Walmart Partners with Shopify to Bring More Sellers to Its Marketplace
Walmart has teamed up with Shopify to better compete with Amazon. Is expanding your Amazon business to Walmart right for you?By Dawn JenksJune 17, 2020
Stay on top of the latest e-commerce and marketplace trends.
Walmart announced this week that its online shopping platform is partnering with Shopify, opening up its marketplace to 1,200 Shopify sellers.
This is a smart move, considering that many merchants are looking to become less dependent on Amazon and are seeking to diversify their sales channels. The integration presents a viable opportunity for brands and sellers to branch out beyond Amazon.
Launched 10 years ago, Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform for more than 1 million businesses. It is a subscription-based software service that allows merchants to create a website and use Shopify’s shopping cart solution to sell, ship, and manage their products.
As for which types of sellers are eligible to take advantage of this integration, according to Walmart, the company is “focused on U.S.-based small and medium businesses whose assortment complements ours and have a track record of exceeding customers’ expectations,” said Jeff Clementz, Vice President, Walmart Marketplace. “This integration will allow approved Shopify sellers to seamlessly list their items on Walmart.com, which gives Walmart customers access to a broader assortment.”
What Does This Move Mean for Walmart?
Unlike Amazon, where it has been relatively simple to create a seller account and start listing products for sale, Walmart has a reputation for having more stringent entry standards. New sellers have had to go through a lengthier application and vetting process and needed to have their own fulfillment operations in place.
Walmart has also been lagging behind Amazon with offering seller-friendly tools. For instance, Walmart just launched its self-serve ad platform and Walmart Fulfillment Services earlier this year, and the latter had experienced kinks due to many sellers not being approved to use its fulfillment services.
This partnership with Shopify gives Walmart a direct link for pre-qualifying new merchants and their product catalogs. Increasing sellers and products boosts competition, which leads to better pricing that attracts more customers. This has been Amazon’s formula for success, and Walmart is, understandably, following suit. This time, it is doing so by offering sellers a unique value proposition through their Shopify alliance.
Walmart stated in its announcement, “Growing our Marketplace is a strategic priority, and we are going to be smart as we grow. Shopify has a long history of helping small businesses leverage scale, and we’re proud to be part of the solution that is helping customers and other retailers.”
About the Author
Dawn Jenks is a copywriter for Feedvisor, where she develops SEO e-commerce product descriptions and is a contributing blog writer. She was previously a travel public relations executive, and enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and reading.
What Does This Move Mean for Sellers?
As one of the world’s largest online retail channels, Walmart.com has 120 million monthly visitors. This will allow the 1,200 approved businesses to extend their reach and introduce their brand and products to millions of new shoppers.
For those that are accepted, the good news is that Shopify members will not have to pay any fees for selling on Walmart. Shopify merchants can easily sync their Walmart products, inventory, and orders through their Shopify account, as well as make changes to their Walmart product images and details.
The eligibility requirements that Shopify sellers must meet to be considered to sell on Walmart include:
Must be based in the United States and have a U.S. tax ID
Must have UPC or GTIN codes for your products
You sell products that are permitted for sale on Walmart.com
Your business meets Walmart’s service requirements
Even if you are not a current Shopify subscriber, you can sign up now, receive a 14-day free trial, and still be considered to sell on Walmart Marketplace through the Shopify integration.
Merchants can learn more here and download the Walmart app from the Shopify App store to get started.
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