Wal-Martainment

By Cathy Booth Thomas

Wal-Mart launched its in-store TV network in 1997 to pitch products and entertain shoppers. But do people really watch TV while they shop? A new AC Nielsen study says Wal-Mart customers are watching seven minutes of TV while shopping, up from five minutes in 2002. Brand recall was even more surprising--65%, compared with 23% for products advertised on TV. Having installed 100,000 TVs in 2,620 stores, Wal-Mart is rolling out new plasma and LCD models--some at eye level for "can't miss" advertising. PRN (Premier Retail Networks) customizes entertainment, news and product p.r. so that Wal-Mart TV differs from the PRN network showing at a Best Buy or a Sears. Shoppers at Wal-Mart have watched a Britney Spears concert and Fox News coverage of the 2004 election, with 12 minutes of ads per hour. Advertisers pay from $50,000 to $300,000 for four weeks of exposure, but the payoff at Wal-Mart is an audience estimated at 138 million weekly--all of them already off the couch and in the store. --By Cathy Booth Thomas