How Walmart and Amazon Are Competing for Streaming TV Ad Budgets

Amazon and Walmart already dominate retail media spending, and both have moved aggressively into streaming TV to capture ad budgets that extend beyond shopper marketing. While Amazon’s ad business dwarfs Walmart’s – $70 billion versus $6.4 billion – the two giants are taking very different routes to win streaming dollars. Their approaches reflect equally different data sets, tech stacks, and priorities for the advertisers they court.

Amazon has spent years building premium content through Prime Video, including rights to NFL’s Thursday Night Football and a deep library of original shows. Its demand-side platform, Performance+, and Amazon Marketing Cloud let advertisers target audiences and optimize for sales, conversions, and leads. These tools have successfully attracted non-endemic brands – companies that do not sell on Amazon – by offering access to Amazon’s rich shopper data across third-party inventory like Netflix and Roku.

Walmart, by contrast, is earlier in its streaming journey. Its late-2024 acquisition of Vizio gave it a direct-to-TV operating system and a unified login that ties ad exposure to in-store and online sales. Walmart Connect’s ad products are still largely designed for the brands that sell in its stores, with a focus on closing the path to purchase. A reported $1.4 billion deal to acquire adtech startup Vibe.co would mark a significant pivot, potentially opening Walmart’s platform to more non-endemic advertisers and lowering the data fees that currently limit its appeal.

Inside Amazon’s Prime Video Play vs. Walmart’s Vizio and Vibe.co Moves

Amazon’s DSP and external partnerships open the door to non-endemic budgets

Amazon’s streaming ad proposition has evolved well beyond its own video properties. Its demand-side platform now includes a feature called Performance+ that optimizes for direct-response metrics, while Amazon Marketing Cloud lets advertisers build custom audiences from Amazon’s first-party data. According to Harry Browne, VP at Tinuiti, these tools have drawn in brands that do not sell products on Amazon, positioning the company as an “omni-opportunity provider.”

Partnerships with Netflix, Roku and other streamers have been crucial to scaling that reach. Sean Edwards of Exverus Media notes that Amazon recognised it would miss out on significant TV budgets if it did not open up to third-party inventory. The addition of those partnerships allows ad buyers to use Amazon’s audience data far beyond its own walled garden, making its $20 CPMs for Prime Video – relatively standard for premium streaming – competitive when bundled with Amazon’s targeting capabilities.

Walmart bets on connecting streaming impressions to register receipts

Walmart’s streaming story remains tightly coupled to its core retail business. The Vizio integration allows Walmart to track whether a household that saw an ad for a product eventually buys it at a Walmart store or on Walmart.com. The retailer’s first branded-content series, Backyard Escapes, reached 30% of U.S. households with a 67% completion rate and drove a $3 return on every dollar spent, according to its own data.

But the rollout has been slow, and ad buyers say the platform still struggles with cost. One client, for example, was quoted a $19 CPM layered with an additional $11 in data and measurement fees – a $30 total that caused the brand to back away. “Brands want the measurement but they don’t want to pay high fees for Walmart data,” one source told Adweek.

The Vibe.co acquisition could reshape Walmart’s ad-tech economics

Walmart’s reported move to buy Vibe.co for $1.4 billion would give it a self-serve platform that lets brands buy streaming ads quickly, outside of fixed upfront deals. Tinuiti’s Browne likened the deal to Pinterest’s acquisition of tvScientific, seeing it as a way for a retailer to make streaming data more fluid for targeting.

The acquisition would also diversify Walmart away from its reliance on The Trade Desk, which had been its exclusive programmatic partner. Walmart has since struck additional partnerships with Magnite, Yahoo, and Google. If the Vibe.co deal closes, analysts expect it to introduce competitive pressure on the data fees that have kept some advertisers on the sidelines, potentially lowering the total cost of layering Walmart’s purchase data onto programmatic streaming buys.

What Advertisers Need to Consider When Choosing Between Walmart and Amazon

  • For endemic brands that sell at Walmart: prioritise Walmart’s Vizio inventory if you need closed-loop attribution that ties a streaming impression directly to an in-store or online sale. Expect an ROAS around $3 based on the early content experiments, but budget for double-digit CPMs.
  • For non-endemic advertisers: Amazon’s DSP and partnerships with Netflix and Roku offer broader reach and proven direct-response tools. The standard $20 Prime Video CPM comes without extra data fees, making it a clearer benchmark for cost-conscious buyers.
  • Watch Walmart’s Vibe.co deal: if it closes, expect Walmart Connect to push aggressively for non-endemic budgets and to lower the combined CPM-plus-data fees that currently deter some clients. Early adopters may gain negotiating leverage as the platform evolves.
  • Measure incrementality carefully: both platforms claim ROAS figures, but the methodologies differ. Advertisers should run their own holdout tests, particularly when layering Walmart’s proprietary purchase data, to verify that the reported returns translate into genuine business growth.

Risk & Opportunity Assessment

Commercial RiskMediumBoth companies are investing heavily in streaming ad infrastructure. Amazon’s mature platform provides a steady revenue stream, but Walmart’s slower rollout and dependency on closing the Vibe.co deal introduce execution risk. Advertiser appetite for high data fees also poses a commercial headwind for Walmart.
Competitive RiskHighThe two are direct competitors for retail media and streaming budgets. Amazon’s ability to attract non-endemics is a direct threat to Walmart’s share of ad spend. Walmart’s Vizio integration and potential Vibe.co acquisition are explicitly aimed at narrowing Amazon’s lead.
Regulatory RiskLowNo imminent regulatory action is highlighted. Data privacy rules could affect targeting, but both companies operate within existing frameworks.
Reputation RiskLowNo reputational issues are raised. Advertiser confidence remains positive for both platforms, though cost complaints around Walmart’s data fees could grow if unaddressed.
Technology DisruptionMediumThe adtech landscape is evolving rapidly, with new partnerships and acquisitions (e.g., Walmart’s Vibe.co, Amazon’s third-party streamer deals) shifting how data is used for targeting. Failure to integrate Vibe.co smoothly or to keep pace with Amazon’s partnerships could disadvantage Walmart.
Commercial OpportunityHighStreaming TV ad budgets are growing, and both Walmart and Amazon are positioned to capture a large share by leveraging their unique purchase data. Walmart’s move into non-endemic advertising via Vibe.co represents a significant revenue expansion opportunity, while Amazon’s existing non-endemic traction offers continued upside.