s retail media business uses its shopper data to help brands target consumers across the company The idea of [consumer] data as currency is proliferating throughout this whole sector, Walmart Connect has helped the company maintain margins, helping offset the cost of keeping prices low and delivery speeds high as shoppers strained by bigger gasoline bills seek cheaper groceries and essentials, prompting Walmart to lower prices on some 7,000 items. Walmart Connect, though, surged 44% in the quarter, its quickest pace since the company started reporting the figure in the first quarter of 2023. Launched in 2019 and rebranded as Walmart Connect in 2021, Walmart's retail media business uses its shopper data to help brands target consumers across the company's website, app and stores, while showing whether ads translate into purchases.