Given that Walmart’s interest in Vizio isn’t because of the latter’s affordable TVs, it will be interesting to see what the retail giant does to the brand. Walmart themselves haven’t quite cleared the air around the question of whether Vizio will continue to exist as an affordable TV brand post-acquisition.
However, given Vizio’s popularity in the affordable to mid-range TV space, chances are Walmart will let Vizio continue making and selling these TVs. It will also be interesting to see whether Vizio becomes the in-house TV brand for Walmart, a move that would make sense post-acquisition.
Walmart’s transparent plan to integrate SmartCast with its advertising arm, Walmart Connect, has predictably raised eyebrows regarding privacy and user experience. Personalized advertising, often fueled by intrusive data collection, has already faced significant criticism, and this acquisition fuels those concerns. Viewers might envision themselves bombarded with ads for every product they’ve casually mentioned near their TV, creating an unsettlingly Orwellian experience.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. The increased competition in the smart TV market could also spark innovation, potentially resulting in new features and more user-friendly interfaces. It will be interesting to see how Walmart balances these possible eventualities.
