Walmart to acquire Polymorph Labs to enhance ad technology

Walmart has revealed plans to acquire technology and assets of Polymorph Labs, a Silicon Valley-based advertising start-up, which will help take Walmart’s advertising business to the next level. Walmart has been building its advertising business through Walmart Media Group, which offers full-funnel, targeted and accountable advertising powered by online and in-store sales data.

Polymorph’s technology – which includes a high-speed ad server, a self-serve interface and server-side header bidding – will make advertising with Walmart easier for thousands of brands, while delivering more relevant digital ads to consumers. This technology complements 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.

Polymorph’s technology platform will enable Walmart advertisers to on-board quickly, select audience segments based on shopping behaviour, automate ad delivery and then measure whether their ads influenced a sale. The company’s ad server is also much faster than the traditional client-side servers, so Walmart shoppers online or via our mobile app will be served advertising that is more relevant and delivered faster.

With 90% of America shopping at Walmart every year and nearly 160 million visiting the stores and websites every week, Walmart Media Group enables brands to reach more customers at scale and measure advertising effectiveness across the entire shopping journey.