eCommerce Strategy Consultant - Rick Watson - RMW Commerce Consulting

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Walmart In Talks to Buy Vizio TV - Not Clear It Will Work: "It's The Streaming Apps Stupid"

Rick Watson

News from The Wall Street Journal that Walmart is in talks to buy the TV manufacturer Vizio. It would be a start, but the retailer would need to solve the app problem to challenge Amazon or Google in a serious way in the ads business.

Analyzing Walmart's Move: Pros and Cons of Buying Vizio TV

Positives:

  • Vizio does give Walmart access to a TV operating system, an asset they don't have currently.

  • Essentially this allows them to put ads on the homepage of your TV.

Negatives:

  • Doesn't solve the content problem. What happens when you click into an app? Walmart loses the advantage, though it will have some understanding of targeting data, but it would have the surface area to display ads within those apps. Unless it either produces the content itself, or buys or invests in the apps.

  • Amazon has spent years getting ahead of Walmart in the content business and has a number of properties, including IMDB, Twitch, FreeVee, and Amazon Prime Video.

  • Google has YouTube and YoutubeTV. These are monster properties where users are actually spending their time, and they have Google TV operating systems on many TVs as well.

  • Speaking of content, the best content is most expensive: studio-produced or live sports like the NFL. Amazon is again ahead of Walmart here. Google's YouTube took over DirectTV's NFL License. Amazon is snapping up deals for exclusive sports broadcast rights.

They still need to try. Despite all this, Walmart has needed a streaming strategy to power the next generation of its advertising growth. Ever since they jettisoned the failed Vudu experiment, they have a had large app-sized hole in their plan.

For now, Walmart Connect's advertising growth will continue without issue. It's more, what happens 5 years out. And if advertisers have better media ad-buying options with other players, Walmart's share of wallet would start to hit a ceiling.

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