Walmart's Scintilla insight platform collects 3.4 million customer responses in 2024; subscribing suppliers grow omni sales 15% faster than non-subscribers
Renamed from Luminate to Scintilla in 2025, Walmart's supplier insight service gathered 3.4 million verified responses from its Customer Spark Community panel in 2024 — and suppliers who subscribe outpaced non-subscribers with 15% higher omni sales growth.
Background
Suppliers to major retailers have historically operated with limited visibility into how their products perform relative to customer preferences and competing SKUs. Walmart Data Ventures was created to monetize the retailer's proprietary consumer data and provide suppliers with research-grade insights via a subscription service.
What Was Implemented
- Customer Spark Community: invitation-only consumer panel for product research and feedback
- Scintilla (formerly Luminate): supplier-facing data and insights subscription platform
- AI-driven mining of panel responses to surface product, category, and customer preference insights
- Rebranded from Luminate to Scintilla, announced October 2, 2024; fully transitioned February 2025
- Used by suppliers to improve innovation and supplier collaboration per Walmart
Results
- 3.4 million verified customer responses collected in 2024 - Panel membership grew 30% year-over-year (Linda Lomelino, Walmart Data Ventures) - Scintilla subscribers outpaced non-subscribers: +15% total omni sales growth ; digital sales grew even faster - Methodology: Walmart compared Oct 2023–Sep 2024 vs. Oct 2024–Sep 2025; new suppliers with $0 prior sales excluded
Lessons
- First-party consumer panels generate proprietary data assets that become a competitive advantage for both the retailer and subscribing suppliers
- Rebranding an established data platform requires continuity of supplier messaging to preserve subscriber trust
- Supplier adoption accelerates when a platform can demonstrate a direct sales lift correlation, not just insight quality