How to Prepare for the Walmart Luminate Transition

Image source: Walmart Luminate

Walmart will decommission DSS (Decision Support System) access in Retail Link by March 2024 and suppliers should be planning now for how to best adopt Luminate as the new platform for accessing data like shopper behavior, channel performance, and customer perception. This transition is part of Walmart's digital transformation, and it comes with important implications for suppliers who rely on Retail Link for this reporting. Let’s take a look at some key points suppliers will need to know about the plan:

Timeline, Options, and What to Do to Prepare

Walmart will offer two options for suppliers. Luminate Basic is a free version equipped with many essential features that will be familiar to those already using DSS. Luminate Charter is a paid subscription service that will offer advanced functionality.

The transition timeline has already begun. Starting in October, Walmart started rolling out access to Luminate Basic. Continued DSS access allows suppliers to transition and adjust before Retail Link is removed by March 1, 2024.

As far as changes to your reporting and what to prepare for, suppliers will need to reassess their reporting needs and budget priorities as they transition from DSS to Luminate. Be prepared to review your budget and the new options to make strategic decisions about the Luminate bundle that best suits your business.

It's important to consider that the data provided by Luminate will be much deeper and more complex than what was provided through DSS. Brands should identify a Luminate expert to get the most out of the new platform.

Walmart has pledged to support suppliers during this transition to Luminate actively and says it is taking steps to ensure a smooth shift. They emphasize their commitment to helping suppliers navigate this evolving landscape.

Luminate Features and Benefits

According to Walmart, Luminate offers features such as enhanced eComm sales metrics, full filter suggestions for dimensions, faster run times, and email notifications upon report completion.

The goal is to provide users with a better, more accurate data source.

Suppliers that opt into the pay-to-play Charter services will receive three years of data history in Report Builder, starting in Q1 FY25. This extended data history will enable more precise trend analysis and better decision-making.

While access to EDI (AS2) feeds in DSS will also be removed, this data will be available in the Walmart Luminate Channel Performance Report Builder.

Suppliers subscribed to Luminate Basic can access this through the Channel Performance API.

Walmart Luminate will not limit the user licenses available for Basic or Charter subscribers.

Walmart says Luminate promotes collaboration between Walmart Merchants and suppliers through omnichannel visibility into customer and category data.

Suppliers can provide feedback and request new features through various channels, depending on whether they are Luminate Basic or Charter users.

Walmart Data Ventures released a guide with tons of detail about the different Lunimate plans, including a side-by-side comparison of how the features stack up against each other and the existing DSS platform:

Image source: Walmart Luminate

Third-Party Access, Bots, and Purchase Order Data

Third parties can access supplier data if granted permission by the Retail Link admin, but just like with DSS, bots are not permitted in any version of Walmart Luminate for security and data governance reasons.

Purchase order data will still be accessible through NOVA in Retail Link for Luminate Basic users.

Final Thoughts

Luminate launched in 2021, and suppliers were warned it would most likely (eventually) replace RL/DSS. So it doesn’t come as a surprise. Luminate is a paid offering, but last fall, the team announced a free but limited version of Luminate’s “Channel Performance” product module, which is the basic sales/ops reporting capability that should replace Retail Link.

Walmart's decision to phase out DSS access in Retail Link and transition to Luminate is a significant development for suppliers. It will be important for suppliers to familiarize themselves with Luminate's Basic and Charter options and understand how to best opt into the new services.