4 Tips to Improve Your Seller Performance on Walmart Marketplace

1. Lower Delivery Defect Rate

The seller standard for on-time delivery (OTD) is less than 95% within a 14-day period. The percentage is calculated based on orders delivered on or before the expected delivery date provided to customers.

Sellers can lower or maintain a low delivery defect rate by choosing an appropriate carrier method for their product type and destination to ensure the package is delivered to the customer by the date indicated on the order. Best practices include meeting with a local carrier representative on a regular basis, implementing multiple shipping methods to fulfill necessary coverage, and maximizing space in carrier trailers.

2. Lower Cancellation Defect Rate

The standard cancellation rate for sellers is less than 2% within a 14-day period. The percentage is determined by the amount of orders a seller cancels after a customer places an order on Walmart’s marketplace.

Walmart can cancel an order automatically if you fail to provide valid tracking by the eighth day after the estimated ship date, if a seller does not have inventory for the product ordered, or due to a pricing error. Sellers can lower or maintain a low cancellation defect rate by maintaining available inventory for products listed, providing tracking information as soon as possible, and making sure products are priced correctly.

3. Provide Free Online or In-Store Returns

Walmart encourages sellers to provide free online and in-store returns for all of the products in their catalog. However, the retailer also recommends making a return exemption, if necessary.

Sellers can offer free online and in-store returns by updating their returns settings in Seller Center. Sellers can also use Bulk Return Rules to create return exemptions. Bulk Return Rules is a service with customizable return settings for individual products in a seller’s catalog. Product-level exemptions will override the rules set at a category level in the returns settings. Sellers who are concerned that their product category may not qualify for free returns can create a case for Partner Support.

4. Increase Listing Quality Score

A listing quality score should be greater or equal to 50% to meet high-performing standards. If 60% of a seller’s trending products have a minimum of a 50% listing quality score, the seller may be eligible for a Pro Seller badge.

A listing score is measured by a seller’s content, product discoverability, offer score, ratings, and reviews. The Listing Quality Dashboard provides a holistic view of the performance of a seller’s products and offers insight into variables that impact a seller’s listing quality score.

Sellers can improve their listing quality score by providing descriptive product listings, utilizing high resolution pictures and rich media, pricing products competitively, offering Walmart’s free TwoDay delivery service, and more.