brands the opportunity to surface relevant products, at the right moment. In addition, social media has become a key shopping touchpoint, helping customers discover and research new products. Of Walmart customers surveyed, 83% say they are open to using social media platforms for shopping.²

How brands can design creative to spark discovery

1. Make your ads eye-catching

Discovery starts with capturing attention. In a consumer study that explored why customers click on ads, 77% of people surveyed say they click on ads that are exciting and 85% said they click on ads they can relate to.¹ Put your best brand forward by incorporating exciting and relatable visuals that pull customers in.

What makes a visual eye catching?

• Show relatable people or a recognizable celebrity using the product
• Hero the product and add a graphic background to make the product pop
  

2. Stay in the moment

Customers want to find the products they’re looking for and that speak to their needs at a particular moment in time. Especially during seasonal times like the holidays and back-to-school, which tend to be some of the biggest shopping moments of the year. In fact, 45% of people surveyed said that seeing seasonal moments and products in advertising impacts their purchase decisions.¹

3. Engage emotions

Making an emotional connection can be an effective way to capture attention with your ads and improve recall. In fact, studies have shown that when evaluating brands, consumers primarily use emotions, rather than information.⁶ We’ve seen that Walmart customers respond to emotional connection in ads, especially when ads feature life events, families with pets, and heritage traditions.¹

4. Boost your benefits

Customers are doing a significant amount of online research throughout their shopping journeys. While searching for a specific product, 50% of Walmart customers look at 2-3 pages and 30% look at 3-5 pages, which opens an opportunity for brands to influence purchase decisions with strategically placed compelling ad creative.⁷ In particular, electronics, appliances, phone & accessories, and apparel are highly researched before purchase.¹ Be loud about your product or brand benefits in your ad creative to stand out to customers during the research phase of their journey.

5. Balance customer needs

Walmart customers are looking for value. In addition to price, building engaging attributes within the visual content paired with relevant headlines can draw the customer in. When making a purchase decision, different attributes are top of mind depending on the category. Below are some of the factors Walmart customers consider when making a purchase.¹

• Great deals
• Quality products
• Brand recognition
• Product variety (such as flavors and scents)
• Reviews & recommendations

This content is brought to you by Lightbox Creative, the in-house creative team that helps suppliers drive business results with Walmart Connect’s retail media solutions through best-in-class creative. Learn more about Lightbox Creative and their mission here.

Sources:

¹NielsenIQ BASES Walmart Tentpole Project – Creative Focus Survey, January 2023

²NielsenIQ BASES Walmart Tentpole Project – Social Media Focus Survey, Sep 2022

³Walmart first-party data, Feb – July 2022

⁴Walmart first-party data, Feb 2023. Reflecting Oct 31 - Dec 31, 2022.

⁵Walmart Spark Panel, April 2021. [Data was collected through an online survey distributed to Walmart Customer Spark panel members (N- 614) managed by Customer Spark and Research Platform team (Global Data)]

⁶Psychology Today, How Emotions Influence What We Buy, Feb 2013

⁷Walmart first-party data, Walmart Customer Spark Community, provided by Walmart Luminate, July 2022