Conversations shaping the future of retail media
By: Walmart Connect
At CES 2026, Walmart Connect debuted its first-ever Content Studio, designed to capture, create, and scale thought leadership at the pace of the industry. Through podcast-style conversations with Walmart leadership, industry analysts, advertisers and partners, we explored three core themes shaping the future of retail media: omnichannel scale built for real-world reach, full-funnel solutions that drive brand growth, and closed-loop signals that deliver performance you can trust. Together, these discussions offer practical insight into what’s working and where retail media is headed next.
Innovation that scales
Walmart Connect’s scale goes beyond reach — it’s about turning real-time shopper behavior into relevance at every touchpoint, built on access to real customer insights. From agentic tools to in-store innovations, these conversations explore how Walmart Connect helps brands operate more effectively at scale.
The future of AI in retail media
Speakers: Daniel Danker, EVP, AI Acceleration, Product and Design
Khurrum Malik, VP, Business and Product Marketing, Walmart Connect
With agentic tools and AI-driven insights, Walmart Connect’s scale is moving beyond pattern-based predictions toward a deeper understanding of real customer intent. In this conversation, Khurrum and Daniel explore how AI is moving retail media from dashboards to actionable guidance, helping brands operate faster, smarter and with greater confidence.
Key takeaway: At scale, AI’s true power is turning massive amounts of data into clear, actionable insights that drive real impact for brands. See how Walmart Connect is making that shift possible.
Shaping the future of shopping with agentic commerce
Speakers: Kyle McWhirter, Group Director, Head of Food, Walmart Connect
Shakir Moin, President, Marketing, Coca-Cola North America
Amy Andrews, President, Mars United
With agentic commerce redefining how customers discover and shop, scale is evolving from mass reach to delivering relevance at every moment through real customer signals. In this conversation, senior leaders from Coca-Cola and Mars United sit down with Walmart Connect’s Head of Food to discuss how AI is reshaping discovery and impulse moments across digital and in-store touchpoints.
Key takeaway: The future of scale is personalization — AI makes it possible to deliver intimate, relevant brand moments to millions of customers at once. Watch how leading brands activate agentic commerce.
In-store innovations in a fluid customer journey
Speakers: Lara Barmish, Group Director, Head of Consumables, Walmart Connect
Whitney Cook, Group Director, Sales Strategy & Enablement, Walmart Connect
In the U.S., Walmart serves ~150M customers in-store and online per week1 across 4600+ stores,2 giving Walmart Connect an unparalleled omnichannel scale. We’re able to turn real-time, first party signals into relevance at the point of purchase across Walmart’s omnichannel footprint. In this conversation, Lara and Whitney share how in-store activations and new measurement solutions let brands earn attention, drive both brand and performance outcomes, and scale experiences across digital and physical touchpoints.
Key takeaway: Inside stores is where scale becomes action, translating omnichannel signals into measurable brand and sales impact across thousands of stores. This conversation shows how Walmart Connect applies that advantage.
Full-funnel solutions that spark brand growth
Full-funnel growth requires brand, performance, and measurement solutions that work together. At Walmart Connect, our solutions help brands build awareness and drive conversion seamlessly and at scale. From the evolution of CTV to new opportunities for non-endemic brands, these conversations show how our solutions spark sales.
Retail solutions for non-endemic advertisers
Speakers: Brett Wein, Group Director, Head of General Merchandise, Apparel & Non-Endemic Sales, Walmart Connect
Mike Treon, Head of CTV & Video Strategy, PMG
Brett and Mike explore how retail media is expanding beyond endemic categories to drive growth for brands that don’t sell products at Walmart. Retail media is no longer limited to the shelf, highlighting why non-endemic brands need to activate full-funnel strategies to help reach the right audiences.
Key takeaway: Retail media creates growth opportunities beyond the shelf by enabling non-endemic brands to reach high-intent audiences. Watch how Walmart Connect applies first-party signals, CTV and omnichannel measurement to make that possible.
Full-funnel strategies powered by tech partners
Speakers: Tommy Wong, Team Lead, Tech Partnership, Walmart Connect
Chris Corrado, EVP, Strategic Partnerships, Quartile
From correcting common misconceptions about Walmart’s Marketplace, to showing how Sponsored Search and Onsite Display work better together, Tommy and Chris unpack what it really takes for brands to succeed. This conversation explores how technology partners help brands scale more efficiently and drive stronger performance on Walmart.com.
Key takeaway: Brands unlock stronger performance when Sponsored Search and Onsite Display work together, supported by automation and AI. Watch how Walmart Connect and Quartile apply that approach to help brands unlock incremental growth.
Performance that delivers
Performance today requires more than reporting — it requires proof. At Walmart Connect, our signals connect media exposure to real business outcomes, helping advertisers understand what’s truly driving incremental growth. From search incrementality to shopper insights that reflect how customers research and buy, these conversations show how Walmart Connect is giving advertisers the confidence and measurement solutions to prove impact and invest for growth.
What’s ahead for retail media in 2026?
Speakers: Stacy Kemp, Executive Lead, CMO Program, Deloitte
Rich Lehrfeld, SVP, Walmart Connect
Stacy sits down with Rich to discuss how retail media is evolving from a performance tactic into a full-funnel growth engine. Hear why search incrementality, first-party measurement and how AI is transforming retail media matter — and how those signals help brands link creative storytelling to causal sales outcomes across online and in-store touchpoints.
Key takeaway: In 2026, retail media success will depend on proving how brand building and performance work together. See how Walmart Connect is raising the bar to define what performance looks like next.
Measurement that drives growth
Speakers: Chris Tyau, Director, Product Marketing, Walmart Connect
Jon Gibs, Group Director, Media Insights, Walmart Connect
Chris and Jon break down how marketers can move beyond dashboards to understand what actually drives incremental growth. Through a deep dive on incrementality, the conversation shows how Walmart Connect’s first-party signals turn complexity into clarity, sharing how a measurement mindset helps marketers cut through the clutter.
Key takeaway: As retail media evolves, performance will be shaped more and more by causality. Watch how Walmart Connect is helping brands make confident decisions with performance that delivers.
Unlocking insights across Walmart’s customer journey
Speakers: Marisa Stubin, Team Lead, Agency Partnerships, Walmart Connect
Joe Groter, VP, Retail Media and Commerce Partnerships, Publicis Media
Marisa and Joe explore how understanding the Walmart customer journey unlocks smarter media investment and stronger performance. Drawing on omnichannel customer insights — from in-store and digital behaviors to generational shifts and category-specific patterns — the conversation shows how first-party signals help brands tailor messaging, connect touchpoints and measure impact across the full path to purchase.
Key takeaway: The strongest performance comes from understanding how customers actually shop. Watch as Walmart Connect and Publicis Media reveal fresh insights about Walmart shoppers, and how understanding this behavior can help inform an effective omnichannel strategy.
What Walmart Connect’s studio revealed
Across these conversations, a clear picture emerged of where retail media is headed. Scale is evolving beyond mass reach. Solutions are coming together across the full funnel. And signals are redefining performance, proving impact with clarity and confidence.
At Walmart Connect, these elements come together to shape an ecosystem that is more connected, more accountable, and grounded in how customers actually shop. We’re excited to continue to bring industry voices together to explore what’s next.
Let’s spark sales.
Sources:
1. Walmart annual report papers, March 14, 2025.
2. Walmart first-party data, February 2025.
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