1. RETAIL INDUSTRY USE CASE
Email Subscriber Analysis
vs.
C onnection Engine, in partnership with eDataSource, compared attributes of consumers who receive
email communications from Amazon and Walmart. This brief examines the demographics, interests
and purchasing habits of Amazon and Walmart email subscribers. eDataSource’s panel of 800,000
email users was profiled using Connection Engine’s InsightConnect customer intelligence platform to
measure key similarities and differences between Amazon and Walmart email subscribers. Panel
members were segmented based on their subscription status: those who receive email from Walmart
but not Amazon, and those who receive emails from Amazon but not Walmart. n The analysis
also includes eDataSource’s ecommerce tracking capabilities to analyze the online purchases of
Amazon and Walmart and compare how these purchases relate to the demographics of their subscriber
base. n Comparisons are presented as relative index values. An index is a way to examine the relative
relationship between two values, for example an index value of 150 for Amazon indicates that Amazon
has a value 1.5 times more or 50% higher than Walmart on that particular measure. A similar index value
for Walmart indicates that Walmart has a higher value compared to Amazon on this measure.

2. Demographics: Who are they?
DEMOGRAPHICS
Amazon subscribers look similar to Walmart subscribers in
terms of age and household composition, though they are
slightly older and less likely to have children. The major
108 Children Under 18
difference is income, with Amazon subscribers tending to
have higher household incomes demonstrated by their 103 Married
dominance in the “greater than $100k” category. In contrast,
108 Age 18-40
Walmart’s email promotions often include in-store pick-up with
the option for cash purchases, presumably for lower-income 163 Income Over $100k
subscribers who are more likely to lack access to credit.
Geography: Where do they live?
Amazon subscribers are over 60% more likely than Walmart subscribers to be from
New York and California. Compared to Walmart, a higher percentage of Amazon
subscribers reside in urban areas, while Walmart subscribers are more likely to reside
in rural areas. This finding supports common perceptions about the type of shopper
who frequents
GEOGRAPHIC
Walmart versus
those who seek
the convenience of
an online shopping An Amazon email promoting their
Highly Urban 123
experience. high-end apparel category.
194 Highly Rural The geographic
split along with brick and mortar presence affirms a
notable difference in the mix of products each company
sells and promotes online. Walmart.com emphasizes larger ticket items that support an in-store pick up option. A recent
non-logged in visit to walmart.com features grills, outdoor furniture, and HDTVs prominently – all items where in-store pick-up
and free ship-to-store options are a key competitive advantage. This results in a higher average order value and higher
average unit retail value at walmart.com.
COMPETITIVE SPEND
Average # of
Orders Per Person 198
Average
241 Order Value
Walmart email promotions include incentives
for in-store pick-up along with cash payments.

3. Interests and Lifestyle: What do they like?
INTERESTS
Examining interests in the area of reading topics, Amazon
subscribers are more likely than Walmart subscribers to
enjoy reading about science and technology. Looking at Hunting 146
sports, Amazon subscribers are more likely than Walmart
121 Snow Skiing
subscribers to enjoy skiing and less likely to be hunters
or fishermen.
121 Science/Technology Reading
Important differences between Amazon and
Walmart subscribers are also apparent upon examination Romance Reading 117
of Lifestyle Segments, where buyers are grouped based on
exhibited lifestyle behaviors. Amazon subscribers are nearly twice as likely as Walmart subscribers to be Trendy Homemakers,
who devote time and effort to decorating their home, and Green Consumers, who make the effort to shop for products that
reflect their beliefs in sustainability. Walmart subscribers are more likely than Amazon subscribers to be New Parents, who
tend to purchase baby gear and accessories, and Sportsmen, who enjoy the outdoors while hunting and fishing.
Purchasing Behavior: How do they shop
LIFESTYLE SEGMENTS
and spend?
Amazon subscribers have an average household spend
that is 1.6 times that of Walmart subscribers, with a web
261 Green Consumers
spend index nearly as high. This variation in average
229 Trendy Homemakers spend can be examined using Connection Engine’s Buyer
Score which measures the level of purchasing activity and
129 Sportsmen
capacity as compared to the U.S. population. Amazon
116 New Parents subscribers are over three times as likely as Walmart
subscribers to be Super Buyers, defined as buyers in the
top 5% of spend behavior.
Measures of buying behaviors show that the interests of Amazon and Walmart subscribers are supported by their
purchase activities. Amazon.com subscribers are more than three times as likely as Walmart subscribers to be frequent
buyers of running, cycling, hiking, camping and winter sports products while Walmart subscribers tend to be more frequent
purchasers of hunting and fishing equipment.
BUYER SCORE
Super Buyer 328
161 Low Buyer

4. Furthermore, we see Amazon subscribers purchase
FREQUENT BUYER SEGMENTS
more corporate attire, designer fashion and fine jewelry
which aligns with the company’s acquisition of Zappos
along with it’s MyHabit flash sale property.
331 Running/Cycling/
Summary Observations Winter Sports Gear
317 Hiking/Camping Gear
Amazon and Walmart both have a robust base of email
137 Hunting/Fishing Gear
subscribers – and both businesses do a good job of
delivering products and services to meet the expectations 117 Pet Supplies
of their target consumers.
• High Income Households. Amazon dominates here with their focus on many small purchases via programs like
Amazon Prime along with their expansion into luxury merchandise.
• The Big Spenders. Amazon subscribers rank higher on the Connection Engine Buyer Score with a much higher
concentration of Super Buyers.
• Highly Urban vs. Highly Rural. Walmart’s subscribers are more prevalent in rural areas so the company drives
multi-channel shopping by offering in-store pick-up for online purchases along with the ability to pay in cash.
• The Great Outdoors. Reflecting the income distribution and urban-rural split, Walmart subscribers tend to be
fishermen and hunters while Amazon shoppers are more likely to golf or ski.
Connection Engine Methodology
Using Connection Engine’s InsightConnect product, subscribers to Amazon.com and Walmart.com were compared within
the eDataSource panel. The encrypted email keys of panel members were matched to over 50 billion real-world data points
to generate a detailed profile of each subscriber base.
eDataSource Methodology
eDataSource has utilized its proprietary email analytics capability and a panel of 800,000 consumers to provide these unique
insights into consumer purchasing trends. eDataSource has conducted detailed analyses of the sales and subscription rates
at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Netflix, Staples, Office Depot, Gilt, Ideeli and others using
anonymized data from more than 580,000 online purchase and subscription confirmations over the last six months.
©2012 Connection Engine Inc. and eDataSource, Inc. connectionengine.com • edatasource.com