Walmart’s answer to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is their very own Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). Similar to Amazon FBA, the Walmart Marketplace lets third-party sellers list their items on Walmart.com while they handle inventory, packing, shipping, and customer service. Walmart Marketplace is geared to be one of Amazon’s top competitors this year. Many Amazon sellers are already considering opening a store on the Walmart counterpart within the year.
Much like any ecommerce platform, Walmart.com marketplace wants to sell high-quality products so all of its customers have an enjoyable shopping experience. They want to have the best ecommerce sellers on their platform and approve those that have good performance metrics on other marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. You can utilize a third-party seller app like SellerMobile to help you monitor all aspects of your business.
According to Walmart Seller Center, they are looking for reputable sellers and brands that offer the following:
First-Class Customer Service
Seller performance ratings and product reviews will be a huge factor when it comes to getting approved by Walmart. They will assess your performance on other marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, and Shopify to see if your brand can sell on their platform.
Unique Products
Walmart is looking for brands selling unique products instead of seeing clones of the same product all the time. As a seller, you need to stand out and make sure these products are what Walmart wants to sell.
Competitive Pricing
Like many other marketplaces, Walmart also wants to provide its customers with the best prices. This is why they want to have sellers on their marketplace that provide competitive pricing.
Fast and Reliable Fulfillment
Walmart wants its sellers to provide fast and reliable shipping. Thus providing first-class customer service and meeting customer expectations.
Walmart.com Application Process
If you want to avail yourself of Walmart WFS, you need to go through an application and be an approved seller first.
- Seller Application
In order to apply to become a seller on Walmart.com you need to have the following:
- US Business Tax ID. (SSN not accepted)
- W9 or W8 and EIN Verification Letter from the Department of Treasury that verifies your US business address or place of physical operations
- Primary product categories, catalog size, and related information
- Planned integration method for your product catalog
- List of marketplaces you’re currently selling at or history of ecommerce success
- The catalog cannot include any products from Walmart’s Prohibited Products Policy
- An explanation of why you are a good fit for the Walmart.com Marketplace.
Providing as much information about your business upfront will save you time later. If you do have back-and-forth correspondence with Walmart Marketplace to fill any gaps in your application, it’s a good idea to act fast to avoid any delays in the review process.
- Register Your Business
Once your application is approved, you will receive an email from Walmart inviting you to set up your Marketplace Seller Account. This process includes completing profile registration, onboarding, and signing the Retailer Agreement. Then you can request to launch your store after the final review.
- List & Test
Part of onboarding requires you to list your catalog and test orders before you go live. Once testing is complete, your items will go live, so you may want to set up your top-selling items first. If you have products under multiple categories, it’s best to provide a few products from each category.
It’s important to test the following scenarios: order acknowledgment, order cancellation, order shipping, and order refund. Once everything is working correctly, Walmart will do a final review and then release your account to go live. Your items are published on Walmart.com and can be searched and purchased within 24-48 hours.
Got Rejected?
There are some cases in which you might not be able to hear back from Walmart.com about your application. If you reapply after getting rejected, your application status would be marked as a duplicate in their system which is why you won’t be able to hear from them for weeks or even months.
You can open a ticket via email on sellerhelp.walmart.com by clicking “Support” then click “Password or Other Access Issue” then click “other access issue.”
Indicate your name, business name, and address when you create the ticket. Then explain in detail the situation and provide as much information to support your current application. Let them know your first application got rejected, but you were able to provide all requirements and that you want to make sure your new application gets reviewed. This way, you will have a higher chance of your ticket getting to the proper department for review.
Final Thoughts
If you are currently selling on Amazon or any other ecommerce platform and meet all the criteria above, now is the time to start selling on Walmart.com. Walmart Marketplace is a great platform with a large existing consumer base, so you won’t have to worry about finding customers. There’s so much opportunity waiting for you to expand your business. SellerMobile, an Amazon seller app will soon have an option to monitor your Walmart Marketplace business so keep an eye out for that!
