Shoppers considering Vizio television purchases should be aware that proper functionality may now depend on having a Walmart account. Following Walmart’s acquisition of Vizio in December 2024, the retail giant announced this week that certain recently purchased Vizio televisions now mandate a Walmart account for initial configuration and access to smart television capabilities.
Since 2024, Vizio televisions have required a Vizio account, which the Vizio OS website describes as necessary for accessing “exclusive offers, subscription management, and tailored support.” These accounts play a central role in Vizio’s business model, which relies heavily on advertising and tracking integrated into its operating system.
A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Ars that Walmart accounts will be required on “select new Vizio OS televisions” for owners to finish onboarding and utilize smart television features. The representative added:
Customers who already have an existing Vizio account are being given the option to merge their Vizio account with their Walmart account. Customers with an existing Vizio account can opt out by deleting their Vizio account.
The representative did not specify which television models are impacted. It would not be surprising if the Walmart account requirement eventually expands to cover all newly purchased Vizio OS televisions or existing devices through a software update.
Walmart’s representative stated the Walmart account integration is “designed to respect consumer choice and privacy, with data used in aggregated, permissioned, and compliant ways” but did not provide specifics on implementation.
A Walmart Ads Vehicle
This week’s announcement demonstrates Walmart further integrating Vizio and seeking to more deeply utilize Vizio OS’s advertising and tracking capabilities to support its six-point-four billion dollar advertising business. In Vizio’s final quarter as an independent company, its advertising division generated a gross profit of one hundred fifteen-point-eight million dollars, while its hardware division lost six-point-seven million dollars. Walmart does not separately report Vizio’s financial results, but during a February investor call, John David Rainey, Walmart’s CFO and EVP, stated Vizio “saw triple-digit growth in advertising” during Walmart’s fiscal fourth quarter this year.
While Vizio OS has required a Vizio account since mid-2024 (prior to Walmart’s acquisition), an account linked to a retail conglomerate carries additional and more apparent implications for televisions being used to encourage purchasing—especially from Walmart. Consumers who may have accepted creating an account with an advertising-focused television brand might resist doing so with Walmart.
“The new, streamlined login simplifies setup while establishing a secure identity framework across devices, connecting streaming engagement directly with retail interaction,” Walmart’s announcement stated.
Further advancing Vizio televisions’ evolution into a Walmart advertising platform, Walmart announced this week that Vizio OS will display advertisements for beauty brand L’Oréal that link to Walmart’s and other companies’ product pages.
For years, Vizio has been shifting from a competitively priced television manufacturer into an advertising business. More than a year after acquiring Vizio, Walmart appears positioned to fully complete that transition, if it has not already done so.
Advertising and tracking have become nearly unavoidable among budget-friendly televisions and are increasingly appearing in premium options, making the hard-to-find non-smart television and other smart television alternatives increasingly appealing.