How does Walmart advertising work on Walmart Connect?

What is Walmart Connect?

Walmart Connect is Walmart's advertising business. It describes itself as "advertising for businesses of all sizes" and sells ads on the Walmart site, in the app and in stores. For a Marketplace seller, Walmart Connect is where Sponsored Search ads are bought, either from the Advertising tab in Seller Center or in Walmart Connect's Ad Center.

It is growing fast. Walmart's Q2 FY27 earnings presentation (13 weeks to 31 July 2026) shows Walmart U.S. total advertising up 38%, including Walmart Connect up 43%, with marketplace sales up 52%. Walmart also says 83% of its top Marketplace sellers advertise with Walmart Connect, and that Marketplace advertisers see an average 5:1 return on ad spend. Both are Walmart's own first-party figures.

Which Walmart ad types can Marketplace sellers use?

Walmart connect ads for most sellers means Sponsored Products first. Sponsored Brands and Videos come once your trademark is in Brand Portal.

How do Walmart Sponsored Search campaigns work?

Sponsored Search is an auction. Walmart says placement goes to the most relevant product with the highest bid, and that relevancy, bid, customer reviews and the two-day shipping tag all affect where an ad shows. That last factor is why fast fulfillment and advertising are linked on Walmart: an item with a two-day promise competes better in the same auction.

There are two targeting types. Automatic campaigns let Walmart pick keywords and test search terms; Walmart calls this the simplest way to start and gives suggested bids at product type level. Manual campaigns target keywords you choose, with keyword-level bid suggestions. Walmart also offers dynamic bidding, which adjusts bids in real time.

1. Start. Sign in to Walmart Connect Ad Center with your Seller Center credentials, or open the Advertising tab in Seller Center.
2. Create the campaign. Choose Sponsored Products and automatic or manual targeting.
3. Set budget and bids. Pick a daily or total budget, a bid and, if you want, dynamic bidding.
4. Select products. Add items that are in stock and winning the Buy Box.
5. Launch and learn. Move converting search terms from automatic into manual campaigns and cut the ones that do not sell.

How much does Walmart advertising cost, and is there a minimum?

You pay only when a shopper clicks. Walmart says there are "no setup or monthly fees" for Sponsored Search: you choose a budget and bids, and your ad spend is the cost.

On minimums, Walmart's own US pages we checked do not list a minimum daily budget or minimum bid. Walmart Connect's campaign setup guide recommends "a minimum daily budget of $100" to stay visible during peak shopping hours, which is a recommendation, not a rule. Third-party guides quote different floors, so treat the budget field in Ad Center as the final word when you set up the campaign.

How do you advertise on Walmart Marketplace as a brand?

The order that works for brands moving from Amazon:

• Fix the item first. Listing quality, price and the Buy Box decide whether an ad can serve at all. An ad on an item that has lost the Buy Box does not run.
• Get the two-day tag on your top items, through WFS or fast seller-fulfilled shipping.
• Register your trademark in Walmart Brand Portal so Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Videos open up.
• Run automatic Sponsored Products to collect search terms, then build manual campaigns around the ones that convert.
• Judge the channel on total sales and margin, not ad ROAS alone. Walmart's referral fee comes out of every sale the ad drives.

Walmart advertising partners and agencies can run this for you. Shaazford manages Walmart Connect as part of Walmart management at a flat $1,600 a month, never a percentage of ad spend. Our home goods client went from $0 to $42K a month on Walmart in 5 months (case study). We are not a Walmart Connect partner, so ask any agency to show you its listing on Walmart's own pages.