Walmart DSP is Walmart Connect's demand-side platform: a programmatic buying tool, powered by The Trade Desk, that shows your ads on sites, apps, streaming and other channels outside Walmart.com, using Walmart shopper data. "DSS" has two meanings. Among sellers and agencies it usually means Display Self-Serve, the tool for display ads on Walmart.com and the Walmart app. Among suppliers it also means the Decision Support System, an old reporting app in Retail Link that Walmart retired. This guide explains both, how they differ from Sponsored Products, and who should use which.
What is Walmart DSP?
A demand-side platform (DSP) is software advertisers use to buy ad placements across many publishers at once, bidding for each impression. Walmart's version is part of Walmart Connect, its advertising business. Walmart's offsite media page says: "Powered by The Trade Desk, Walmart's demand-side platform gives you access to actionable data and shopper insights." It lists the channels as the open web, social media, connected TV (CTV), audio, gaming and more.
The point of the DSP is to use what Walmart knows about shoppers, from online and in-store purchases, on media Walmart does not own. Walmart describes offsite media as a way to "activate our first-party data beyond Walmart's stores, site and app."
Third-party coverage fills in the history. Tinuiti, an ad agency, writes that Walmart announced the DSP in August 2021 and quotes AdExchanger describing it as "a separate, walled-off version of the Trade Desk, filled with exclusive Walmart data and inventory." That article dates from January 2022, so treat the details as background, not current rules.
What does DSS mean at Walmart?
The same three letters point to two unrelated things. Searchers usually want the first.
DSS meaning 1: Display Self-Serve (advertising)
Agencies such as Tinuiti and Sellcord (both third parties, not Walmart) use "DSS" for Walmart Display Self-Serve, a self-serve tool for display ads that run on Walmart's own site and app. In an April 2023 article, Tinuiti describes it as giving advertisers "total control" over onsite display campaigns, and says that before it existed, Walmart's team managed display ads and high minimums priced out many smaller brands and sellers.
Walmart's current pages mostly do not use the label "DSS". Walmart Connect calls the product Onsite Display and sends you to Ad Center to buy it. The Onsite Display page for small businesses says ads appear "in premium placements like the Homepage, Search, Item and Topic pages on Walmart's site and app." If you read an agency article about DSS and then look in Ad Center, look for Onsite Display.
DSS meaning 2: Decision Support System (supplier reporting)
If you sell to Walmart as a supplier (1P), DSS can mean the Decision Support System, the reporting app inside Retail Link. Talk Business & Politics, a news site, reported in October 2023 that Walmart would phase out the DSS app and that it "will no longer be available as of March 1, 2024." The article says suppliers used it to "track store sales, see inventory at stores and distribution centers," and that suppliers could take Walmart Luminate Basic for free or pay for the Charter tier. We did not find a Walmart-hosted page confirming the retirement timeline, so check your own Retail Link access for what you can still use.
This second meaning has nothing to do with advertising. For a Marketplace seller reading about ads, DSS almost always means Display Self-Serve. If you are weighing a supplier relationship, our vendor vs seller guide explains the difference between the two models.
DSP, Display Self-Serve and Sponsored Products compared
Walmart Connect sells several ad products. The three below are the ones sellers confuse most.
| Sponsored Products | Onsite Display ("DSS") | Walmart DSP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where ads run | Search, browse and item pages on Walmart's site and app | Homepage, Search, Item and Topic pages on Walmart's site and app | Outside Walmart: open web, social, CTV, audio, gaming and more |
| Targeting | Keywords or automatic targeting | Contextual, behavioral, keyword and Run of Site | Walmart first-party audiences |
| Pricing model | Cost per click, set by auction | Auction; Walmart's page names no bid type | Not published on the Walmart pages we checked |
| Where you buy | Ad Center, with Seller Center or Supplier Center login, or an ad partner | Ad Center, or an ad partner | Through the Walmart DSP; Walmart does not describe seller sign-up on the pages we checked |
| Job in the funnel | Capture shoppers already searching | Awareness and consideration on Walmart.com | Reach new audiences away from Walmart.com |
| Walmart-stated minimums | None stated (Ad Center recommends $100 per day) | None stated | None stated |
Sources for the table: the Sponsored Products, Onsite Display and Offsite Media pages on walmartconnect.com, fetched October 28, 2026. "None stated" means the page does not mention a minimum, not that none exists. The recommended $100 daily budget comes from Walmart's campaign setup guide and is a recommendation for Sponsored Products, not a requirement.
How Walmart DSP works
You (or an agency) build campaigns in the DSP, choose an audience built from Walmart shopper data, and bid on impressions across the channels Walmart lists. Walmart then ties ad exposure to sales. Its measurement page says: "When a customer sees your ad and makes a related purchase at Walmart, we recognize and report it." That closed-loop view covers purchases on Walmart.com and in stores, and Walmart says you can track "onsite and offsite campaigns in near real time."
The DSP keeps adding partners. An October 6, 2026 Walmart Connect post says U.S. advertisers using Walmart DSP can apply Walmart audiences and measurement to Spotify's audio, video and display formats, and that Warner Bros. Discovery inventory is available through private marketplace deals in Walmart DSP. It also describes a Yahoo DSP integration that is moving to Alpha. Those are Walmart's own announcements; the post adds a past-results disclaimer.
How Display Self-Serve works
Onsite Display is bought in Ad Center. Walmart's page says to "sign in with your Seller Center or Supplier Center account, or set up your campaign through your preferred ad partner," then build creative, pick targeting, set a budget and launch.
In its September 7, 2026 Seller Summit recap, Walmart Connect reports that sellers pairing Onsite Display with Sponsored Products saw a 45% median increase in ad-attributed sales from new-to-brand buyers compared with sellers running Sponsored Products alone. Walmart notes this compares its first-party data for February 2024 to January 2025 with February 2025 to January 2026, excludes sellers with annual sales of $10,000 or less, and that past performance does not guarantee future results.
- Formats: Gallery (a product carousel), Brand Box (item pages), Marquee (Homepage, Search and Browse), Skyline (a wide banner at the top of Search and Browse) and Tile (inside the product grid).
- Targeting: contextual, behavioral (online and in-store purchase history), keyword, and Run of Site for the broadest reach.
- Buying: "Bid on available inventory and let Walmart's algorithm place your ads."
- Eligibility: the page says Onsite Display is "available to eligible brand owners and authorized brand representatives" and does not define "eligible." If you resell other brands' products, ask Walmart or an authorized partner before you plan around it.
How to launch a display campaign in Ad Center
Walmart's setup guide and Onsite Display page describe the flow. The steps below follow them; screen labels can change, so treat them as a map.
- Sign in to Walmart Connect Ad Center with your Seller Center or Supplier Center login, or ask your ad partner to set it up.
- Choose the campaign type for the ad product you want. Walmart's published setup guide walks through Sponsored Products; the Onsite Display page describes the display flow in the same Ad Center.
- Build the creative. Walmart says the flow gives step-by-step guidance for creative assets.
- Pick targeting: contextual, behavioral, keyword or Run of Site.
- Set the budget and dates, then launch.
- Read the reporting. Walmart's setup guide says to focus a first campaign on impressions and clicks, and that recommendations and key metrics or insights refresh every 24 hours.
Walmart's guide also notes that a campaign that runs out of budget stays Live but stops serving ads until you raise the budget, so check budgets before you read a drop in impressions as a problem with the ads themselves.
Who each tool is for
| Your situation | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New seller, listings just live | Fix listings first, then Sponsored Products | Ads send shoppers to a product page; weak pages waste the click. See listing quality and Buy Box. |
| Brand owner with steady Sponsored Products results | Add Onsite Display | Walmart pairs it with search: "Combine Onsite Display with Sponsored Search to win carts." |
| Brand with an awareness goal beyond Walmart.com | Walmart DSP, usually through an experienced buyer | It reaches shoppers on other media using Walmart data. It rewards a clear audience and measurement plan. |
| Reseller of other brands | Sponsored Products | Display eligibility is tied to brand owners and authorized representatives. |
| Supplier (1P) looking for sales reporting | Walmart's supplier reporting (Luminate) in Retail Link | This is the Decision Support System meaning; it is reporting, not advertising. |
Most Marketplace sellers should treat DSP and Display as the second layer. Search ads capture people who already want a product; display and DSP try to create that demand earlier. Our Walmart Connect guide covers the full ad menu, and the Walmart vs Amazon comparison helps if you are used to Amazon's DSP.
What does Walmart DSP cost?
We could not confirm a current DSP minimum or fee from Walmart. The Walmart Connect pages on offsite media, Onsite Display and Sponsored Products state no minimum budgets. Third-party articles are no substitute: Tinuiti's April 2023 article says self-serve display had "no budget minimums" while Walmart-managed display campaigns carried a high minimum it does not quantify, and it says nothing current about DSP. Do not budget from agency articles. Ask Walmart Connect or the ad partner you use for the current terms in writing.
Walmart does not promise results
Walmart's own pages carry caveats you should keep. Its offsite page reports that attributed online sales rose 28% on average among CTV audiences, then adds its own disclaimer that past results do not predict future performance. The figures come from 133 offsite CTV campaigns between February 2024 and January 2025, measured with a 14-day pre/post-exposure attribution, so they describe averages across advertisers, not what your catalog will do. Display and DSP are upper-funnel tools; judging them only on last-click return will usually make them look worse than search.
Common mistakes
- Buying display before search. Display sends shoppers to your listing. If the listing is thin or you lose the Buy Box, you pay to send traffic to a page that does not convert.
- Using the wrong DSS definition. Searching "walmart dss" for ad help and landing on Retail Link reporting guides wastes time. Decide which one you need first.
- Judging by clicks. Walmart's own setup guide says to give a campaign "at least 30 days" for data to accumulate, and that applies even more to awareness tools.
- Assuming Canada works the same. The Walmart pages we checked describe U.S. shoppers and U.S. advertisers (for example, the Spotify integration is for "U.S. advertisers"). If you sell from Canada, confirm what is available to you; our Canada overview covers the marketplace basics.
Checklist before you spend on DSP or Display
- Confirm you are the brand owner or an authorized representative for the items you will promote.
- Check listing quality and Buy Box ownership on the 10 to 15 best-selling items Walmart suggests you prioritize.
- Run Sponsored Products for at least 30 days so you know your baseline.
- Write down the single goal (awareness, new customers, retargeting) and how you will measure it in Walmart's closed-loop reporting.
- Get current minimums, eligibility and fees from Walmart Connect or your ad partner in writing.
- Set a test budget you can afford to lose, and a review date.
If you want a second pair of eyes on your ad structure, see our Walmart PPC management page.
Frequently asked questions
What is Walmart DSP?
Walmart DSP is Walmart Connect's demand-side platform, powered by The Trade Desk. It lets advertisers buy ads on the open web, social, CTV, audio, gaming and other channels using Walmart shopper data.
What is Walmart DSS?
Among sellers and agencies, DSS usually means Display Self-Serve, the self-serve tool for display ads on Walmart.com and the app, which Walmart's own pages call Onsite Display. For suppliers it can also mean the Decision Support System, a Retail Link reporting app Walmart announced it would retire in 2024.
What does DSS stand for at Walmart?
It stands for Display Self-Serve in advertising and Decision Support System in supplier reporting. They are unrelated products.
What is Walmart Connect DSP?
It is the same thing as Walmart DSP: the demand-side platform offered through Walmart Connect, Walmart's advertising business.
What is the difference between Walmart DSP and Sponsored Products?
Sponsored Products are cost-per-click ads in Walmart search, browse and item pages. DSP buys media outside Walmart.com to reach shoppers earlier, and is judged more on awareness and incremental sales.
Is there a minimum spend for Walmart DSP?
Walmart's pages we checked do not state a minimum, and we could not confirm current terms. Third-party articles are not current terms, so ask Walmart Connect or your ad partner for current terms in writing.
Can a small seller use Walmart DSP or display ads?
Walmart says Onsite Display is available to eligible brand owners and authorized brand representatives, and does not define eligible. For DSP, Walmart does not describe seller sign-up on the pages we checked.
Sources
- Walmart Connect: Offsite media (Walmart DSP, powered by The Trade Desk) (checked October 28, 2026)
- Walmart Connect: Onsite Display for small business (checked October 28, 2026)
- Walmart Connect: Onsite Display (enterprise) (checked October 28, 2026)
- Walmart Connect: Sponsored Products (checked October 28, 2026)
- Walmart Connect: Easy campaign set-up (Ad Center) (checked October 28, 2026)
- Walmart Connect: Closed-loop measurement (checked October 28, 2026)
- Walmart Connect (Oct 6, 2026): Expanding where and how advertisers can use Walmart audiences and measurement (checked October 28, 2026)
- Tinuiti: Walmart Display Self-Serve advertising (third party) (checked October 28, 2026)
- Tinuiti: Walmart's demand-side platform (Jan 2022, third party) (checked October 28, 2026)
- Sellcord: DSS and DSP for Walmart sellers (third party) (checked October 28, 2026)
- Talk Business & Politics (Oct 17, 2023): Walmart moves suppliers to Luminate, retires DSS (third party) (checked October 28, 2026)
- Walmart Connect (Sept 7, 2026): Playbook from the Let's Grow! 2026 Walmart Marketplace Seller Summit (checked October 28, 2026)