Turning Membership Into Momentum
Sam’s Club Connect Expands Predictive Targeting and Omni-Impact™ Measurement Capabilities
Key Insights
- AI-powered targeting looks ahead, using membership data to identify high-value prospects, anticipate purchases and strengthen loyalty.
- Predictive targeting delivers measurable results: A P&G test drove 2.3x greater marketing effectiveness, with 12-month purchase predictions proving 94% accurate.
- Predictive models support the full customer lifecycle, from acquisition and retention to anticipating future purchase opportunities.
- Expanded Omni-Impact™ connects media to business outcomes, showing which channels drive incremental sales and where advertisers can optimize investment.
Earlier this year, Walmart shared a vision for the next era of global commerce media, bringing its advertising businesses together around a more connected ecosystem. As part of that vision, Sam’s Club Connect debuted its new name, marking a new chapter for its advertising business built around the power of membership, breakthrough experiences and clearer proof of business impact.
Today, Sam’s Club Connect is building on that foundation with new Predictive Precision Targeting capabilities and an expanded Omni-Impact™ measurement solution that harness membership data to help advertisers identify future growth opportunities and better understand the impact of their investments.
Predictive targeting uses AI and machine learning to identify future high-value customers based on brand-specific purchase potential and long-term value, while Omni-Impact helps advertisers understand how media investments work together and which ones drive incremental sales. Together, they help advertisers move beyond understanding what happened to make more informed decisions about what comes next.
Predicting what members may need next
Most audience targeting relies on what shoppers have purchased before. Sam’s Club Connect’s Predictive Precision Targeting suite looks at what could come next, using membership data and more than 400 intent signals to understand what members are likely to be interested in. Advertisers gain a clearer understanding of what members actually want and need, helping make advertising feel more relevant and additive to the experience, while introducing members to products and brands that are right for them.
Predictive Prospect Targeting & Lifetime Value (LTV) applies that approach to customer acquisition. It helps advertisers identify high-potential prospects, reach them through focused campaigns built around specific objectives, then predict the 12-month value of the members who convert, capturing both the short-term and longer-term impact of Sam’s Club Connect media.
A test with P&G’s Cascade Platinum Plus shows how that works in practice. P&G wanted to reach Sam’s Club members who had not purchased the product before. Using Predictive Prospect Targeting & LTV models, P&G targeted 800,000 households whose shopping behavior indicated they were likely to buy Cascade Platinum Plus. The campaign delivered a 2.3x increase in marketing effectiveness. The model also predicted that a targeted group of buyers would spend 71% more than their initial purchase during the campaign. After 12 months, actual purchases showed the prediction was 94% accurate, demonstrating the quality of the predictive models and their potential to help advertisers make more informed media decisions.
“The campaign showed us how much more precise we can be when we combine Sam’s Club member data with our understanding of the consumer,” said Jody Johnson, vice president Sam’s Club Team, Procter & Gamble. “Instead of focusing only on broad reach, we can identify households with greater potential to become new buyers and engage with audiences with the highest purchase potential.”
Sam’s Club Connect is also applying predictive modeling beyond acquisition. Churn Prevention & Brand Loyalty looks for early signs that existing brand customers may lapse, giving advertisers a chance to reach them sooner.
The General Merchandise (GM) Category Predictive Upgrade model applies predictive modeling to categories with long replacement cycles. It uses years of purchase history and signals from related products to identify when a member may be approaching an upgrade window. For example, a recent soundbar, gaming console or streaming device purchase, combined with insights from past TV purchase history, can signal a household may be preparing to replace their TV or upgrade to one with a larger screen or better technology specifications within the next 60 to 90 days.
Measuring what drives results
Predicting demand is one part of the equation. Sam’s Club Connect is also expanding what Omni-Impact can measure across the member journey, helping advertisers connect campaign activity to business results across a broader set of channels.
Omni-Impact combines attribution and media mix modeling in one view, so advertisers can see which channels receive credit for a conversion and which drive incremental sales. The expanded measurement view now includes in-club demos, direct mail, Scan & Go™ ads and Meta alongside existing Sam’s Club Connect channels. That wider view helps brands understand how those touchpoints work together, rather than evaluating each one in isolation. AI-assisted recommendations can then help advertisers identify where shifting media investment may improve performance.
For Sam’s Club Connect, the goal is straightforward: give advertisers clearer evidence of what drives results so they can make better decisions about where to invest next.
This is what it means to turn membership into momentum. By continuing to invest in predictive targeting, measurement and connected experiences, Sam’s Club Connect is helping brands identify opportunities for future growth and drive more meaningful business outcomes.
