What Is Walmart Marketplace?
Walmart Marketplace is the online marketplace of American retailer Walmart. It is a community of established, professional sellers whose high-quality assortments complement the first-party offerings on Walmart.com.
With more than 126 million unique monthly visitors, Walmart.com is one of the largest online marketplaces in the world.
Walmart also operates Walmart Canada Marketplace and Walmart Marketplace México, providing sellers with cross-border reach throughout North America.
Walmart.ca is home to featured brands like Lenovo, Dyson, Sealy and Bissell, among others. Its top customer segments include millennials (41%), families with kids (55%) and the affluent, which includes those with medium-high income (54%) and higher education (83%).
Walmart de México y Centroamérica (or more casually, “Walmex”) is Mexico’s largest retailer with more stores per capita than the US. Its sellers enjoy several unique benefits, including:
- Additional physical channels like in-store kiosks
- Diversified payment options, including in-store cash payments
- Spanish language customer service via email, chat or phone
- Cross-platform listings with Bodega Aurrera, Walmart’s discount store chain
Walmart Business is Walmart’s dedicated e-commerce site for saving business and nonprofit customers time, money and hassle. Sellers must be invited to participate, allowing Walmart to curate a product selection specifically for business and nonprofit customers. To qualify, sellers must be an active Walmart Marketplace seller and demonstrate:
- Impeccable order delivery performance
- Excellent customer service
- Proven track record of B2B e-commerce sales
The Benefits of Selling on Walmart Marketplace
Walmart Marketplace is selective by design. It has curated a community of respected, professional sellers who offer only top-quality, authentic products and best-in-class customer service. Its thorough vetting process and high standards for applicants and sellers help foster a level playing field trusted by customers and partners alike.
In addition to joining an elite network, Walmart Marketplace sellers benefit from:
- No setup or monthly fees. Instead of assessing regular membership or seller’s fees, Walmart charges a referral fee based on the seller’s product category.
- Walmart’s enormous brand recognition. Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue and is a household name that’s synonymous with value and extensive inventory.
- Established infrastructure and e-commerce services. Walmart’s established e-commerce infrastructure includes fulfillment services, free two-day shipping for eligible sellers, powerful advertising and advanced listing and analytics tools.
- International reach. Sell throughout North America with Walmart Canada and Walmart de México y Centroamérica and reach audiences millions of monthly visitors, respectively.
- Walmart Marketplace sellers also receive access to Seller Center, a portal for sellers to register their company, update account settings, view reports, manage catalog performance and more.
How to Sell on Walmart Marketplace
All sellers must undergo a vetting process to ensure they meet the strategic initiatives of each category. Interested sellers should fill out an application following Walmart’s pro tips for faster approval:
- Have a history of marketplace or other e-commerce success. Walmart likes to see established, credible sellers.
- Ensure none of your products fall under Walmart Marketplace’s Prohibited Products Policy. Prohibited products include hazardous materials, alcohol, certain foods, offensive products and more. Including just one of these items in your catalog will cause your application to be denied.
- Provide as much detail as possible. Avoid delays and back-and-forth with approvers by being upfront about every aspect of your business.
You can also review Walmart Performance Standards and Policies so you’re fully aware of and compliant with all Walmart Marketplace policies, rules and guidelines.
If you’re interested in selling on Walmart Marketplace, please contact us to learn more about the application process.
See best practices for advertising on Walmart.
Advertising on Walmart Marketplace with Walmart Connect
Walmart Connect is the marketplace’s hub for advertisers to connect with customers through ad types, including:
Sponsored Products
- Search In-Grid Results: cost-per-click ads that appear within the first three pages of search results
- Carousels: groupings of sponsored products that appear on search, category, browse, curated shelf and product detail pages, as well as the homepage
- The Buy Box: a coveted spot on product detail pages featuring an alternate or complementary product
Sponsored Brands
- Search Brand Amplifier: placements that feature a brand’s logo, custom headline and up to four product SKUs
Onsite Display
- Ads that display on Walmart.com and the Walmart app
Offsite Display
- Ads that display on external sites, including social media and other relevant websites
ChannelAdvisor is a Walmart Advertising Partner. By using ChannelAdvisor, you can save valuable time and resources with powerful automation tools to manage your Walmart advertising campaigns in the same platform as your listings. You can also automate keyword selection and bidding, perform bulk actions, apply performance-based ad rules and more.
Walmart Fulfillment Services
Walmart Marketplace sellers have access to end-to-end fulfillment services through Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). Participating sellers ship their inventory to a WFS facility, which stores, picks, packs and ships each order. WFS offers simple, transparent pricing and does not enforce an inventory minimum or maximum.
WFS sellers can meet their customers’ expectations for fast, convenient delivery with two-day shipping anywhere in the contiguous US (excluding peak season, September-January). Customers can manage returns online or in person at Walmart stores. Enhanced returns offer seamless experiences and flexibility that boost customer satisfaction, earning you repeat shoppers.
Learn more about the benefits of Walmart Fulfillment Services.
Excel on Walmart with ChannelAdvisor
Since becoming Walmart’s first launch partner, ChannelAdvisor has helped countless retailers and brands list products and optimize sales on Walmart.com. With ChannelAdvisor’s centralized inventory and order management, you can add this exclusive marketplace with ease, automate product categorization and open doors to new possibilities and soaring revenue.
Walmart Marketplace is part of ChannelAdvisor’s extensive network of channels. We help you execute e-commerce best practices and manage your presence in one centralized platform. You’ll have access to:
- A Walmart Marketplace dashboard featuring the current status of all your products
- Listings view and error management
- Fulfillment and shipping management
- Order cancellation and refund management
- Test purchase capabilities
Beyond everyday channel management, ChannelAdvisor also helps you optimize Walmart Marketplace sales with our proprietary Walmart Repricer. Our repricer revises the price until you win the order or your floor price is reached at SKU level and maximizes gross merchandise volume (GMV) with specific seller safeguards. Your prices are adjusted automatically to keep you in line with your competitors so you can win more Best Offer positions.
And when you’re ready to start advertising on Walmart, ChannelAdvisor is there for you. Our Managed Services team can handle the heavy lifting while supporting your advertising goals. Our Customer Success Managers will ensure you’re making the most of every opportunity by helping manage and improve the efficiency of your selling and advertising efforts on Walmart.
Interested in Selling and Advertising on Walmart?
As one of Walmart’s largest integrators, we’ve helped hundreds of retailers get up, running and blowing past sales goals on this selective marketplace. The process starts by getting approval to sell from Walmart. There are two ways to apply:
Create your marketplace account here. This unique link will ensure visibility with a dedicated Walmart Business Development team.
Contact us and let us know you’re interested in selling on Walmart. We’ll set you up with a ChannelAdvisor e-commerce expert to help you complete the application and explain the next steps
ChannelAdvisor is your key to managing one of the industry’s largest and most-sought-after marketplaces.