Walmart Buys Ad Tech Thunder Industries
BENTONVILLE, AR - As the retail sector has continued to evolve at lightning speed, Walmart has stayed on the cutting-edge as it has made big moves to keep its stores at the top of consumers’ lists. With its recent announcement that it would be rebranding its advertising business, it appears that the retailer has honed in on the marketing sector, this time revealing that it will acquire technology from Thunder Industries, a company that specializes in using automation to create digital ads.
“As we continue to grow our media business we need to find ways that we can easily serve all suppliers—be it companies who have been Walmart suppliers for years or brand new marketplace suppliers,” said Janey Whiteside, Chief Customer Officer at Walmart, in a statement reported by The Wall Street Journal. “The new display self-serve platform and the integration of Thunder’s technology does just that.”
According to the same article from The Wall Street Journal, Walmart has yet to disclose any terms of the business deal. The retailer will be purchasing the innovative technology and assets from PaperG Inc, which does business under the Thunder Industries name. The company will bring with it most of its current employees, but Walmart will not be purchasing the company’s existing customer contracts, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Walmart will be using Thunder Industries’ technology to debut a self-service tool that will help advertisers create and buy several versions of display ads that will be able to target different kinds of consumers on its properties. The new self-service display ad tool is expected to launch later this year.
The purchase of Thunder Industries’ technology will continue to expand on Walmart’s recent efforts to diversify its advertising business by helping the retailer focus more on small businesses. As consumers continue to shop online, this has been named a key area of growth for the company.
With fewer resources and more limited marketing budgets than some larger companies, small business owners are more attracted to self-serve tools and technology that can make it easier for them to create ads and target them to relevant groups.
How will this new strategy affect Walmart’s ongoing expansion? Stick around with AndNowUKnow as we go in search of the answers.
