Founded in 1962, Walmart is one of the biggest and oldest private retail companies in the world. But since 2009, the company has been selling through its online platform, competing with e-commerce giants such as eBay and Amazon. This guide will tell you why you should consider selling on Walmart and how to get started with this.
In the US, Walmart is the number one go-to place for people’s daily needs. Over the years, the company has gained a lot of trust and a reputation as a retail service provider. Selling on Walmart doesn’t only establish you as a reliable online vendor but also gives your products a lot of exposure to a wide audience.
In this article, I will explain how to get started on Walmart, and get your seller account and your product listed. In the end, I will give you some tips to create a successful online Walmart business.
Before You Begin…
It’s tough breaking into the e-commerce business and Walmart is no different. Expect tough competition, especially in the beginning. But, smart strategy and proper research can take you a long way and help you build a successful brand on the Walmart marketplace. Here are a few things to keep in mind before you start selling at Walmart:
1. Find A Profitable Product:
If you are beginning your e-commerce journey on Walmart, you must find a unique product to sell that can make you a decent profit until you settle down your business. A good product with competitive pricing will also increase the chances of your seller application getting approved.
It’s relatively easier to get approved for sellers who already own e-commerce. Walmart will analyze your store, product performance, and customer engagement before allowing you to sell on its marketplace.
So a decent product will expedite your application and also will help you get decent exposure over other sellers.
2. Be Smart With The Pricing:
When you are selling on a marketplace like Walmart where thousands of sellers offer similar products, usually it all comes down to the pricing. Remember, Walmart is popular for its low prices, and in order to compete with already well-settled merchants, you need to be clever with your product prices.
Of course, you wouldn’t want to sell a product without any profit so it’s a good idea to do some product research on Walmart along with Amazon and eBay and find the top-trending products. Analyze their pricing and sales history and choose the one that fits your target the most.
3. Focus On Product And Service Quality:
As I mentioned earlier, Walmart is a reputed company that primarily focuses on customer satisfaction more than anything. Choose top-quality products before applying for a seller’s license at Walmart.
Even for your personal success as a seller, it’s good to maintain the quality of service to increase repeat purchases by the same customers. It will help you grow steadily and establish yourself among the top sellers in the marketplace.
How to Sell on Walmart? The Beginners’ Guide
Once you have the product that fits your personal preference as well as Walmart guidelines, you can head over to the Walmart seller central page and start the proceedings. Here are the steps you need to take:
1. Register On Walmart:
Before you apply for the permit, you must register yourself on the platform. Go to the seller, central page and complete the registration by providing your name, business email ID, address, and contact number.
Next, you need to provide your e-commerce business history, product information, and other operational information so that Walmart can determine whether or not you are a professional seller who can meet the customers’ requirements and follow Walmart’s business ethics.
It’s recommended to use Google Chrome to fill out the application. Go through the form and provide every information accurately. The more information you provide, the higher the chances you will get shortlisted.
Once you submit your application, wait for the approval. Walmart will notify you through email once your seller account has been cleared. It may take as little as 2 weeks to get the result. Depending on your business size, product categories, and information you’ve provided, it might take 2-3 months as well. Be patient.
2. Set Up Your Seller Account:
Once your application is approved, you need to add information to your seller account. The whole process will not take more than 30 minutes if you already have a good understanding of your product and business. You need to provide the information such as:
- Contact details
- Payment and bank account details
- Preferred integration mode for your product listing
- Verification letter from the department of treasury
- Tax-related information
- Company details and About Us information
You also need to provide customer service information in case buyers need to connect to you. Try to have more than one contact mode such as call, private chat, email, and so on. If you are opting for Walmart 2-day shipping, don’t forget to mention that. If not, provide the details regarding your product origins, shipping methods, cost, and estimated duration.
Make sure to inform the customers about your return policy. It’s an integral part of any online business. Of course, you can choose not to offer any return, but in this competitive business environment, you must offer lenient return policies to increase your chances.
3. Create Product Listings:
Now it’s time to create product listings. You can manually if you don’t have a lot of products to sell. To upload in bulk, you can use CSV file upload. Here are the 3 methods you can use to create product listings:
1. API Integration
It’s the best and quickest method to import product listings from an existing marketplace or e-commerce platform. Through API connection, you can bring the entire product listings from the order management system or an e-commerce platform.
2. CSV Upload
You can use Google Spreadsheets or Excel to create CSV files and import them to your Walmart easily. It’s a good way to create listings if you have 30-50 products to sell.
3. Third-party Integration
If you have created your online store on e-commerce platforms such as WooCommerce, Shopify, or BigCommerce, you can use integration methods to bring your product listings from your store to Walmart. Simply go to your website’s dashboard and look for the third-party integration option and add Walmart.
4. Test Order Management & Fulfillment
Before your site goes live and your listings become accessible to customers, it’s a good idea to cross-check your details and test your fulfillment system. It will prevent any mishaps when actual customers will try to purchase your products.
Also, check the listing previews to find out how your product page will look to a customer, and make the necessary changes to it if needed.
Also, it’s necessary to regularly optimize your listings depending on product demand, competitive pricing, and so on. Keep doing market research to find out how your product fares among the others.
4. Market Your Store and Start Selling
Online business is not easy. You need to work hard to gain ranking and customers’ trust. If you have opted for Walmart 2-day delivery, your product is automatically going to appear on the top of others, but there are thousands of sellers doing the same. To beat them, you need a good marketing strategy.
Use social media channels to create posts about your store and products. You can use affiliate marketers or social media influencers to spread the word about your products. The other methods are Youtube short videos, blog posts, Instagram reels, etc.
Related Read:
Final Word: Is Walmart Worth it In 2023?
Walmart is the next big thing in the US online market after Amazon. But Walmart is more popular for daily needs while Amazon, as you know, sells practically everything you can think of.
The company even started 2-day delivery to compete with Amazon Prime and charge a lot less to sellers for using this service. Even at the seller fee, all you have to pay is a fixed commission depending on the product category. So if you think you have a product that suits the Walmart marketplace, it’s worth giving a shot at.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Walmart doesn’t charge any monthly fees or set-up fees, but sellers have to pay a certain percentage of the sale to Walmart which depends on the price and category of the products.
Products you can’t sell at Walmart are illegal items, currencies, autographs, alcohol, used cosmetic items, and gold.
Of course, you can sell on Walmart and amazon together, but getting approval to sell on Walmart is a little bit difficult in comparison to Amazon.