Walmart, Roku Bring Commerce To TV Ads

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Roku, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU) announced a groundbreaking collaboration today to make TV streaming the next e-commerce shopping destination.

Photo Insert: By working with Roku, Walmart will be the first to market retailer to bring customers a new shoppable experience and seamless checkout on the largest screen in their homes – their TV.

Walmart will now be the sole retailer offering featured products on Roku which has earned the spot as America's #1 TV streaming platform.

This one-of-a-kind collaboration expands shopping beyond the QR code and will change the way customers interact with and purchase TV and video content. The new experience combines product discovery with a seamless checkout experience, allowing direct purchase at the point of inspiration.

“We’re working to connect with customers where they are already spending time, shortening the distance from discovery and inspiration to purchase,” said William White, chief marketing officer, Walmart.

Roku's purpose-built advertising tech stack will bring all of the benefits of streaming TV advertising to the commerce partnership – targeting, optimization, and measurement. This marks the beginning of the era of "Video Shoppability."

OneView, Roku’s ad-buying platform for TV streaming, will have the exclusive capability to activate and measure these shoppable ads. Additionally, marketers will be able to use Roku Brand Studio to design custom creative and branded content built for TV streaming and shopping.

"We're making TV shopping as easy as it is on social (media)," said Peter Hamilton, Roku's Head of TV Commerce.

For years, streamers have used their Roku remote to purchase new Roku devices and sign up for millions of subscriptions. This latest streaming commerce technology provides marketers and shoppers with the same ease and convenience.

By working with Roku, Walmart will be the first to market retailer to bring customers a new shoppable experience and seamless checkout on the largest screen in their homes – their TV.

Viewers simply press "OK" with their remote on a shoppable ad and proceed to checkout, with their payment information easily pre-populated from Roku Pay, Roku's payments platform. The order is then placed by tapping "OK" on the Walmart checkout page. A Walmart purchase confirmation email with shipping, return, and support information is then sent.

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