Walmart Updates In-Store TV Network
Walmart last week launched the Walmart Smart Network, a new system powered by Internet Protocol Television that will allow the retailer to monitor and control more than 27,000 screens in more than 2,700 stores nationwide.
As part of the new technology, advertisers will be able to better target shoppers by store, screen, day and time-of-day and change their messages more frequently.
The network will offer messaging at the entrance of Walmart Supercenters on “Welcome Screens,” in departments where shoppers frequent on “Category Screens,” such as grocery, healthy and beauty and electronics. “End cap Screens” will advertise items displayed on key end cap display areas throughout the store, Walmart said.
The technology, which is rolling out in stores this month, is part of a $10 million investment in research and development to find the best place to locate TV screens and develop content to reach shoppers. The Walmart Smart Network will replace the retailer’s satellite-operated network, which runs in about 3,000 stores.
The goal is to offer customized product information to customers at critical points to influence their purchasing decisions, Walmart said.
“We’ve built a network tailored to the way consumers shop our stores—delivering helpful, custom, content closest to the point of decision—that helps them shop smarter,” Stephen Quinn, CMO, Wal-Mart Stores, U.S., said in a statement
The company estimates the system will be in place throughout its chain by 2010.
Walmart is working with three companies on the venture. Studio2 will provide custom programming, while Thomson’s Premier Retail Networks will provide network operations, implementation and advertising sales. DS-IQ. The firm which ran the network pilot last year, is responsible for response measurement.
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