A cleaner path to digital growth

Seventh Generation, a Unilever brand known for their plant-based household essentials, had a strong track record at other retailers and was already seeing growth at Walmart. But the household essentials brand wanted to accelerate their digital business and reach even more customers.

After seeing early success with Walmart Connect search and display advertising, Seventh Generation turned to Scintilla to better understand who was buying their products, what they were purchasing, and where new opportunities existed.

The opportunity: Finding new growth beyond the core customer

Seventh Generation’s initial advertising campaigns were broad, targeting category shoppers with relatively generic brand messaging. To take performance further, the brand needed to better understand the Walmart customers behind their early gains.

They turned to Scintilla to find out which products were attracting shoppers, who these buyers were, and how to use those insights to inform more relevant advertising.

There were also assumptions to test. As a premium-positioned natural brand, Seventh Generation had historically focused on higher-income shoppers and customers already purchasing natural products. But would those same audiences represent the greatest opportunity at Walmart?

The approach: Turning shopper insights into smarter media

Seventh Generation used Shopper Behavior to analyze purchasing patterns across their dishwashing portfolio. Free & Clear products accounted for 64% of dishwashing product sales and attracted 61% of new buyers, while scented products had a higher repeat purchase rate (16% versus 13%). These findings highlighted the distinct roles both offerings played in attracting and retaining customers.

Scintilla also revealed opportunities beyond the brand's traditional higher-income audience. Although Seventh Generation over-indexed among affluent shoppers, 51% of dishwashing sales came from households earning less than $100,000 annually, underscoring the potential of a broader media strategy.

The Switching report also challenged the assumption that Seventh Generation's new customers primarily came from other natural brands. Instead, 89% of switching volume came from conventional dishwashing products, compared with just 11% from natural alternatives. The findings showed a wider growth opportunity across the category and helped inform conversations with Walmart merchants about future assortment opportunities.

Connecting insights to targeted advertising

Seventh Generation then partnered with Walmart Connect to turn shopper insights into targeted media strategies. Using Insights Activation, the team identified audiences based on purchasing behavior, brand loyalty, and price sensitivity. They also moved beyond generic sustainability messaging to emphasize relevant product benefits, from grease-fighting performance for conventional-product shoppers to fragrance-free formulas for sensitive-skin needs.

The results: More customers, stronger sales, and a growing digital business

The more targeted approach helped drive 36% sales growth over 52 weeks, fueled by a 29% increase in customers, primarily new to the brand. Digital sales more than doubled, rising 107%, while digital penetration reached 53%.

The results demonstrated how combining first-party shopper insights with relevant creative and targeted retail media could help Seventh Generation expand beyond their traditional audience.

Building on this success, Seventh Generation expanded their Walmart Connect strategy to include homepage placements and connected TV advertising, extending their reach to new audiences. The team also applied the insights-driven approach to laundry, leading to participating in their first Walmart Rollback promotion and establishing a repeatable strategy for growth across categories.