In a bid to better understand its customers, big box giant, Walmart, has been working on a new way to track customer shopping and spending habits. Living in the current digital landscape that we do means that a far greater amount of personal data is readily available to those who know where to find it whether we like it or not.
Take website cookies for example, more often than not, we simply click ‘accept’ when the prompt pops up on screen without really knowing what it is we have just agreed to and this is precisely how companies farm our data which is then used for marketing purposes, amongst other things.
In the same grain of things, the tech side of this supermarket retailer has recently launched a new initiative called Digital Landscapes which forms part of a bigger suite known as Walmart Luminate.
What is Digital Landscapes by Walmart Luminate?
Much like any retailer in the industry, Walmart also shares in the commitment to strive to better understand its customer’s needs and wants so as to provide an optimal shopping experience for them. The launch of Digital Landscapes is aimed at furthering this agenda by means of analyzing and understanding every single step of a shopper’s online journey on the company website or app. The crux of the concept is the optimize the user’s path to purchase.
The statement released by the company regarding this launched stated, “These insights are particularly valuable for suppliers as they evaluate their marketing and sales strategies. By analyzing daily engagement trends and tracking sources that are driving traffic — from searches on Walmart.com and the Walmart mobile app to external search engines, social platforms and more — suppliers can better allocate their resources to help boost reach and improve the effectiveness of their campaigns.”
Through this statement, it is somewhat evident that this new method of data analysis also aims to increase ad revenue for the company by means of providing the customer with a more tailored experience after the data is collected and reviewed.
Walmart Connect, the retailer’s U.S-based advertising department was reported to have grown by 26% over the last quarter. As such, the launch of this program will be a more substantial opportunity for growth for the company.
The four main points of focus that of Digital Landscapes, as per the company website is:
- Where customers start their journey to find a product.
- When customers find a product.
- How a product compares to others in the category.
- What a customer’s path to purchase looks like.
What is the goal of Luminate?
The Inc recently reached out to the company regarding further clarification on this latest innovation to which Walmart spokesperson Lea Ciskowski responded, “Walmart Luminate … uses data-driven insights to help suppliers fuel smarter, faster decisions and unlock growth so they can be less reactive and more predictive in anticipating their customers’ needs.”
The new launch is almost guaranteed to set the retailer apart in terms of data analysis, particularly when you consider the 144 million customers that are shopping online and in-store weekly.
Walmart Data Ventures has shared its desire to climb to the top of the insights and analytics game and the launch of Digital Landscapes is marking a significant stride towards this goal of becoming a global leader in the field.
The beta version of Digital Landscapes was unveiled on June 5, 2024 with a plans for a full rollout slated for the summer. It should also be noted that the retailer has always been sharing data related to customer’s purchases with suppliers. Digital Landscapes is simply taking this process a step further by studying the patterns of shoppers from a much earlier stage in their purchase journey — and this also includes shoppers who browse without buying anything.