Podcast Summary: The CPG Guys

Episode: Retail Experience Network with Sam's Club's Harvey Ma

Date: October 22, 2025
Hosts: Sri Rajagopalan, Peter V.S. Bond
Guest: Harvey Ma, Sam's Club – Head of Member Access Platform (MAP)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the evolving world of retail media and consumer experience with Harvey Ma of Sam’s Club MAP. The discussion explores Sam’s Club’s shift from a traditional retail media network to what they term the “Retail Experience Network,” the industry-changing innovations around Scan & Go ads, and their ongoing push for transparent, closed loop measurement, including breakthroughs in customer lifetime value (CLTV). The episode also touches on cross-organization collaboration, upper/lower-funnel activations, and forward-looking trends such as AI in retail media.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rebranding - From Retail Media Network to Retail Experience Network

• Sam's Club MAP Rebranding:
  Harvey announces MAP's move beyond simply selling media, emphasizing providing better member, advertiser, and retail experiences:

  “We actually rebranded Sam's Club Member Access platform... we are now the industry's first retail experience network. ...MAP exists to provide better member experiences, better advertiser experiences, better Sam’s Club experiences.”
  — Harvey Ma (03:06)

• Vision for MAP:
  Harvey’s focus is on measuring and improving the full retail experience, not just visual touchpoints, but immersive physical and digital engagement.

  “It's not just the site, but the sound, the taste, the smell, the feelings you get when you walk into a retailer.”
  — Harvey Ma (04:35)

• Impact Beyond Members:
  MAP aims to create experiences for both members and potential members, extending the value proposition beyond Sam's Club walls.
  — Harvey Ma (05:34)

2. Scan & Go Ads: Industry-First Point-of-Purchase Engagement

• What are Scan & Go Ads?
  A frictionless, in-app technology showing dynamic ad units after product scans — the closest possible trigger to conversion at the time of purchase.

  “Scan and Go ads were a really exciting innovation... it's what we believe to be the closest touch point you can possibly get to conversion.”
  — Harvey Ma (08:06)

• Solving Early Inventory Constraints:
  Initial product limited the ad display after a few scans; now, the ad is pinned at the top for persistent visibility and interactive enhancements are coming.

  “So from an innovation perspective, we kept it simple. We've simply pinned that innovation to the top now. So that ad unit permanently exists within the Scan and Go experience.”
  — Harvey Ma (08:51)

3. MAP’s Industry Leadership and Influence

• Innovation Pace:
  MAP's releases, especially Scan & Go ads, spark rapid industry adoption, forcing competitors to respond.

  “You release a bunch of new features and the industry just wants to follow...”
  — Sri Rajagopalan (09:56)

4. Measurement & Accountability: Closed-loop Measurement and CLTV

• MAP’s Measurement Superpower:
  The curated SKU environment and deterministic membership data provide precision and insight others can't match, even across various payment methods.

  “Membership data is fantastic... we still know who you are. So that one-to-one deterministic nature is such a powerful value proposition.”
  — Harvey Ma (12:31)

• Long-Term Value Focus:
  MAP shifts from single-campaign results to longitudinal member journeys with the Omni Impact tool, blending Media Mix Modeling (MMM) and Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA).

  “Omni Impact... measures a member's behavior over the course of time. It's not last touch... it does multi-touch... the beauty of it— which channel had the highest propensity to drive that action?”
  — Harvey Ma (15:17)

• CLTV as Game-Changer:
  MAP is partnering transparently with brands on Customer Lifetime Value, offering insights that few retailers can match.

  “By actually partnering with a brand on CLTV, you are changing the game.”
  — Sri Rajagopalan (15:01)

• Clear Obligation:

  “It should be an obligation for a retailer or retail media network to be good stewards of your investment...”
  — Harvey Ma (17:25)

5. Omnichannel Activation: Race to the Club Case Study

• Upper & Lower Funnel Integration:
  “Race to the Club,” a campaign blending in-person events (car racing, concerts, live demos) with digital performance tracking.

  “Could we actually blend an experiential model with performance? And importantly, could we actually show non-members... something?”
  — Harvey Ma (20:43)

• Live Experience Details:

  • In-club concert, sponsored demos, race car simulators, celebrity driver appearances— and subtle product placement.
  • Conversion triggers: free race tickets with membership sign-up, measuring long-term member engagement.

  “We now have the engagement model, once you become a member, that now starts to ingest... going back to... Omni Impact, MMM, MTA, longitudinal impact...”
  — Harvey Ma (22:44)

6. Collaboration with Walmart Connect & International

• Tech as Core:
  Walmart’s global tech stack powers MAP, Connect, International; innovations flow both ways.

  “Think they have a stable of cars for me to drive and my job is to figure out how to customize that car to the needs of Sam's Club MAP...”
  — Harvey Ma (26:19)

7. Innovation Roadmap: What’s Next for MAP?

• Upcoming at CES 2026:
  Big reveals planned around in-club measurement, aiming to surpass “in-store retail media” buzz and deliver robust omnichannel measurement tools.

  “We've got quite a few in Club Measurement goodies... In Club Measurement is a frontier that nobody has quite figured out... I'm very much focused on how do we enhance our current capabilities.”
  — Harvey Ma (28:22)

8. Trends: The Role of AI in Retail Media

• AI Integration Framework:
  Three phases:

  1. Consistency, Quality, Speed
  2. Reducing human error and augmenting intelligence
  3. Agent-to-agent interaction (future-focused)

  “There’s really kind of three sequential frameworks... The second phase we're entering into now... the augmentation of human intelligence... The third is this very exciting world of agent to agent interaction.”
  — Harvey Ma (30:31)

• AI for Associates and Members:
  AI is as much about improving internal productivity and associate experience as member experience.

Notable Quotes

• "I don't fundamentally believe that we are built to just sell media.” — Harvey Ma (03:23)

• "Scan and Go ads... are what we believe to be the closest touch point you can possibly get to conversion." — Harvey Ma (08:06)

• “The curated SKU environment... that does mean for us is precision and fidelity like the industry has not seen before.” — Harvey Ma (12:19)

• “MAP is the member experience platform, therefore...” — Sri Rajagopalan (19:56)

• "Race to the Club was our manifestation of how we could actually meet experience and performance at the same place." — Harvey Ma (23:03)

• "Omni Impact... measures a member's behavior over the course of time. So... not last touch... it does multi-touch…" — Harvey Ma (15:17)

• "In Club Measurement is a frontier that nobody has quite figured out. And I will be honest, we haven't figured it out either." — Harvey Ma (28:22)

• "It should be an obligation for a retailer or retail media network to be good stewards of your investment..." — Harvey Ma (17:25)

Key Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------| | 02:47 | Harvey Ma introduces MAP’s rebranding | | 04:35 | Vision for experience-focused retail network | | 08:06 | Scan & Go ads: introduction & evolution | | 11:40 | Closed-loop measurement philosophy | | 15:01 | CLTV & Omni Impact explained | | 20:43 | “Race to the Club” case study details | | 26:19 | Collaboration with Walmart Connect/Tech | | 28:22 | Sneak peek: CES 2026 & in-club measurement | | 30:31 | AI strategy for retail media at MAP |

Memorable Moments

• Clark Kent Halloween: Harvey’s chosen costume and idea to create a “MAP costume” lightens the conversation. (06:44)
• Race to the Club recap: Live music, product demos, race car simulation, and integrating both members and non-members into the experience, all tied back to measurable outcomes. (20:43–23:18)
• Sri naming MAP “the Member Experience Platform,” prompting jokes about rebranding swag. (19:56)
• Direct and candid admission: “In Club Measurement is a frontier that nobody has quite figured out. And I will be honest, we haven't figured it out either.” (28:22)
• CPG Guys’ influence on measurement language and high expectations for MAP. (11:40, 33:03)

Episode Takeaways

• MAP is leading the retail media industry in moving beyond ad sales and toward holistic consumer and advertiser experience.
• Innovations like Scan & Go ads cement MAP as a pioneer at the point of purchase.
• True measurement leadership: closed-loop, longitudinal, multi-touch, and CLTV enable more accountability for brands.
• Omni Impact technology positions MAP at the forefront of impactful, data-driven retail media decisions.
• Sam’s Club’s “Retail Experience Network” is a new paradigm—integrating branded experiences, events, tech, and member engagement.
• AI is poised to enhance both associate and member experiences, with MAP building toward agentic retail capabilities.
• CES 2026 will see new advances in in-club measurement and omnichannel data, potentially setting new industry standards.