Walmart to rebrand data ventures to Scintilla

Walmart said the client base for its data ventures business has increased by 173% over the past year, and small and medium-sized suppliers subscribing to the service increased 100%.

The retail giant made that announcement Wednesday (Oct. 2)  at its second annual Inspire event held in Rogers which brought together more than 1,200 suppliers and buyers to discuss how data insights can bolster sales.

Walmart also said its Luminate service will be renamed Scintilla beginning next year. “Scintilla” is the Latin term for “spark.” Walmart said the global rollout launched in Mexico earlier this summer, and it will be available in Canada later this month.

Formed in 2021, Walmart Data Ventures was the retailer’s attempt to monetize its deep consumer data to help suppliers better understand and improve their brand performance in stores and online. Luminate also replaced the Decision Support System (DSS) app in the Retail Link portal that shows sales results at the store level. The basic form of Luminate comes at no added cost to suppliers but the charter version requires a subscription.

Walmart also announced this week the Luminate Insights Activation for Walmart Connect – the advertising arm – is now open to all charter subscribers following a successful beta launch. The Insights Activation lets users apply Walmart Luminate insights to inform and optimize display campaigns at Walmart using a self-serve, automated solution.