Roku, Walmart Partner on Shopping Via TV Experience

Walmart will be the exclusive retailer to allow streamers to buy featured products fulfilled by Walmart directly on the Roku platform “at the time of inspiration,” the companies announced Thursday. Viewers press “OK” with the remote on a shoppable ad and proceed to checkout with their payment details pre-populated from the Roku Pay payments platform. If customers don't have a Roku Pay account, they will be prompted to enter payment information on the TV, a Roku spokeswoman emailed. The companies plan to begin testing with select Roku upfront advertisers that sell in Walmart by year end, the spokeswoman said. “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. White said Walmart, working with Roku, is the first first-to-market retailer to bring customers “a new shoppable experience.” "In this pilot, Walmart products will be available from commercials only," the spokeswoman said, responding to our question on whether products would be available for purchase from both commercials and content. OneView, Roku’s ad-buying platform for TV streaming, will have the capability to activate and measure shoppable ads, and marketers can use Roku Brand Studio to design custom creative and branded content built for TV streaming and shopping, the companies said. Roku’s advertising tech stack will bring targeting, optimization, and measurement to the commerce partnership, the companies said.