As the #1 US retailer,¹ Walmart continues to build loyalty with existing customers as well as attract new customers who are looking for more value in today’s economic climate. Customers are coming to Walmart to purchase everyday essentials and discover new products with great quality at an everyday low price. By understanding how our customers view price and value, brands can develop ad creative that wins carts and minds.  

Customers are becoming more savings savvy

Saving is top of mind for our customers and our everyday low prices are attracting more and more customers to Walmart—73% of Walmart customers believe they are getting the best possible deal when shopping at Walmart.⁵ Recently, we’ve seen more mid-to-high income customers come to Walmart looking for value, especially when purchasing food and consumables.² In addition to searching for everyday low prices on essentials, customers are also turning to Walmart for deal events to get the best price possible on products they buy less often including big ticket items, gifts for loves ones or products that don’t usually go on sale.³

How can brands tailor creative to speak to these customer needs?

For brands, utilizing price messaging can be more powerful today than ever before. It’s an essential tool to grab the attention of budget conscious customers and stand out amongst competitors. 

Here are five tips to help your brand do it right: 

1. Put price front and center

We know that savings is top of mind for our customers and one of the main drivers of purchase decisions, so it’s important for brands to feature low cost and savings messaging prominently. This strategy can also have a positive impact on brand perception. We've heard from our customers that when they see ads that put price front and center, they feel the brand is "looking out for them," "cares about them" and wants to save their family money.⁵ Whether it’s leveraging a Rollback lockup, price lockup, or just a savings message in your headline, there are several options for making your great deals known.

2. Balance price and quality messaging  

While our customers are looking for value with our everyday low prices, they aren’t willing to sacrifice quality. Walmart customers rank quality products as one of the top reasons for clicking on an ad.⁶ Maintaining a balance between price and quality messaging is key, especially when it comes to products for babies, kids and pets. Compliment price messaging with the key benefit(s) of your brand or product to illustrate holistic value. For example, if you're advertising a healthy snack, highlight the health benefits or if you're advertising a skincare product, highlight the desired outcome like skin brightening. 

3. Communicate urgency

The perception of scarcity and the fear of missing out can drive action, especially for deal shoppers.⁷ Limited time offers are an opportunity to meet the needs of customers who are looking for savings and motivate purchase decisions. Keep in mind, this tactic should only be used at key moments, like during the holidays, otherwise customers may be turned off.

4. Use clear product imagery

You only have a few seconds to make an impression, so be clear about what product is being advertised by using a high-quality product shot. We surveyed Walmart customers and found that ads that hero the product are more likely to drive purchase intent.⁸ If you’re using a lifestyle shot, keep the product as easily recognizable to customers as possible.  

5. Reinforce your message

The shopper journey has become increasingly dispersed and non-linear. More than 3 in 5 Walmart customers surveyed said they are online while in Walmart stores to inform their purchase decisions.⁵ This means that brands need to have strong omnichannel creative with consistent messaging to capture customers wherever they are looking for the best products, prices and deals.

This content is brought to you by Lightbox Creative, the in-house creative team that helps suppliers drive business results with Walmart Connect’s retail media solutions through best-in-class creative. Learn more about Lightbox Creative and their mission.

Sources:

¹Walmart first-party data, 2022. *based on revenue

²Walmart first-party data, Walmart Inflation Survey, April 2022, Walmart Customer Spark Panel

³Walmart first-party data, Walmart Deals Day Survey, September 2022, Walmart Customer Spark Panel, provided by Walmart Luminate.

⁴NielsenIQ BASES Walmart – Inflation Focus, October 2022

⁵Walmart first-party data, Walmart Claims Survey, September 2022, Walmart Customer Spark Panel, provided by Walmart Luminate Marketing

⁶NielsenIQ BASES Walmart Tentpole Project – Creative Focus, January 2023

⁷Psychology Today: Scarcity Makes Everything Desirable, April 2017

⁸Walmart first-party data, Walmart Customer Spark Community, provided by Walmart Luminate, April 2023