Since 2016, Walmart has shaken up the eCommerce scene after welcoming third-party sellers and gaining more popularity.
There are at least 100 million unique visitors per month.
Simply put, Walmart is the next big digital marketing opportunity which provides a powerful platform for eCommerce and it is a lot less complicated than other markets.
However, it is worth stating, the platform advantages some merchants far more than others. Further, like all eCommerce inlets, Walmart has some significant prerequisites you should address before you can begin trading.
To set up shop on the Web’s fastest-growing marketplace, follow the guide to secure your spot and start building your reputation on the website.
Become an Approved Seller
Walmart is not yet open to every merchant. but those who are accepted have a lot to look forward to. Not only Walmart’s marketplace has been growing rapidly, but it also has a large following and attracts millions of consumers. This, in a way, means more exposure for your products and brand. And with limited sellers having access to Walmart, you will have a minimal competition to worry about.
According to Walmart policies, they choose sellers based on reputation, sales projections, and alignment with their values. Walmart’s known for its good selling price, so they only look forward to the merchants who price their products competitively. Other seller qualities include exceptional customer service, a unique product assortment, and fast and reliable fulfillment.
And if you think, you surpass all the requirements and your brand meets all these qualifications, it’s the best time to sign up for it and become an Approved Seller.
Once you’re approved, you’ll be expected to complete the onboarding process within a week or two.
Set Up Your Walmart Account
Now that you’ve become an approved seller, it’s time to set up your Walmart account.
The first step involves completing the Signup Wizard procedures. Walmart will provide you an email with access to the Signup Wizard. Have the below information available before beginning to fill this out.
- Company address
- Bank account information used for payments from Walmart
- Digital copy of your latest W-9 form. If you don’t have this, you can download a blank W-9 form from the Signup Wizard
Within the account, you’ll find a launch checklist. Mark the items off the list once you’ve completed them.
The next step on your Launch Checklist is to complete your Seller Profile, which provides a representation of your company to potential customers shopping on Walmart. This includes the following information:
- Company Information
- Customer services such as your phone number, email, and policy
- Shipping options
- Return Policy
- Privacy Policy
Next up on the Launch Checklist is setting up your taxes. This includes:
- Setting up Tax Nexus requirements
- Providing your sales tax codes for each shipping method
- Creating your tax policy in 4,000 characters or less
And with all these requirements done, your account on Walmart has been successfully created.
Build Your Feed
Now the fun stuff arrives a.k.a. building your feed.
Walmart provides you with 3 integration methods –
- API Integration Method – For a large number of items. Not suitable for you if you and your team are not techies.
- Bulk Upload – Great option for those who have a small number of products that don’t change frequently.
- Integration Partner – Walmart is working with several integration partners and this option seems valid for the merchants who have a little time on their hands and are looking for an automated way to keep their feed updated.
Don’t forget about the product attributes
Walmart provides a detailed list of common item attributes used in a setup. So to stand out from the crowd, make your product attributes distinct and unique.
- Product Identification Attributes – These features will include your product’s name, ID, brand, ID type, and Model Number.
- Description Attributes – Highly important for your products. You can either provide a thorough and deep description of your items or finish off with a brief one (around 1000 characters). You can also provide a bulleted list of attributes of your products.
- Image Attributes – Upload clear, high-resolution pictures of your item from all angles with a white background so it can stand out. Don’t put any watermarks, advertising language, text overlays, coupons, or borders.
- Price and Shipping Attributes – Set the currency, amount, and countries where you can purchase the products without any hassle.
Product Publishing and Order Testing
With attributes all set, it’s time to submit your product feed to Walmart.
It’s suggested by Walmart to initially send only a test batch with 10% of your total SKUs or 1,000 SKUs total. Try to submit certain products first and later you can send the rest of your items.
After uploading the products, you’ll be able to preview what the prices and content look like.
You can fulfill your orders in three different ways –
- Manual through the User Interface. It is useful for people who aren’t selling a lot of products and have the time to fulfill orders through the UI.
- Bulk Upload through Excel will require an itemized list of orders with corresponding shipping details.
- Integration Partner – They offer you services to fulfill your requirements. They automatically module updates to your shopping cart platform and Walmart Seller Account with order status, inventory updates, shipping/tracking information, and cancellations.
Finishing off with the order fulfillment, you need to proceed with order testing. Check whether the items are published and place an order of 2-3 products. Check order cancellation and Order shipping & refund on these items.
Go Live and Start Selling!
With everything done, including your item and order testing, you’re a Walmart seller now.
The Walmart integration team will review your account and make your listings live.
It’s crucial to regularly monitor your account. Use the Manage Item page to see your published items, items with errors, etc.
Advertisement
To reach more of the target audience, learn about the Walmart advertising strategy and sign up for Walmart advertising campaigns.
Both Walmart’s advertising strategy and Walmart advertising campaigns will use several different ways to advertise your products, such as commercials on TV, billboards, social media, etc. They’ll help customers discover and purchase your products, giving them the best quality of service.
Conclusion
Walmart can potentially increase its reach to millions of people out there. But it can only happen if you take that important first step and begin the approval process. If you’re stuck on any step, don’t hesitate to get help from professionals or the Walmart helpdesk team.