Loyalty360 Reads: Walmart Unifies Retail Business with Sam’s Club, Lowe’s Expands its Creator Strategy, and Dick’s Adds Paid Loyalty Tier

Walmart Unifies Commerce Media Strategy Across Its Retail Businesses 

Key takeaways: 

• Walmart is increasing coordination across the commerce media operations of Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club. 

• The strategy emphasizes shared technology, tools, and measurement while allowing each business to maintain market-specific operations. 

• Sam’s Club Connect replaces the Member Access Program name and supports a growing mix of digital, in-club and experiential advertising formats. 

 

Walmart is reshaping its advertising operations by bringing Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club into a more connected commerce media network, as Progressive Grocer reports. While each business will continue serving its own market independently, the broader strategy calls for greater alignment across technology, advertising tools, and measurement. The goal is to give brands more cohesive, full-funnel capabilities while using Walmart’s vast customer signals to improve ad relevance and demonstrate business impact. As part of the changes, Sam’s Club is rebranding its Member Access Program as Sam’s Club Connect, aligning the advertising business more closely with both the Sam’s Club brand and Walmart’s wider commerce media strategy, according to Progressive Grocer.  

Why it matters: 

• Advertisers could gain a more unified way to reach shoppers across Walmart’s extensive physical and digital ecosystem. 

• Better-connected measurement signals may help brands evaluate campaign performance across more stages of the customer journey. 

• The move underscores how major retailers are turning first-party customer relationships and omnichannel reach into increasingly sophisticated media platforms. 

Learn more here.

Lowe’s Invites Creators to Turn Big Ideas into Retail Products 

Key takeaways: 

• Lowe’s Creator: Into the Blue helps creators move from producing content to developing potential retail products. 

• Selected participants may receive support across product design, development, sourcing, and merchandising. 

• Applications are open to creators of all sizes through Sept. 1, 2026, including those not currently in the Lowe’s Creator Network. 

 

Lowe’s is expanding its creator strategy beyond content and product recommendations with the launch of Lowe’s Creator: Into the Blue, a new program that gives creators the opportunity to pitch product ideas for potential retail distribution. Open to both members of the Lowe’s Creator Network and newcomers, the initiative will connect selected participants with the retailer’s product development, design, sourcing and merchandising teams to help transform audience-inspired concepts into scalable products. Creators can submit existing products seeking wider distribution, early-stage ideas that need development support or collaborations tied to current Lowe’s product lines, building on the retailer’s broader work with entrepreneurs and creators, including its recent collaboration with MrBeast. Applications are open through Sept. 1, 2026. 

Why it matters: 

• The program reflects the growing shift of creators from marketing partners into product developers and business owners. 

• Lowe’s can tap creator communities for product ideas informed by direct audience interests and emerging trends. 

• The initiative creates a new path for creators to access retail expertise, distribution opportunities, and the resources needed to scale. 

Learn more here.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Adds Paid Loyalty Tier to Deepen Customer Engagement 

Key takeaways: 

• Dick’s is launching a paid loyalty option alongside its existing free ScoreCard program, with a July sign-up incentive tied to the retailer’s owned brands. 

• Free members can now redeem rewards sooner and earn points through services and experiences such as bike repairs, glove steaming, and climbing walls. 

• The loyalty overhaul follows other customer-focused investments, including an updated credit card, an AI adviser and continued expansion of Dick’s Media Network. 

Dick’s Sporting Goods is looking to generate more value from its 30 million loyalty members with the introduction of a paid membership tier, building on a customer base that already drives more than three-quarters of company sales, as Retail Dive reports. The retailer is also upgrading its free ScoreCard program with more flexible reward redemptions and new ways to earn points through services and in-store experiences, while the broader strategy complements recent investments in its credit card, AI-powered shopping assistance and retail media network. Together, the moves signal an effort to create a more connected customer ecosystem that rewards engagement beyond transactions and gives Dick’s additional opportunities to grow recurring revenue, strengthen first-party data and deliver measurable value to brand partners, according to Retail Dive. 

Why it matters: 

• A paid tier could turn Dick’s large and highly active loyalty base into a new recurring revenue opportunity while encouraging greater customer retention. 

• Rewarding services and experiences broadens the definition of loyalty beyond purchases and supports the retailer’s experiential store strategy. 

• Stronger loyalty engagement can generate richer customer insights that may improve personalization and increase the value of Dick’s growing retail media business. 

 

Learn more here.