"In 2019, Walmart's e-commerce chief at the time, Marc Lore, drew a line in the sand. "You'll notice that we don't sell the No. 1, 2 slots in search - like some of our competitors do," he said at Recode's CodeCommerce conference that year, positioning Walmart.com as the anti-Amazon in its approach to search results. Six years later, that line has all but faded. Sponsored listings now routinely appear at the top of Walmart's search results, pushing organic products further down the page."
"Walmart has become an ad-selling machine in its own right, fueled by brands eager to buy visibility on the nation's second-largest e-commerce site. Walmart CFO John David Rainey told investors late last year that advertising had grown to make up almost a third of Walmart's overall operating income. The company generated $4.4 billion in global ad revenue in 2024, up 27% year-over-year, making it one of Walmart's fastest-growing businesses, alongside its e-commerce unit."
"Walmart's ad business may lag Amazon's in sheer revenue - Amazon pulled in $56 billion last year. But when it comes to how saturated their search results are with sponsored listings, the two are nearly indistinguishable, according to an analysis of around two dozen product searches conducted by Modern Retail. Take a recent Walmart.com search for "batteries." At the top of the page, two banner ads - one for Duracell, another for Rayovac - appear before any product listings."
Walmart shifted from a public stance against selling top search slots to routinely placing sponsored listings ahead of organic results. Sponsored placements now push many non-advertising products far down search pages, mirroring Amazon's marketplace approach. Advertising generated $4.4 billion globally in 2024, grew 27% year-over-year, and comprised nearly a third of overall operating income according to company disclosures. Brand demand for visibility has fueled this growth, turning search placements into a key profit driver. Comparative search analyses show Walmart's first-page ad saturation approaching Amazon's levels across sampled product queries.
Read at Digiday
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