Did you know that Walmart Marketplace is a hidden gem in e-commerce and boasts over 120 million monthly visitors?
This bustling digital marketplace presents a unique opportunity for sellers to expand their reach and capitalize on a less saturated market than its counterparts.
In this blog post, we dive into the lucrative potential of Walmart Marketplace, outlining essential strategies for success. From understanding the marketplace’s dynamics to mastering product listings and optimizing sales tactics, we cover key areas to help you maximize your earnings in 2024. Whether you’re a seasoned e-commerce entrepreneur or just starting, this guide is your roadmap to thriving as a Walmart Marketplace seller!
What is Walmart Marketplace?
Walmart Marketplace is an ecommerce platform that allows third-party sellers to list and sell their products directly to buyers. Also known as Walmart Connect, it was launched by Walmart Inc., one of the leading retailers in the US; this platform emulates the workings of credible online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay. However, what sets it apart is its unwavering commitment to competitive pricing, top-quality products, and customer satisfaction. This growing popularity among e-commerce store owners, less competition than other sales channels, and the ability to connect your store to automated order fulfillment are a few reasons why you should consider joining their marketplace.
Why sell on Walmart Marketplace?
Selling on Walmart Marketplace offers various advantages for any vendor seeking to grow their online business. Some of them are:
- Widespread Reach: With an audience of over 120 million monthly visitors, Walmart.com provides an enormous customer base for your products across various categories and channels, contributing to ecommerce growth.
- Brand Visibility: Being a part of Walmart’s ever-growing shopping community helps enhance brand recognition and authority, leading to higher trust among potential buyers and better ecommerce marketing potential.
- Cost-Efficiency: As a Walmart Marketplace Seller, you benefit from a robust platform that provides ecommerce services without any setup or ongoing monthly fees, allowing you to save and earn more.
- Diverse Sales Tools: Walmart provides various growth-enhancing solutions such as innovative pricing strategies, catalog management, advertising opportunities, flexible returns policy under the Enhanced Returns program, and quality brand management options. According to Walmart data, These tools allow the promotion of products, facilitate price integration, and organically boost conversion up to 50%.
Moreover, by being a part of Walmart Marketplace, professional sellers offering high-quality products can complement Walmart’s first-party offerings, ensuring a trusted and reliable customer buying experience and giving a significant lift to their eCommerce presence. Hence, it’s an excellent platform for expanding your customer reach and a beneficial tool for elevating your position in the crowded eCommerce landscape and getting much-needed SEO help.
Getting Started With Walmart Marketplace
Meeting the Eligibility Criteria
One must meet the platform’s strict requirements to be considered a potential seller on the Walmart Marketplace. These encompass several disciplines designed to maintain a competitive, trustworthy, and beneficial environment for both buyers and sellers. The following are the vital eligibility requirements:
- Business Location: Your company must be located and conducted business in the United States.
- Valid Business Identity: You should have a legally registered company name along with a physical address. A crucial part of this is company registration or supplying a valid business tax ID number, along with other relevant business licenses, as these are necessary to identify your business as being authorized to engage in online commerce.
- Proven Track Record: Walmart gives preference to businesses with a proven track record in the eCommerce industry. A robust history of product sales either through your own website or utilizing other sales channels such as Amazon is essential.
Remember, the caliber of sellers is of utmost importance to Walmart, so if you’re new to eCommerce, it might be wise to accrue some experience on other platforms first before applying to the Walmart Marketplace. Once you meet all these standards, you’re ready to embark on the application process.
Application and Registration Process
Initiating your selling journey on the Walmart Marketplace begins with the thorough application and registration process. During this stage, you will need to undergo an account setup which includes the sign-up with a payment processor as part of the registration process. Walmart aims to construct a robust network of sellers ensuring top-tier products and services to the customers. Therefore, their application process ensures only the most respected businesses make it to their Marketplace. It typically takes 14 to 30 days to complete the application and registration process, but this can be expedited by being prepared with all the required documents and details.
The application will ask for the following details:
- Personal Information: This includes your full name, email address, and phone number.
- Primary Contact Information: Details of the person who will be the main liaison between Walmart and the seller.
- Business Specifics: Information regarding the requirements mentioned in the eligibility criteria, such as the US Business Tax ID (SSN will not be accepted), business address, physical operations address, W-9 or W-8 form along with the EIN Verification Letter from the Department of the Treasury.
- Product Categories: Information relevant to your planned integration method for your product catalog, primary product categories, catalog size, and related information (how many SKUs you plan to sell, whether your items are used or refurbished, etc.)
After the application is approved, you will receive an email to initiate the registration process. This step involves creating your Walmart Seller Account, signing the Walmart retailer agreement, registering the company, filling out the tax forms, adding payment and shipping details, and setting up your product listings.
Be sure to double-check all information, and save each section as you proceed through this detailed process. Remember, your journey to becoming a Walmart Marketplace Seller starts with the account setup here.
The Cost Aspect of Selling on Walmart Marketplace
Understanding Walmart Seller Fees
The Walmart Marketplace encompasses a simple and direct pricing structure. Unlike various other online platforms, Walmart refrains from charging setup, subscription or even maintenance fees – a minimum fee structure indeed, revolving around transaction costs. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the fees you need to pay attention to as a Walmart Seller:
- Referral Fees: This is the main cost associated with selling on Walmart Marketplace. Instead of a slew of different transaction charges, Walmart keeps it straightforward by only levying a referral fee on each completed purchase. This fee is category-dependent but typically averages around 15% for most categories, including apparel, beauty products, home and garden. Certain product categories, such as consumer electronics and cameras, have a lower referral fee of 8%.
- Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) fees: If you choose to use Walmart’s fulfillment services, there will indeed be additional charges. Similar to Amazon FBA fees, WFS fees are primarily dependent on product size and weight. Generally, they range between 8% to 15% of your total revenue. Please note that WFS charges can be higher for heavyweight products. However, unlike Amazon, Walmart doesn’t charge additional storage costs or any form of subscription fees for the last quarter of the year.
Understanding how these fees apply to your business will ensure you’re prepared for the costs associated with selling on Walmart Marketplace and can help you price your products accurately.
Calculating Potential Profits as a Walmart Seller
Projecting the potential profits as a Walmart seller requires a comprehensive understanding of your products, costs associated, effective pricing strategies, and the seller fees involved. This includes understanding your fulfillment rate, how it impacts your overall costs, and how a good fulfillment solution can help optimize your profits.
You can calculate your profits by taking into account the selling price of your items, referral fees, and any applicable fulfillment fees, such as those from compelling fulfillment solutions like Deliverr.
Here’s a simplified formula to calculate your potential profits:
Profit Margin = Selling Price – (Cost of Goods + Walmart Seller Fees + Fulfillment Fees + Other Operating Expenses)
For instance, if you’re selling a product at $100, your cost of goods is $30, and you’re in a product category that has a referral fee of 15%, your profit margin would be $100 – ($30 + $15 + Fulfillment Fees) = Potential Profits.
It’s worth noting that the majority of sellers on Walmart Marketplace, especially those using an efficient fulfillment solution, earn at least 20% profit, with a large share of small businesses there earning over $100,000 in annual revenue. This fact also holds true for sellers already operational on Amazon, who can expect to generate an additional 4-12% of their revenue on Walmart, depending on the product category.
While forecasting profits, don’t forget to factor in the lower competition on Walmart compared to other platforms like Amazon. Your products can perform exceptionally well, even with affordable fast shipping offered through smart fulfillment solutions on Walmart if they haven’t been selling well elsewhere due to high competition. Proper pricing and adequate advertising can help you boost the product’s visibility and sales, thus aiding in increasing profits.
In conclusion, regularly tracking your pricing, costs, and sales along with understanding market trends and the importance of the fulfillment rate will be key in optimizing your profits on Walmart Marketplace.
Setting Up Your Walmart Seller Account
Completing Business Verification Details
Ensuring your business is verified and approved by Walmart is a crucial step in the registration process. Walmart uses this verification to confirm legitimate and trusted sellers for their marketplace. Before starting, make sure you have the following:
- US Tax ID number (TIN)
- Yearly gross merchandise value (GMV) range
- Highest performing category (the most frequently selling category of your products)
Follow these steps to verify your business:
- From your seller account homepage, click the ‘Get verified’ button at the top of the screen.
- Fill out the verification form, providing the required business details and tax information. You can pause, save your changes, and come back to it later if needed.
- Once completed, click ‘Submit for review’.
Business verification can take up to two business days . To keep track of your verification status, you can log in to the seller application tracking site .
While entering information for verification, be very vigilant about any errors or inconsistencies as they might delay the approval process. By preparing and gathering all necessary documentation, such as your business tax ID, a W9 or W8, you can ensure smooth onboarding. Remember, every seller must complete business verification before listing products for sale on Walmart Marketplace.
Configuring Order Management Functions
Order management is one of the most critical aspects of selling on Walmart Marketplace. As a seller, you will be tasked with order processing, shipping, exchanges, refunds, and customer service. Here’s how you can configure order management functions in your seller account with automation and bulk upload tools:
- 1. Retrieving Marketplace Orders
Walmart offers various methods for order retrieval, including solutions capable of direct integration:
- Seller Central Dashboard: This user-friendly dashboard provides easy access to all your orders. The Order Management option lets you handle each aspect manually, or you can use tools like Spark Shipping for pricing automation.
- Bulk Order Download: Provides large-scale sellers with a convenient way to download all their orders in a CSV format for bulk upload, ensuring efficient management of massive amounts of data.
- Order Integration Partner: Alternatively, you can streamline your order management process by using an integration partner such as a third-party logistics service, which can potentially automate order fulfillment and tracking updates.
After retrieving orders, implement a system for efficiently processing, packaging, and shipping products. Choose shipping templates according to your strategy—these determine how quickly you’ll fulfill orders, where you will ship, and the customer costs. Walmart’s expectations include fast order fulfillment, product availability, and reliable delivery.
- 3. Test Orders
Once you’ve set up your automated order management system via bulk upload or manual setup, it’s vital to test it with a few orders. Follow the steps below to test your system:
- Choose 2-3 products for testing and update the price and inventory for these items.
- Under Actions, click Publish Item—this makes the item go live.
- Purchase the item by clicking the Purchase Item option under Actions.
- Check crucial touchpoints—like order acknowledgment, cancellation, shipping, and refund.
- Under normal circumstances, you won’t have to ship these test items, but you should proceed to the final review stage.
Ensuring your online store’s system through this dry-run process is error-free guarantees a seamless buying and post-buy H3: Configuring Order Management Functions
Order management is a crucial aspect of selling on Walmart Marketplace. As a seller, you’ll handle order processing, shipping, refunds and customer service. Here’s how you can automate and streamline order management in your seller account using bulk upload and shipping templates:
- 1. Retrieving Marketplace Orders
Walmart offers various methods for order retrieval:
- Seller Central Dashboard: This intuitive interface gives you easy access to all your orders. The Order Management option allows you to handle things manually or use pricing automation tools like Spark Shipping.
- Bulk Order Download: Ideal for large-scale sellers, this tool allows bulk uploading of all orders in a CSV format—thus curating more products at once.
- Order Integration Partner: To streamline the order management venture, use an integration partner such as a third-party logistics service or automation solution providers.
Post order retrieval, an efficient system for processing, packaging, and shipping products should be in place. Utilizing automation and multiple shipping templates can help meet Walmart’s expectations for fast order fulfillment, product availability, and reliable delivery.
- 3. Test Orders
Set up your automated order management system and test it using a few orders:
- Select 2-3 products to test and update their price and inventory.
- Click ‘Publish Item’ under ‘Actions’ to make the item go live.
- Purchase the item using the ‘Purchase Item’ option under ‘Actions’.
- Check the functionality of key touchpoints—such as order acknowledgment, shipping, cancellation, and refund.
Unless an issue arises, you won’t have to ship these test items, rather proceed to the final review stage.
Ensure your system is error-free through regular testing to provide a seamless buying and post-purchase experience—boosting your reviews and ratings on the platform.
Product Listing and Optimization
How to Effectively List Products
Creating a well-optimized product listing is critical to your success on the Walmart Marketplace. Navigating this niche effectively demands a keen understanding of item setup and the factors influencing its visibility in search rankings. Correctly implemented, your product listing will not only attract potential customers but also boost your product’s visibility and discoverability. To create an effective product listing, follow these steps:
1. Select Correct Categorization
Accurately categorizing your product is crucial. If tagged or categorized incorrectly, it may not appear in the search results, considerably affecting your item visibility. Be sure to choose the right category and sub-categories that accurately represent your product, increasing the likelihood it will appear in customer searches.
2. Write an Attractive Title
Your product title, the online badge of your product, is the first thing that customers see. It should be simple, concise, and provide potential buyers with an informed idea about your product. Ensure the title contains the product’s brand name, significant features, and differentiating factors.
3. Provide Detailed Descriptions and Key Features
The product description is akin to an item’s setup manual, providing all necessary information about your product. It should not only be accurate and complete but also easy to understand. Highlight the product’s key features, benefits, and how it can solve a problem or serve a need.
4. Apply Relevant Keywords
Make your product easily discoverable by incorporating keywords into your title and product description. Identify the most relevant and commonly searched keywords and phrases related to your product, but remember, don’t use the same keyword more than three times to avoid redundancy.
5. Use High-Quality Images and Videos
Quality visuals significantly
Remember, merely adding your products to Walmart Marketplace doesn’t guarantee sales. Instead, an effective and well-optimized product listing, augmented by strategic use of shipping templates and 2-day delivery tags, can considerably elevate not only your product’s visibility but also tantalize customers to hit the buy button. Therefore, dedicate time and effort to create compelling, informative, and accurate product listings.
Optimize your Listings with Quality Dashboard
Walmart’s Listing Quality Dashboard is an inbuilt tool that allows you to effectively optimize your product listings. This informative blog further breaks down how improvements can be made in various areas:
- Filter by Priority: The dashboard allows you to filter by priority to understand which items with the highest potential Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) lift, including those found on the unpublished items dashboard, need to be prioritized for optimization.
- Correction Assistance: It quickly helps you rectify any price mismatches or incorrectly assigned product types that can negatively
impact your sales. This includes errors with GTIN/UPC GS1 company prefix numbers, which are necessary for selling on the Walmart Marketplace. - Read Item-level Reviews: The blog allows you to gain insights on how to read reviews at an item-level to understand customer feedback, which can help improve your product description and performance.
- Export Data: You can export data related to as many as 10k items. This enhanced data capability, including figures seen on the unpublished items dashboard, brings more efficiency and accuracy in your listings.
- Improve Quality Score: Showcasing the importance of each aspect, the blog also details how to improve your Quality Score on the dashboard. This score is determined based on your listing content, product offering, reviews, and the post-purchase experience.
To access the Listing Quality Dashboard and get the most out of your unpublished items dashboard, log into the Seller Center, select “Growth Opportunities” under “Analytics & Reports”, then the “Listing Quality” tab. The average listing quality score, a breakdown of the listing quality, and an overview of each item in your catalog will be visible. You can click on an item to check the details of each component, improving content and discoverability.
Walmart’s Listing Quality Dashboard is an excellent tool to drive your effectiveness in the marketplace. Leveraging its capabilities, as highlighted in our blog, can help you maximize your product visibility, customer experience, and consequently, sales.
Winning the Buy Box
Walmart’s Buy Box is equivalent to the default “Add to Cart” button on the product page. With more than 82% of Walmart sales coming from Buy Box winners, understanding how to win the Buy Box is critical to your success as a seller on this platform. Here are some key strategies:
1. Competitive Pricing: Offering a competitive price for your products is the most significant factor. Walmart often grants the Buy Box to the product with the lowest total price (including shipping costs).
2. Stock Availability: Regularly updating your inventory and maintaining sufficient stock helps position you as a reliable seller, increasing your chances of winning the Buy Box.
3. Deliver on Time: Ensuring timely delivery of products adds credibility and can enhance your chances of securing the Buy Box.
4. High Quality Customer Service: Walmart takes customer satisfaction seriously. Displaying exceptional customer service, handling returns efficiently, and receiving fewer complaints can increase your Buy Box chances.
5. Fulfillment Excellence: Using Walmart’s own fulfillment service or a trusted third-party fulfillment service can make you a preferred candidate for the Buy Box.
Winning the Buy Box can undoubtedly be a game-changer for your sales on Walmart Marketplace. It requires consistent effort to perform better than your competitors. Losing isn’t the end, but an opportunity to reevaluate and implement better strategies to win in the future.
Fulfillment Options for Walmart Sellers
Understanding Walmart Fulfillment Services
Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) is Walmart’s own warehousing and fulfillment operation, similar to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). This service, featuring a unique fulfillment type, aims to simplify tasks for sellers by taking over the responsibilities of storage, supplier management, picking, packing, shipping, and customer service for the products sold on platforms like BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Shopify. WFS steps in with the following services:
- Warehousing: When you sign up for WFS, you ship your products to a Walmart warehouse. They store your inventory and handle it from there, showcasing the strength of their infrastructure and ensuring secure storage.
- Order Fulfillment: Walmart, as your supplier, manages the picking, packing, and shipping of your orders. They also manage shipping labels and the carriers.
- Customer Service: Besides shipping, WFS also deals with return processing and any customer support related to order fulfillment and delivery.
- 2-Day Shipping: With WFS, you can offer Walmart’s popular 2-day shipping feature to your customers, improving customer satisfaction. This convenience, a part of their BigCommerce package, comes at a cost, however. WFS charges fees based on the size and weight of your products, as well as the time they stay in storage. Avoid extra charges for providing customer service or final delivery to the customer.
Overall, Walmart Fulfillment Services provides a streamlined and efficient way to manage your backend processes as a seller on platforms like Shopify. Acting as your supplier, it lets you focus more on your product and its optimizations, making it an appealing option for many sellers.
Outsourcing Fulfillment to a Walmart-approved Partner
If you’d prefer not to use Walmart Fulfillment Services, you can opt to outsource your fulfillment tasks to one of Walmart’s approved partners, such as Deliverr. Choosing to outsource your fulfillment to approved partner could present advantages, including:
- Extended Reach: These partners have warehouses across the US, enabling you to serve customers nationwide in a quick and efficient manner.
- Cost Efficiency: These partners offer competitive rates and you might find more cost-effective options for fulfilment that work best for your business.
- Time-Saving: Outsourcing your fulfillment operations gives you more time to focus on marketing and developing your product portfolio.
- Integration: Many approved partners integrate seamlessly with Walmart Marketplace, providing a smooth seller experience.
Choosing to outsource your fulfillment does come with its own set of decisions. Selecting a provider best suited to your product range and business size is critical. Conduct thorough research and compare service providers to ensure you choose one that can best meet your needs.
Elevating Sales through Advertising and SEO
Taking Advantage of Walmart SEO Techniques
Following Walmart’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques can significantly enhance your products’ visibility, boosting their chances of being found by potential buyers. Here are key Walmart SEO techniques to optimize your product listings:
1. Keyword-Rich Titles: Ensure your titles are specific, concise, and include relevant keywords. Walmart recommends a title structure: Brand + Size + Defining Quality + Item Name + Style + Pack Count.
2. Use High-quality Images: Quality images enhance the shopping experience. Aim to include at least six high-resolution images, showcasing the product from different angles and in various uses.
3. Detailed Product Descriptions: Include a clear and factual description of your product, using relevant keywords naturally.
4. Include Relevant Attributes: Add as many item-specific attributes as you can. This can include color, size, material, and any other relevant characteristics.
5. Reviews and Ratings: Positive reviews and ratings greatly
6. Competitive Pricing: Offering competitive prices can boost your product visibility.
7. Shipping Information: Clearly mention shipping details, including shipping terms and costs.
Remember, winning on Walmart.com’s search algorithm is an ongoing process. Regularly updating and optimizing your product listings based on these strategies can significantly enhance your product visibility and sales.
Implementing Advertisements in Your Strategy
Implementing advertisements in your sales strategy can amplify your reach and boost your sales on the Walmart Marketplace. Navigating the vast marketplace platform, effective advertisements go a long way in keeping your product listings in the limelight. Walmart Ads offer various ways to showcase your products to potential customers:
- Walmart Sponsored Products: This Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising tool can significantly enhance your product’s visibility. Your sponsored listings appear on search results, product pages, and even at the check-out stage, offering increased exposure in the marketplace product listings.
- Walmart Display Ads: Display Ads can reach customers across their navigation journey, both on and off Walmart.com. This helps you retarget customers who’ve shown interest in your products.
Depending on your advertising budget, you can choose to manage your campaigns independently or, for a higher budget, partner with Walmart Media Group for campaign management.
By leveraging Walmart’s advanced targeting and reporting capabilities, you can reach your desired audience effectively. Including advertising in your strategy can drive traffic, improve visibility in marketplace product listings, and increase sales, thereby positioning your business for success in the Walmart Marketplace. Remember, advertising is not a set-and-forget task: continual monitoring and optimization of your campaigns is critical to maximizing the Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
Tips for Success on The Walmart Marketplace
Keeping a Check on Competitors
Monitoring your competitors is crucial to remain competitive and successful in the Walmart Marketplace. Here are some strategies for keeping an eye on your competitors:
1. Competitive Pricing: Regularly check your competitors’ prices to ensure your own prices remain competitive. Walmart’s algorithm favors competitive pricing for the Buy Box.
2. Product Listings: Evaluate the product titles, descriptions, images, and keywords your competitors use. Understand what they are doing right and learn from their techniques.
3. Customer Reviews: Study customer reviews on your competitors’ products. This can provide valuable insights into their product strengths and weaknesses.
4. Delivery and Returns: Examine your competitors’ shipping and returns policies. Fast shipping and easy returns can enhance customer satisfaction.
5. Customer Service: Excellent customer service can add to your competitive advantage over others. Observe how other sellers are engaging with their customers.
By using competitor monitoring tools or maintaining manual checks, you can stay updated with their strategies. Remember, speed matters in competitive spaces. Stay aware of your competitors, but always operate within Walmart’s guidelines to ensure a long-term relationship with Walmart Marketplace.
Maintaining Outstanding Customer Service
At Walmart Marketplace, high-quality customer service is integral to your success as a seller. Outstanding customer service not only improves your seller performance rating but also optimizes your visibility on the platform. Here’s how you can ensure exceptional customer service:
- Prompt Response: Aim to respond to all queries, complaints, and returns promptly and professionally. Walmart promises a 24-hour response time, so you must ensure to respond swiftly too.
- Clear Information: Provide unambiguous and actionable customer service information. Make details like returns, refunds, and shipping policies clear and easily accessible.
- Utilize Message Center: If a customer contacts you directly from the Seller Page, or their personal account section on Walmart.com, you must use the Message Center to reply.
- Thoughtful Problem Resolution: How you handle and resolve issues and complaints speaks volumes about your service. Always ensure a fair and satisfactory resolution.
- Accurate Contact Details: Maintain a current and accurate customer service and customer service escalation email address and phone number in the Seller Center.
Remember, your reviews, feedback, and customer experiences matter. Walmart is intent that you maintain customer service at their high standards. Investing in providing excellent customer service will not only increase your customer satisfaction but also boost your seller status on Walmart Marketplace.
Mastering Your eCommerce Accounting
As an eCommerce business owner, mastering your financial accounting is crucial to understand your business performance and financial health. Walmart provides several eCommerce accounting tools, bookkeeping insights, articles, and resources to simplify your business.
To ensure smooth eCommerce accounting:
1. Choose Accounting Software: Tools like QuickBooks Online and Xero can streamline your accounting by managing sales, costs, and inventory.
2. Integrate Accounting Software with Walmart Marketplace: This integration brings accuracy and updates data in real-time, saving your time and reducing the possibility of errors.
3. Understand the eCommerce Specific Terms: Becoming well-versed with terminology, such as Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), referral fees, and chargebacks, can help you navigate your financials better.
4. Regular Financial Review: Regular reviews keep your finances under control, helping you make backed decisions of scaling up or controlling costs.
For a hassle-free and efficient accounting process, consider using A2X . This software integrates directly with your Walmart Seller account, providing you with accurate, up-to-date data and saves you time, helping you scale.
Effective financial management is the bedrock of any successful business. While managing eCommerce sales presents a unique set of challenges, with the right concepts, software, and knowledge, you can easily simplify your financial processes.
Consider subscribing to the A2X Ecommerce Insider for expert ecommerce accounting insights delivered to your inbox each month.
Overcoming Rejection from Walmart Marketplace
Common Reasons for Application Denial
It’s a common query among sellers applying to the Walmart Marketplace, “Why was my application denied? “WalMart may reject an application due to several reasons:
1. Incorrect or Incomplete Information: Walmart might deny your application if incorrect or incomplete information is provided during the business verification process. For instance, errors in entering your name, business name, business email address, or phone number, or setting an inappropriate password on the portal may lead to rejection.
2. Lack of eCommerce Experience: If your business doesn’t demonstrate ample eCommerce prowess or engagement on other online portals, it’s likely that Walmart might deny your application.
3. Lack of Physical Presence in the US: Applications of businesses without a physical presence in the United States can also be turned down.
4. Insufficiency of Supporting Documents: Inadequate or incorrect supporting documentation for verifying your business name and address, like a recent W-9 in the Seller Center portal, can also result in denial.
5. Slow Response Time: A sluggish approach in processing and fulfillment times, slow responses to customer queries, or failures in properly managing your catalog and orders in the portal provided by the BigCommerce-Walmart partnership can lead to application denial.
Denial isn’t the end of the road—it simply signals at revisiting your business and application strategy to make it compliant with Walmart’s requirements. This reassessment can bolster the odds of acceptance in your subsequent application attempt.
Steps to Improve Application Acceptance Rate
If your application to Walmart Marketplace has been rejected, don’t lose heart. Many successful Walmart sellers didn’t make it through their first time using the Walmart brand portal. Here’s how you can improve your chances of acceptance:
1. Review Your Application: Go through your application thoroughly in the Seller Portal. Look for errors, gaps, or misleading information that could have resulted in a rejection.
2. Gather All Necessary Documents: Assemble all necessary documents proving your business’s legitimacy. These may include your tax ID, business registration, certificate of incorporation, and anything else that solidifies your business’s seriousness, like a recent W-9 in the Seller Center portal.
3. Enhance Your eCommerce Presence: Walmart looks for sellers experienced in eCommerce, especially those effective at managing their catalog and orders via portals like BigCommerce. If your online presence is lacking, consider selling through other platforms first to gain experience and credibility.
4. Improve Customer Satisfaction: Walmart, through its seller portal, prioritizes customer satisfaction. Improved customer reviews can significantly enhance your Walmart Marketplace acceptance chances. Providing excellent customer support leads not only to positive customer feedback, a metric Walmart values but also helps build your prominence in the Seller Center.
5. Reapply: Once you’ve made all the necessary improvements, don’t hesitate to reapply using your refined credentials at Seller Center. The odds of approval might be higher, given that you’ve exerted substantial effort to improve.
Remember, Walmart is not interested in merely increasing the number of sellers on its platform; they prioritize quality. So don’t rush the process. Wait until your business is ready to meet Walmart’s quality standards using the reliable Walmart brand portal, and then reapply. With the right preparations, you’ll increase your chances of being accepted and running a successful business on Walmart Marketplace.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I sell on Amazon and Walmart at the same time?
Yes, selling on both Amazon and Walmart at the same time is not just possible, but also highly recommended for expanding your market exposure and increasing sales. In fact, diversifying your sales channels with a view of how payment processors like Payoneer and Hyperwallet function can significantly contribute to the growth and profitability of your business.
Here are a few factors to consider:
- Inventory Management: If your business has enough inventory to cover multiple sales channels, you should consider selling on both platforms. However, do note that platforms like Walmart require your products to have GTIN/UPC GS1 company prefix numbers or request an exemption.
- Competitor Analysis: Walmart generally has fewer sellers and a less aggressive first-party retail than Amazon, which can provide an opportunity for sellers to face lesser competition and more category dominance.
- Fulfillment Centers: Utilizing both Amazon’s and Walmart’s fulfillment centers and expertise, in synchronization with their chosen payment processors, you’ll be able to scale your e-commerce business faster.
- Fee Comparison & Payment Processors: It’s crucial to understand fees associated with each platform. Walmart typically charges a referral fee similar to Amazon but does not have a monthly subscription fee like Amazon’s Professional selling plan. Additionally, Walmart uses third-party payment processors like Payoneer and Hyperwallet to process transactions, as opposed to Amazon’s native payment system.
Remember, both Amazon and Walmart have their distinctive advantages, including unique brand portals, and share vast customer bases. Expanding your selling platforms to include both can potentially drive more traffic to your products, increase your revenues, and broaden your customer range.
How long does the approval process take on Walmart Marketplace?
The approval process for Walmart Marketplace can take between a few weeks to several months. The exact timeline varies depending on various factors like the seller’s capabilities, size of their business, qualifications, accuracy of the provided information, and the category in which they intend to sell.
Preparation is key to speeding up the process. Before beginning, ensure you have all the required information and documents on hand and ensure all information provided during the business verification is accurate. Any errors or inconsistencies might delay the approval process.
Once you submit your application, patience is crucial. Walmart ensures a thorough verification to maintain the credibility and quality of their marketplace, thus, taking a considerable amount of time. After approval, be ready to sign the Retailer Agreement and start the onboarding process, which generally takes up to four weeks.
Remember that every minute spent in the process brings you a step closer to entering one of the United States’ largest eCommerce platforms. Once approved, the opportunity to reach millions of customers makes it all worthwhile.
Is there a fee to sell on Walmart? How much does it cost?
Yes, there is a fee to sell on Walmart, commonly referred to as the Referral Fee. However, unlike many other online marketplaces, Walmart charges no setup, listing, or monthly fees. This comes as an advantage when setting up your seller profile on the platform. The referral fees are based on the retail price of each sold item and typically range from 6% to 20%, depending on the product category.
For most categories, the average referral fee is approximately 15%. For instance, categories like Apparel & Accessories, Beauty, Home, Kitchen, Patio & Garden, etc., feature a referral fee of 15%. In contrast, others like Electronics & Accessories, Camera and Photos have a lower referral fee of 8%. All of these specifics can be found in your seller profile details.
Additionally, if you opt for Walmart’s Fulfillment Services (WFS), keep in mind there is a separate fee. This generally ranges from 8% to 15% of your total revenue, based on your product size and weight.
To estimate your referral fees more precisely, Walmart provides a handy reference guide.
Comprehending these fees will aid you in optimally pricing your products and estimating potential profits. Remember, investing in these fees enables access to millions of Walmart customers, significantly boosting potential product sales as reflected in your seller profile’s public performance.
