Q1 2024 Digital Market Index: Walmart Leads Retail Media with More Than 11 Billion Impressions

Walmart continues to be the retail media force in the United States in 2024. Its more than 11 billion impressions far outpaced Target, which ranked second at less than 7 billion impressions. Sensor Tower’s Digital Market Index report dives deeper into retail media in the United States, including a look at top retailers, categories, and advertisers in Q1 2024.

Following the two general merchandise retailers are some more specialized retailers. Chewy (pet supplies), Home Depot (home improvement), Best Buy (consumer electronics), and Ulta Beauty (cosmetics) all ranked among the top 10.

Walmart was also the top retailer in terms of onsite retail media impressions (meaning these ads appear on Walmart’s website, rather than other channels like TikTok or OTT. Target and Best Buy received a significant share of their retail media impressions onsite as well.

Make it Personal: Personal Care was the Top Category in Q1

Personal Care was the top category by retail media impressions in the US in Q1 2024, with Ulta Beauty and Sephora as the leading retailers in the space. This includes products such as fragrances / perfumes, makeup, and haircare. Ulta ads often included products from Coty and Estee Lauder while Sephora ads included Shiseido and Rare Beauty. Both retailers frequently advertised L'Oreal products.

Unsurprisingly, top categories varied significantly between retailers. More general retailers like Walmart, Target, and Walgreens covered a diverse group of categories while specialized retailers like Chewy and Home Depot were more focused. Still, advertisers often have plenty of retailers to choose from. For example, pet supplies brands frequently took advantage of retail media opportunities with Chewy, Petco, PetSmart, Walmart, and Target.

Where are Your Competitors Investing in Retail Media?

Looking at the top retailer / advertiser combinations can point to which co-branded partnerships were most successful in the quarter. Many of Chewy's ads in Q1 2024 featured Purina PetCare products, with these co-branded ads combining for 900 million impressions.

Other top pairings reveal more official relationships – for example, Diane von Fursternberg, the top advertiser for Target, has a partnership with the retailer that includes an exclusive collection.  

While many advertisers will rely on retail media with various retailers, the mix can highlight some interesting trends in which brands perform the best at different retailers. Looking at Personal Care, for example, reveals that Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Target, and CVS each had a different top advertiser by US impressions in Q1 2024. Ulta Beauty x L’Oreal was far and away the top combination. Meanwhile, Shiseido tends to offer luxury products that better fit the retail audience at Sephora. e.l.f. Cosmetics and Coty were the top Personal Care advertisers for CVS and Target, respectively.

Want More Insights on the Digital Economy? Read the Full Report

Read the Q1 2024 Digital Market Index report highlighting the market leaders in mobile and digital advertising, spanning 21 markets in a dynamic, interactive format covering:

• Top Markets - strong growth in Japan as North America and Europe show growth opportunities for publishers

• Top Categories - Consumer spend increases in ALL top app categories with many seeing 30% growth

• Top Apps - TikTok still leads by global consumer spend, but falls in downloads

• Top Mobile Games - Monopoly GO! breaks records in Q1

• Digital Advertising - US digital ad spend up 16% YoY

• Retail Media Networks - Walmart and Target dominate Retail Media Networks by impressions