Walmart announced a raft of new tools and features at their Walmart’s Let’s Grow! Marketplace Seller Summit this Wednesday, with announcements covering everything from geographic expansion to fulfilment, brand features and motors. These updates underscore Walmart’s investment in its Marketplace sellers and commitment to helping them drive growth.
It’s worth highlighting, that although Walmart is based in the U.S., they welcome international sellers, including from the UK and Europe. You’ll need a US Tax ID Number (TIN) and have product fulfilled from the US (Walmart Fulfilment can help), a small price to pay to give access to the customer of the largest retailer in the world.
To put the Walmart opportunity in context, Walmart’s retail revenue of $559 billion is twice that of Amazon ($213 billion) and dwarfs the scale of Tesco ($73 billion), the UK’s biggest retailer. Sure Amazon’s revenue is almost 100% online whereas much of Walmart’s is instore, but the reach and customer engagement of Walmart in the US is simply too big to be ignored.
This morning at the summit I shared my belief that the evolution of Walmart Marketplace is among the greatest opportunities in retail. Beyond the sizeable business opportunity, it’s a chance to create the marketplace model of the future. We’re building alongside sellers, listening to their needs to create a platform that’s easy to use and the first choice for customers and sellers alike.
By design, our marketplace is a level playing field, providing customers access to what they want regardless of whether Walmart or a third-party seller owns the inventory. Put simply, we believe in growing together.
– Manish Joneja, SVP, Walmart Marketplace and Walmart Fulfillment Services, Walmart U.S.
New Channels and Countries
Walmart are creating new opportunities to reach more customers through Walmart Business, a channel for B2B sellers; and Walmart Restored, a program to help sellers seize the emerging popularity of refurbished goods.
Adding to the existing markets of Canada, Mexico and the U.S., early next year Walmart is opening up their marketplace in Chile to eligible cross-border sellers.
Brand features and Motors
Walmart continue to roll out Brand Shops, enabling sellers to create dedicated digital storefronts that allow brands to create their own curated pages with ease. With Brand Shelves, retailers can build shelves to feature curated assortments, or try a seasonal collection. Both can boost discoverability and enhance customer experience.
Walmart are also strengthening their motors offering. Their new Virtual Garage online and in the Walmart app allows customers to store details about multiple vehicles. This connects with scheduling service appointments at our thousands of Auto Care Centers. As customers use these features, they can easily shop the full range of auto items on Walmart.
Delivery & Fulfilment
Walmart Marketplace is bringing their expertise and logistics capability to sellers by enabling local pickup and delivery for sellers who have physical stores. Customers can pick up their items directly or have same-day delivery through the Walmart last mile delivery network. This will lower sellers’ fulfillment costs, create new ways to convert sales and delight customers along the way.
Walmart is also providing more fulfillment options to make it more convenient for sellers who list big and bulky items – they cite examples such as as canoes or trampolines – by offering access to Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), a low-cost end-to-end fulfillment solution.
Sellers can now use WFS to ship multi-box items like patio sets. These new services mean more items can carry the Fulfilled by Walmart tag that helps drive conversion. Sellers see on average 50% growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) when shifting items to WFS.
