Walmart, Meredith Corp. Pair Up to Provide Meal Solutions
Making it that much easier for consumers to buy and prepare meals, leading grocer Walmart and venerable publisher Meredith Corp. are providing a bookend solution through a new collaboration. Using shoppable ad experiences across Meredith’s content brands including Allrecipes, Better Homes & Gardens, Parents, EatingWell and Real Simple, consumers can browse recipes and add ingredients directly into their Walmart online grocery cart for pickup or delivery.
The companies will use their respective insights and technologies to match millions of products with consumers in real time and at scale. Among other features, the program includes visual search technologies, a voice-activated experience through Allrecipes Action for Google Assistant and shoppable video ads airing on the TikTok social media platform. In addition to a suite of online solutions, the companies are pooling resources to create a new “shoppable bookazine” filled with recipes and ideas that will be available for sale at Walmart stores this month.
The fusion of e-commerce and food and lifestyle content comes at a time when consumers continue to eat more meals at home but are facing a certain level of cooking fatigue.
“We know that customers today are increasingly looking to shop in the moment, both on and off our platforms. We are focused on meeting customers where they are discovering inspirational content and enhance the customer experience,” said Sarah Henry, senior director of content and influencer marketing at Walmart. “This partnership with Meredith is an innovative way we can seamlessly help our customers while putting much-needed time back in their day.”
Added Corbin de Rubertis, SVP of innovation at Meredith: “This wide-ranging partnership with Walmart includes first-party data-driven ‘Make It Easy’ and ‘Kid Foodology’ programs, which reimagine the shopping experience with highly personalized content and ad experiences that deliver unparalleled value every step of the way. As children go back to school, parents return to the office and the fall season takes shape, Meredith and Walmart will help families prepare meals they’ll love and get them on the table faster.”
Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores under 48 banners in 24 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Walmart-owned Sam’s Club ranks No. 9 on the list.
