Attention Walmart shoppers! A big change is coming to Walmarts across the country, and you might want to bring your appetite for this one.
CNBC reports that as part of a series of new advertising initiatives Walmart plans to roll out, they'll soon be offering free samples on weekends at select stores. The free samples will be offered at demo stations that advertisers can purchase as part of larger partnerships with Walmart.
At these demo stations, customers will be able to sample products and also access online shopping options, meal ideas, and seasonal information by scanning a QR code at the demo table.
Walmart began testing demo stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area and intends to extend the offering to 1,000 stores across the country by the end of January 2024.
According to Walmart, their hope is to take advantage of the "Super Bowl-sized audiences" they welcome into their stores.
"When you think about our store, our store footprint and the percentage of Americans that we reach through our stores, we can deliver Super Bowl-sized audiences every week," said Ryan Mayward, senior vice president of retail media sales for Walmart Connect, according to CNBC.
In addition to offering demo stations to advertisers, Walmart will also begin to show ads on self-checkout screens. Unlike free food samples, the self-checkout ads are a feature that some people aren't terribly hungry for.
"Yet another reason to avoid the self-checkout registers," said one user on Twitter.
"Don't irritate your customers," another person tweeted in response to the news.
Well, you win some, you lose some.
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Danielle Harling is an Atlanta-based freelance writer with a love for colorfully designed-spaces, craft cocktails and online window shopping (usually for budget-shattering designer heels). Her past work has appeared on Fodor’s, Forbes, MyDomaine, Architectural Digest and more.
