Walmart is a US-based retail chain. With the development of technology, Walmart, which has also started to operate in the e-commerce field, allows all businesses that meet certain requirements to sell.
However, there are steps that businesses wishing to sell must follow. So, let's take a closer look at the details you need to know to sell on Walmart!
What is Walmart?
Walmart is an international retail chain founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Arkansas. Initially operating only in the US, it has expanded to many countries around the world over time.
Walmart is known for its stores in many different formats, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, and gas stations.
Having a wide range of products from electronics to clothing, food products to pharmaceutical products, Walmart also continues its e-commerce activities. Over the years, the company's various policies and practices on issues such as sustainability, community service, and employee rights have been subject to both appreciation and criticism.
However, Walmart continues to maintain its position as one of the largest players in the global retail sector.
Why Should You Sell on Walmart?
You should sell on Walmart because of its large customer base, credibility, and continuous expansion in the digital sphere. Why you should sell on Walmart can generally be explained by the following points:
• Walmart is a giant retail chain visited by millions of people worldwide.
• By selling on Walmart, you can reach a wide customer base with your products.
• Selling on the platform of a major brand like Walmart gives consumers confidence.
• By selling on Walmart's online platform, you can reach a wide audience in the digital sphere as well as physical stores.
• Thanks to Walmart's advanced supply chain and logistics services, you can deliver your products to consumers faster and more effectively.
• Walmart offers various marketing and promotional opportunities for its sellers.
• Walmart provides sellers with valuable insights into consumers' shopping habits.
• Since Walmart operates in many countries, it offers the opportunity to sell your products in a global market.
What is Required to Sell on Walmart?
To sell on Walmart, you must have a seller account. The steps you need to follow when creating a seller account to list your products on Walmart and access this massive customer base are as follows:
• Check the eligibility criteria
• Create an account
• Complete the three-step setup process
1. Check the eligibility criteria
Sellers planning to sell on the Walmart marketplace must meet the eligibility criteria set by the platform. The minimum eligibility criteria are:
• Business Tax ID or Business License Number (SSN Not Accepted)
• Documents verifying your business name and address
• Marketplace or e-commerce history
• GTIN/UPC GS1 barcode-compliant product catalog
• End-to-end fulfillment
Primarily, the seller is expected to have a legal business structure. Instead of individual sellers, businesses with a formal and legal structure are encouraged to be active on the platform. In addition, you must have a valid tax identification number or EIN (Employer Identification Number).
Walmart supports the sale of products under certain standards to guarantee the quality and reliability of the sellers' products. In this context, it is important that the products sold have their respective certifications or documents.
Meeting the eligibility criteria is critical to protecting customer trust on Walmart's platform and guaranteeing the quality of sellers. It is important to carefully review the criteria and meet the necessary conditions before applying.
2. Create an Account
Businesses that want to take part as sellers on Walmart can create an account after checking the eligibility criteria. The information requested when creating an account is as follows:
• Your first and last name
• Legal business name
• Business email
• Phone number belonging to the business (Mobile)
• A password of your choice
After filling out the form, adding documents is usually requested. These include the business's tax document, product certificates, or other business licenses.
3. Complete the three-step setup process
After creating your Walmart seller account, you are expected to complete your three-step setup process. The setup process includes business verification, payment settings, and shipping methods.
Business verification
After logging into the account you created, you can complete the business verification by uploading the relevant documents through the system. The documents to be uploaded at this stage differ according to the country where the business is located.
There are 3 different tax classification types accepted by Walmart. The accepted tax classifications can be explained as follows:
• W-9: This is the tax classification you should use if your company was incorporated in the US and you have a US tax number.
• W-8ECI: If your company has a US tax number but its country of incorporation is not the US, you are in this tax class.
• W-8BEN-E: If your company's place of incorporation is not the US and you do not have a valid tax number in the US, you can benefit from the W-8BEN-E tax class.
In the W-8BEN-E tax classification, Turkey is one of the countries accepted by Walmart. In other words, you do not need to open a company in the US to sell on Walmart.
However, there are some documents that your business in Turkey must have, and you must submit these documents to Walmart. The documents requested by Walmart from sellers in Turkey are as follows:
• Trade Registry Certificate or Certificate of Activity
• Tax Plate
• Utility bill belonging to the business (Electricity, water, etc.) or bank statement
At this stage, you must enter your information on the system exactly as it appears in the official documents. In addition, verifying the accuracy of the information and documents helps you prevent future problems. Business verification usually takes a few minutes to two business days.
Payment settings
Once your business is verified, you must register with one of the third-party payment processors accepted by Walmart. The payment processors supported by Walmart are as follows:
• Payoneer
• Hyperwallet (For US sellers only)
• PingPong
When you start operating on the Walmart marketplace as a new seller, you will encounter a payment hold period to build your sales history and trust. This waiting period varies depending on the location and country of the seller.
For sellers operating in the US:
• A payment hold period of up to 14 days is applied for each fulfilled order.
• This hold period continues for 90 days after the shipment of your first order and until a total of $7,500 USD in gross merchandise volume (GMV) is achieved.
For international sellers:
• There is a maximum payment hold period of 21 days for each shipped order.
• This waiting period applies for 90 days from the shipping of your first order and until a total of $7,500 USD in merchandise sales (GMV) is completed.
This policy is implemented to encourage sellers to build a trustworthy sales history on the platform and to increase buyer loyalty.
Shipping methods
After determining how you will receive payments from Walmart, you need to configure the settings related to the shipping process of your products. Seller Center is a central control point for all your logistics management, from product delivery to the return process.
You can easily configure your shipping settings via Walmart Shipping Templates, Marketplace API, or other solution providers of your choice.
For product returns, you must first accept Walmart's Return Shipping Service terms and define the address details of the center you will use for returns in the system.
If you need more detailed information or assistance with shipping settings, you can get help from the Shipping Templates section of the Walmart Seller Center.
If you want information about return processes and policies, you can review the Return Processing or Marketplace Returns Policy pages. After completing all these steps, you officially become a Walmart seller.
How to Sell on Walmart?
You can sell after creating your seller account on Walmart and completing the relevant steps. The steps you should follow at this point are as follows:
• Product listing
• Pricing strategy
• Shipping and logistics
• Returns and customer service
• Product ratings and feedback
• Promotion and advertising
• Continuous analysis and optimization
1. Product listing
Listing products on Walmart is the key step to presenting your products to potential buyers. When listing products, the product description must be written in a clear, accurate, and informative way that ensures the customer has all the necessary information about the product.
In addition, adding high-quality product images helps buyers get a clear idea of the actual appearance of your product. A successful listing ensures that the product gets noticed on the platform and makes more sales.
2. Pricing strategy
Pricing strategy is of critical importance for every seller. Correct pricing increases sales, while a wrong strategy can lower sales and damage brand perception.
When selling on Walmart, researching the prices of similar products available in the market should be your starting point. Setting a competitive price increases the likelihood of a buyer choosing your product.
However, when pricing, you should also consider your product cost, logistics, taxes, and other expenses to determine a price that will preserve your profit margin.
3. Shipping and logistics
Managing your shipping and logistics processes effectively when selling on Walmart increases customer satisfaction and reduces potential returns. Therefore, it is important to work with a reliable shipping company.
Fast and secure delivery increases customer loyalty. Offering consumers various shipping options provides flexibility and increases the likelihood of purchase. Ensuring transparency at all stages of your logistics process is the most crucial point.
Providing customers with tracking information allows them to track orders and manage their delivery expectations. Inventory management is also an integral part of shipping and logistics.
Providing real-time inventory information prevents the sale of out-of-stock products. In addition, you can improve your demand forecasts to lower your costs and adjust your inventory levels accordingly.
4. Returns and customer service
To maintain customer satisfaction at the highest level when selling on Walmart, an effective returns and customer service process is vital. A clear and fair return policy gains the customer's trust.
Providing customers with clear information about the return process and making returns easy contributes to building a loyal customer base.
Customer service is not limited to after-sales support. Giving fast and effective responses to customers on issues such as product information, shipping status, or payment issues positively affects your brand image.
5. Product ratings and feedback
One of the keys to succeeding as a seller on Walmart is how you respond to product ratings and customer feedback. Positive ratings provide potential customers with information about the quality of your products and the reliability of your service.
At the same time, negative reviews and criticism help you identify how you can improve your service or products. Responding to customer feedback quickly and constructively increases customer loyalty, reducing the potential impact of negative reviews.
By taking a professional and solution-oriented approach to a negative review, you can show other customers how committed you are to resolving issues.
6. Promotion and advertising
Promotion and advertising strategies play a big role in boosting your sales on Walmart. You can encourage sales by offering attractive deals to customers with special discounts, coupons, and campaigns.
Advertisements are an excellent tool to increase the visibility of your products on the platform. By using advertising services like Walmart Ad Center, you can feature your products in specific categories or search results.
The most important factor to consider in your promotion and advertising strategies is knowing what your target audience wants and what offers can attract them.
In particular, seasonal promotions or discounts on special occasions attract customers' attention. However, it should not be forgotten that offering a quality product and service behind advertising and promotional activities guarantees the success of these strategies.
7. Continuous analysis and optimization
In order to ensure the continuity of your success on Walmart, it is very important to perform continuous analysis and optimization. Walmart provides its sellers with detailed sales reports, customer feedback, and traffic data.
You can optimize your sales by analyzing the data provided to you. You can review the pricing of underperforming products, optimize product descriptions and images, or create more effective advertising campaigns.
You can also analyze the success of your best-selling products to determine how to apply this success to other products.
What Are Walmart Commission Rates?
Walmart commission rates vary by category between 6% and 20%. The commission rates determined by Walmart for some popular product categories are as follows:
• Apparel and accessories: 15%
• Automotive & powersports: 12%
• Automotive electronics: 8% depending on the product type (e.g. dash cams, car speakers, etc.)
• Baby products: 8% for a total purchase price of $10 or less, 15% for a total purchase price greater than $10
• Beauty products: 8% for a total purchase price of $10 or less, 15% for a total purchase price greater than $10
• Books: 15%
• Camera and photo: 8%
• Cell phones: 8%
• Electronic accessories: 15% for total purchase price up to $100, 8% for greater than $100
Walmart has set various commission rates for products in many different categories, from kitchenware to home decor, musical instruments to computers. Sellers should take these rates into account when deciding in which product category they will sell products. Current commission rates can be accessed via Walmart Marketplace.
