Walmart Acquiring Online Ad Platform

Walmart has acquired the assets and technology of Polymorph Labs, a Silicon Valley-based online ad platform that the retailer said will make advertising on Walmart’s digital properties easier for brands while delivering more relevant ads to consumers.

The technology will complement Walmart’s current omnichannel ad targeting and measurement solution, and will provide a platform for continued future innovation, such as real-time auctions across multiple ad-pricing models.

Online shopping has provided retailers including Walmart with new possibilities for advertising from suppliers, using technology to target shoppers with greater precision. Polymorph, for example, will enable Walmart advertisers to select audience segments based on shopping behavior (for example, cat food buyers vs. dog food buyers), automate ad delivery and then measure whether their ads influenced a sale.

“Simply put, we can help brands understand if someone saw their ad on Walmart’s platform or across the internet, and then purchased the product in-store or online,” said Stefanie Jay, VP and general manager of Walmart Media Group, said in a blog post. “No one else can do this at scale like Walmart.”

Walmart said the acquisition was expected to close later this spring. A purchase price was not disclosed.

Polymorph’s team of product developers and engineers will join Walmart Media Group in its San Bruno and Sunnyvale, Calif., locations.