Walmart, the highest-earning company in the world, is catching its stride in the e-commerce space. In Q4 of 2017 alone, Walmart.com’s sales rose 44% to $11.5B; a figure that caught the attention of online sellers everywhere.
We recently hosted a webinar with Walmart to show online sellers how to grow and optimize their business by selling on the marketplace giant, while managing multichannel listings through SellerActive. During this session, we took participants through a crash course on setting up a Walmart store, saving time with SellerActive’s multichannel e-commerce management tools, and setting automated repricing rules to beat the competition.
During the webinar, sellers had a lot of questions about getting started, listing and selling, repricing, fulfillment, and more. While we weren’t able to get to everyone’s questions during the session, we’ve compiled this handy Q&A to help sellers understand how to sell on Walmart, and use multichannel management software like SellerActive to save time and maximize sales.
Missed the webinar? No worries! Click below to watch the webinar in full.
How to Sell on Walmart & Use Multichannel E-Commerce Management
Getting Started With Walmart Marketplace
I’m already selling well on Amazon, and only have a small business. I’m thinking about adding Walmart but don’t want to complicate my life. Is there a definite payoff to selling on Amazon and Walmart?
SellerActive's data shows that sellers who expand their business to sell on Amazon and Walmart see an average sales increase of 20%. Also, while Walmart and Amazon have an overlap of customers, Walmart has its own distinct customer base. Walmart’s success online is growing, too. In Q4 of 2017 alone, Walmart Marketplace sales were up 44% to $11.5b.
What fees can a new seller expect? How is money from sales distributed to vendors?
Walmart has no setup, subscription, or monthly fees for sellers. Instead, they deduct fees once sales are made through their site. Fees range from 6-20%and sellers are paid every two weeks via direct deposit.
I have not sold through Walmart. Is there a good training program for Walmart sellers?
Walmart does not have its own training program at this time. For new seller training that’s tailored to your business, SellerActive's implementation and support teams are second to none. You’ll receive one-on-one training that can help you get selling on multiple marketplaces quickly and easily, as well as ongoing support.
Listing and Selling on Walmart
Can I sell vintage, previously-owned items through Walmart?
Walmart does not allow used items to be sold, and all products sold must have UPC codes. However, some UPC exemptions exist for jewelry, and Walmart does allow for some refurbished items to be sold.
Why does Walmart have an “Order Number” and a “Purchase Order Number”?
An Order Number is generated for customers when they place orders on Walmart.com. Order Numbers can contain multiple items and can come from different sellers. Because orders can come from different sellers, Walmart splits orders up into multiple Purchase Order Numbers (typically one per seller per order). Purchase Order Numbers allow sellers to see only the portion of an overall customer’s order that they are responsible for.
Is Walmart looking into methods to simplify posting new products onto Walmart.com?
Walmart has their own internal process for how listings are approved. SellerActive can help by simplifying the Walmart listing process, and by showing you where your listing is in Walmart’s publishing process. Read more about this here.
How does SellerActive help Walmart sellers with publishing errors that occur?
Unfortunately, there are instances where Walmart unpublishes items that were previously listed for sale on their site. Walmart does, however, clearly outline their reasons for unpublishing listings; the most common reason being Price Parity. This rule automatically unpublishes items from Walmart if a customer would save by purchasing the same item from the same seller on a competing website (including the cost of shipping).
We recently updated our publishing tool, which can help resolve issues you’re having with Walmart from within SellerActive. You can now easily see unpublished items, and take steps to reprice and republish them.
Gaining exposure on Walmart.com
Is it possible to advertise our product listings or create pay-per-click campaigns on Walmart.com?
Currently, Walmart sellers cannot advertise or create pay-per-click campaigns. When it comes to exposure on Walmart, content is king. Whether you’re listing new inventions or products that exist in the marketplace, you can set your listings up for maximum exposure by ensuring you have:
- Readable and explanatory titles that avoid keyword spam
- Multiple listing fields filled out (not just the mandatory ones!)
- Well written descriptions that include targeted keyword phrases
- A healthy list of tags for your listing
- High quality, Walmart-optimized images (read our guide to Walmart images here)
My company sells common products, and there are hundreds of listings selling the same SKU and using the same keywords. How can I get my products to be listed as a top search result?
While you can’t advertise on Walmart, you can utilize SellerActive’s automated repricing tool to get ahead of your competition. You can set repricing rules that automatically update your listings to have the lowest price on Walmart, or you can set rules that capture the Buy Box. Both strategies can help you gain optimum visibility for potential buyers when they search for a specific product on Walmart. Learn more about repricing here.
Walmart Pricing and Repricing
How does the Buy Box work on Walmart?
Walmart’s Buy Box algorithm is comprised of several factors. Some factors weigh heavier in this algorithm than others – including pricing, two-day shipping, and free shipping. When pricing, keep the Price Leadership clause in the seller contract in mind. This clause states that Walmart expects all products sold on their site to have the lowest prices on the market. Walmart will not only check sellers’ listings of the same SKU on other sites to ensure this, they will also look at how that SKU is priced by any seller on multiple sites.
Walmart Shipping and Fulfillment
Does Walmart offer a discounted shipping service for sellers?
Walmart and FedEx have partnered to create the FedEx Advantage® program for Walmart sellers. No setup or monthly fees, discounts on fast shipping methods, delivery within five days of ordering, and valid tracking on all orders.
Is there a Fulfilled By Walmart program?
Not at this time.
Expanding Your Business to Walmart Marketplace
Is there a way to import my eBay inventory to Walmart, and update both channels when something is sold on one site?
Walmart does not directly facilitate interaction with other marketplaces. To sync multiple marketplaces from one central platform, sellers need to go through a third party company like SellerActive. Working with a “channel aggregator” that specializes in multichannel e-commerce management software will help you:
- Syndicate listings from a single source of truth
- Help you manage your inventory across multiple marketplaces so you don’t oversell, and
- Consolidate your orders into a single place for easy fulfillment.
To see how SellerActive works, schedule a demo now, or call us at 1-800-545-7385.
