Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP)

What Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP) does

Sam's Club Member Access Platform, operating under the brand "Sam's Club Connect," is the advertising and member-engagement platform of Sam's Club, a warehouse club subsidiary of Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT; Sam's Club was founded as a Walmart division in 1983). Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the platform is a B2B offering that enables consumer brands to engage Sam's Club's membership base through integrated physical and digital touchpoints. Its primary customer segment is consumer packaged goods (CPG), consumer electronics, and general consumer advertisers seeking access to high-value retail shoppers with closed-loop ROI measurement.

The platform's core technology rests on a first-party membership data layer spanning over 40 years of Sam's Club shopping behavior, integrated with Sam's Club's in-club digital infrastructure (Scan & Go™) and a proprietary closed-loop measurement system. Key product offerings include Scan & Go™ Display Ads (in-club digital advertising reaching approximately 40% of members), Offsite Ads (off-platform reach extension), in-club demos and sampling, Omni Experiences (seasonal and community activations), Expert Review Video content, and full-funnel Campaign Measurement from discovery to lifetime value. The platform recently incorporated generative AI to power on-site search functionality. Documented performance outcomes include a 36% average sales lift (Circana FY26, 1,440 campaigns), 54% average new-buyer acquisition, 82% incremental reach with Offsite Ads, and 65% incremental reach with Scan & Go™ Display Ads across 1,500+ campaigns.

Revenue is generated primarily through advertising (digital ad placements priced on reach, impressions, or performance metrics) and professional services (physical brand activations, demos, and experiential events such as the Race to the Club INDYCAR partnership). Distribution is exclusively domestic (United States) and relies on enterprise field sales targeting brand advertisers directly, supplemented by case-study-driven content marketing and large-scale experiential activations. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, dependent on campaign scope, reach, duration, and performance metrics. As an internal business platform within Walmart, the entity has no separate ownership, funding, or headcount disclosures, and operating results are reported at the Walmart corporate level.

Name

Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP)

Legal name

Walmart, Inc.

Website

https://map.samsclub.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sam's Club Connect is the advertising platform of Sam's Club, a Walmart Inc. subsidiary, enabling consumer brands to engage members through Scan & Go™ digital ads, in-club activations, and content sponsorships powered by 40+ years of first-party membership data and closed-loop measurement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Media Advertising

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

E-commerce & Digital Membership Clubs (CRAEADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private-Label-Heavy Membership Clubs (CRAEADAJ)

Keywords

• Retail media advertising
• In-club activations
• Closed-loop measurement
• First-party data targeting
• Experiential marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bentonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising (Scan & Go™ Display Ads & Offsite Ads): Revenue generated from placing brand advertisements within the Scan & Go™ in-club experience and offsite advertising networks. Priced based on reach, impressions, or campaign performance metrics.
2. In-Club Activations & Experiential Marketing: Revenue from physical brand activations including product demos, sampling programs, seasonal events, and immersive experiences (e.g., Race to the Club).
3. Content Sponsorships: Revenue from branded content including Expert Review Videos and other sponsored editorial content featured across Sam's Club digital properties.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sam's Club Member Access Platform (MAP), branded as Sam's Club Connect, is a retail-media platform that sells Digital Advertising (programmatic display and AI-powered Sponsored Search), In-Club Activations & Experiential Marketing (sampling, demos, and brand events at Sam's Club locations), and Content Sponsorships (e.g., the Cookout Caboose video series) to consumer brands and agencies. All three channels are unified by a closed-loop measurement capability that maps advertising exposure to verified in-club and online purchases via Scan & Go™ and 40+ years of first-party member data.

Product overview

Sam's Club Member Access Platform (MAP) operates as Sam's Club Connect, a unified advertising and marketing platform that connects brands with Sam's Club members. The platform combines three core capabilities: first-party member data tied to real shopping behavior (with over 40 years of data), curated omnichannel experiences (combining Omni Experiences with in-club demos and sampling), and closed-loop campaign measurement. Key product offerings include Scan & Go™ Display Ads (in-club digital advertising), Omni Experiences (physical and digital brand activations), and Campaign Measurement (full-funnel analytics). The platform enables brands to reach high-value audiences in meaningful moments through integrated advertising solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sam's Club Connect — Digital Advertising Digital advertising offering comprising programmatic display ads and AI-powered Sponsored Search (including a generative-AI search model) bought through the Sam's Club Connect platform, designed for consumer brands and agencies targeting Sam's Club members across digital surfaces.
• Sam's Club Connect — In-Club Activations & Experiential Marketing On-site brand activation service at Sam's Club locations covering sampling, demos, and brand events, designed for consumer brands seeking physical, in-store engagement with Sam's Club members.
• Sam's Club Connect — Content Sponsorships (e.g., Cookout Caboose) Branded content sponsorship opportunities across Sam's Club's owned media, exemplified by the Cookout Caboose video series, offered to consumer brands for narrative-format brand storytelling to Sam's Club members.

Quantifiable outcome

• 36% average sales lift for brands (Circana FY26, 1,440 campaigns)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Best Buy Ads: Best Buy's retail media business leveraging first-party shopper data across digital and physical. Comparable specialty-retail-meets-mass-market data monetization, albeit smaller scale and more focused on electronics categories.
• Macy's Media Network: Macy's retail media platform for monetizing first-party department-store shopper data with brand activations. Comparable first-party-data-driven retail media model though smaller in scale and more apparel-skewing.

Direct peers

• Instacart Ads: Instacart's grocery-anchored retail media platform with first-party cart data and closed-loop measurement. Comparable model (purchase-based targeting, omnichannel brand activations) targeting CPG brands buying for incremental reach.
• Kroger Precision Marketing: Kroger's retail media network monetizing first-party shopper data with closed-loop measurement across digital and in-store. Directly comparable business model — first-party grocery data, omnichannel ad placements, performance-driven CPG targeting.
• Albertsons Media Collective: Albertsons' retail media network monetizing loyalty data across banner grocery banners. Closely comparable first-party data + CPG activation model, though footnoted by a more regional grocery footprint.
• The Home Depot's Orange Apron Media: Home Depot's retail media business leveraging first-party purchase signals for closed-loop measurement on big-ticket and DIY categories. Comparable model — high-value shopper targeting through owned-and-operated surfaces.
• Costco Media: Costco's member-based retail media platform for advertising inside warehouse clubs. Most direct analog to Sam's Club Connect given parallel warehouse-club membership model, member-only access, and bulk-purchase CPG orientation.
• Target Roundel: Target's retail media network connecting brands with Target shoppers through owned-and-operated and offsite channels. Comparable offering targeting a similar North American CPG advertiser base.
• Walmart Connect: Walmart's overarching retail media network; nearly identical offering (first-party data, closed-loop measurement, in-store + digital ad placements) for the much larger Walmart shopper base. Operates as MAP's sister platform within the same parent company and competes for the same CPG advertiser wallets.

Broad incumbents

• Amazon Ads: Dominant retail media network spanning sponsored products, display, video, and DSP with first-party purchase data. Massive scale incumbent that consumes the largest share of advertiser retail-media budgets and sets pricing benchmarks for niche players like MAP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sams-club-map

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP)