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Walmart has long been a retail giant in the US food and grocery industry. The company is now expanding its reach to the e-commerce world. Walmart Marketplace now ranks as the fourth largest global online marketplace. In the US, one-third of Walmart sellers earn $500,000 to $1,000,000 in 2022, making the platform a lucrative avenue for those who want an established online business.
If you’re already selling on Amazon, you should also learn how to sell on Walmart. Being on the platform will expand your reach and get your products to a bigger audience. You can tap Walmart’s established audience base and discover new customer segments.
Walmart is also known for having a curated seller community. When you’re approved to sell in their marketplace, customers know that you offer high-quality products, so their trust in your brand is already high. Furthermore, Walmart only charges a commission for the products you sell. You don’t have to pay monthly, hidden, or setup fees.
Are you excited to start selling on Walmart? Keep reading the comprehensive guide below.
Before starting selling on Walmart, you need to meet the following requirements. Walmart wants to protect its brand and reputation, so it screens third-party sellers meticulously. Getting these minimum requirements handy will expedite your application and increase its chances of approval.
Having the above information ready before the application process will make things smoother and faster. If you still lack any of this documentation or your operations haven’t reached this level, then you should step back and invest in the necessary documentation and infrastructure before applying.
Walmart is strict about its requirements for Marketplace sellers. Save yourself the hassle, and ensure that your business already meets these requirements before applying.
Now that your requirements are ready, it’s time to start the application process. Applying on Walmart Marketplace is easy and fast as long as your documentation is complete. Again, if you still lack any documents, then go back and complete them before starting the application. This will save you the time and frustration of a rejected Walmart application.
Visit marketplace.walmart.com and navigate to “Join Marketplace.” You only need a few minutes to create your Walmart Marketplace account, where you can apply to be a verified seller.
If you’re an international seller, Walmart will send a prompt asking if you have a US TIN. If you do, click “Keep Going” to move to the next page.
Complete all the required fields and double-check for any errors. Check that you’ve read and accepted the terms, then click “Create an account.”
Pro Tip: Provide an email address with your company domain name instead of a generic email to increase your chances of approval.
Walmart will send an email to verify the email address you provided. It has a verification button, which you need to click within 24 hours. Otherwise, the link expires, and you need to create a new account.
Pro Tip: If you haven’t received a verification email, you can request a second one within 30 seconds. You can also check your SPAM folder in case it got misdirected. If you still haven’t received a verification email, you probably entered an incorrect email address and have to restart the application.
After verifying your email, you’ll be prompted to “Go to my account,” where you’ll enter your login credentials. Enter your Username and Password, then click “Log in.” By default, Walmart enables two-factor authentication and will send a verification code to your email address. You can turn this off in the Settings later on.
Congratulations! You now have a Walmart Seller account.
Inside the Walmart Seller Center, you’ll see three steps you must complete to start selling. These are:
1. Submitting business information
2. Setting up payment methods,
3. Adding shipping methods and details.
At this step, you must present the documentary requirements proving your company can sell in the US. Walmart will manually review your answers to this section, which can take a few days.
Click “Get Verified” and complete all the fields. There are 2 sections you should complete: (1) Business Details and (2) Seller Profile.
Under Business Details, you’d be asked to enter your legal business name and US business address. You also have to provide a primary contact number, your website, your yearly gross merchandise value (GMV), and your highest-performing product category.
Under Seller Profile, you’ll provide public information that will be visible to your customer base. This includes your display name, customer service US phone number, and customer service email address.
If you’re an international seller, you’d be asked to provide a US tax ID (TIN). If you don’t have one, you’d be required to get a US TIN first to become a seller. You may also be asked for further information, such as your experience in other marketplaces, a list of your top-selling brands, and uploaded proof of business, such as a storefront.
Once everything is complete, click the checkbox to certify that all provided information is accurate, then click “Submit for Review.” If you still have missing information, click “Save and Close” and then go back to the application later.
Pro Tip: You can check the status of your application here. Walmart also sends an email notification once your business is approved and verified.
Under step 2, click “Get Paid.” Walmart offers three companies where you can receive your payments. These are Payoneer, Hyperwallet, and PingPong. Your business verification must be approved before proceeding with this step.
Once your business is verified, you can click “Set Up” which will redirect you to the payment provider’s page. If you already have an account with them, you can log in to finish the setup. Otherwise, you can create a new account.
Adding your shipping details is the final step in setting up your seller account. Under step 3, click “Start Shipping.” This will open a pop-up with the three sections: (1) shipping templates, (2) return labels, and (3) return center.
The shipping template defines the pricing and delivery speed of your shipments. You can choose from Standard Shipping (5 days) and Value Shipping (6 days).
Under Return Labels, Walmart asks you to accept the terms of service for printed return labels, which they offer at competitive rates. You’d also be asked to provide the details of your return centers, including the name printed on the return label and the physical address to receive it.
You can also set up advanced shipping rules by clicking “Advanced Setup.” This lets you create shipping models based on the weight or price of the total order.
Click “Submit” once you’ve completed everything.
Pro Tip: You can set up your shipping details while waiting for your business to be verified.
Walmart offers convenient ways to list your items. After finishing the 3-step setup above, proceed to “Product Catalog” in the left sidebar and click “Item”. Go to “Add items” to begin listing your products.
There are three ways to create your listing: (1) upload a spreadsheet, (2) import your store, or (3) search the Walmart Catalog. Uploading a spreadsheet or importing your existing store is the fastest way to create a listing, but you can only use them if you finished the 3-step setup. Otherwise, you can only add products one by one using the Search the Walmart catalog option.
When uploading a spreadsheet, Walmart gives two templates you can match to ensure accurate product listings. The first option is Walmart’s Full Setup Excel template, where you can upload up to seven categories at the same time. This is great for advanced users since it’ll involve several columns for different attributes specific to certain categories.
The second option is a quick setup by match, where you’ll get a template with a few primary fields. This option is only recommended if you are selling items already in Walmart and most other information is in the platform. This option is only available for seller-fulfilled items and not for WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services).
Once successfully uploaded, your file will get a checkmark, and you can select the “Next” button. You can complete the upload process by clicking “Import items” or “Activate the experts.” You’ll also get a confirmation message that your items are being processed.
Another fast and easy way is to import your catalog from your existing Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shopify, Target, or Wayfair store. Under “Import your store”, select the store with the correct data and type the link in the field. Walmart will pull all the data it can get, but there’ll be information, such as sales price and SKU, that you still need to set up.
The third option, Search the Walmart catalog, is only recommended for single items since you have to manually search your product using its GTIN, UPC, or Walmart ID. Once you’ve located the right one, just click “Add item” to complete the setup.
Walmart reviews all the items you upload to your store, so providing complete details will ensure there are no time-consuming back-and-forths. Before publishing your items, they will also inform you of any missing information or errors.
Once your products are approved and listed, it’s time to add your inventory. You can also bulk-update inventory using an Excel template. You need the SKU, inventory quantities, and fulfillment center ID to complete the template.
You can also update the inventory of a single item or small group of items directly on the Items Dashboard in the Seller Center.
You can connect your program to Walmart via API integration if you have an extensive product catalog and inventory management software. This will automate the inventory updates, so you don’t have to worry about running out of stock on Walmart. Walmart also works with third-party Solution Providers who can manage your inventory updates.
Once you’ve completed all the steps above, you can start selling on Walmart. You can check how each item looks by going to the “Items” page, navigating to “Product Catalog”, and clicking on the item’s title. Select “View on Walmart.com” on the pop-up to open a new tab with the item listing.
Like any other online marketplace, selling on Walmart is highly competitive, and you must follow several best practices to stand out. Getting approved is the easy part. Now, you have to earn your spot and work hard to connect to your customers.
With the right software tools built for Walmart sellers, you can solidify your success. As a new seller, it can be overwhelming to grasp the platform, but fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone. These tools will support your business and help grow your Walmart presence.
This is a low-cost, end-to-end fulfillment service offered exclusively to Walmart Marketplace Sellers. Walmart will store, pick, pack, and deliver your orders for a small fee. There’s no minimum inventory that you can ship to a WFS facility, and most inventory is available within 2 days from receiving. You can also access WFS dashboards and APIs to integrate with your existing systems.
WFS Sellers also enjoy higher search rankings, and Buy Box wins. You can also win more customers since they will get Free Shipping incentives, and your products will arrive in Walmart-branded packaging. At the moment, WFS doesn’t accept international shipments and is only available for US-based customers.
Walmart Connect helps customers discover your brand and products as they search and browse Walmart. As a new marketplace seller, you’re automatically registered to Walmart Ad Center, which is a self-serve ad platform. You can check your product eligibility requirements and create measurable campaign goals here. You can also determine your targeting strategy and add relevant keywords to your campaign.
You can select from Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, or both. You can opt for manual or automated campaigns or those under accredited Walmart ad tech partners.
If you’re selling your own brand, you can protect your intellectual property (IP) with the Walmart Brand Portal. All you need to do is register your company information and provide details like an active trademark registration number and verifiable email.
The Walmart Brand Portal offers an easy and seamless way to submit and track multiple types of intellectual property claims for your different brands. This will help you efficiently deal with trademark and copyright infringement, counterfeits, and patent claims. You can spend more time growing your business than tracking IP violations.
Customer service is integral to a successful e-commerce business. With the addition of Walmart to your existing marketplaces, providing excellent customer service can become challenging. Channel Reply, you can easily view and answer customer queries from a single unified dashboard. This is the ideal solution if you’re managing multiple marketplaces and need a convenient way to handle customer queries without logging in to each store’s dashboard.
Selling on multiple marketplaces can be challenging, especially when you have several products that you need to update constantly. With Export Your Store, you can easily export and sync your products across multiple platforms. You can also automate product listings using customizable rules, making it effortless to update your products.
Selling on a new marketplace is both exciting and intimidating. The prospect of serving new customers and having another profitable sales channel is a lucrative opportunity that’s too good to pass up. However, there’s the challenge of mastering a new platform and managing a bustling channel on top of other equally demanding ones.
With the detailed guide above and the right tools, you can confidently begin your Walmart selling journey and achieve massive success. Threecolts offers several solutions to help you master Walmart and other marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and more.
Check out our range of products and get started on your success journey today.
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