Best Practices

Everything you need to know about applying to Walmart Marketplace

Everything you need to know about applying to Walmart Marketplace

Posted on by dima

So, you want to join Walmart Marketplace but you’re not sure where to start? You’ve come to the right place! If you’re thinking about submitting an application but have a few questions before you begin, this up-to-date guide covers the main things you’ll want to know.

Since its inception over 10 years ago, Walmart Marketplace has grown a lot. While our values remain the same, we’ve introduced many new and improved processes, features, and tools to help our sellers succeed. Read on for an overview of all that and more as you begin your journey with us.

What is Walmart Marketplace?

Walmart Marketplace is a curated community of respected, professional sellers whose high-quality assortments complement the first-party offerings on Walmart.com, and we’re always looking for partners like you.

Being a part of this community is a great way to expand your reach and grow your sales while you navigate an ever-evolving eCommerce landscape. Walmart Marketplace sellers have the chance to tap into an audience of 120 million unique monthly visitors, according to Comscore, and to reach a new market of online shoppers. Getting more eyes on your products can boost conversion and brand awareness.

Walmart Marketplace sellers are also uniquely positioned to tap into Walmart’s omnichannel capabilities. With an established presence both online and in stores, Walmart serves customers like no other retailer can. You’re able to leverage this scale by allowing your customers to manage their returns either online or in person at Walmart stores—otherwise known as Enhanced Returns. This seamless experience provides unlimited flexibility and boosts customer satisfaction, helping you earn repeat shoppers.

How much does it cost to sell on Walmart Marketplace?

Enjoy transparent pricing and competitive commission rates when you join Walmart Marketplace. There are no setup, monthly, or hidden fees for any sellers. Instead, you pay only for what you sell (a reasonable referral fee is deducted from each completed purchase).

Our commission rates vary by category and total sales price, but they range from 6%­ to 15%. We’ve recently introduced changes in select categories, so you may be able to benefit from even lower fees.

The following categories now have NEW, lower fees:

Baby, Beauty, Grocery, Health, and Personal Care

  • 8% referral fee for items with a total sales price of $10 or less
  • 15% referral fee for items with a total sales price greater than $10

Electronics Accessories

  • 15% referral fee for the portion of the total sales price up to $100.00
  • 8% referral fee for the portion of the total sales price greater than $100.00

How can I apply to Walmart Marketplace?

To get started and request to sell, simply navigate to the Walmart Marketplace application page. The application process takes about 10-15 minutes from start to finish if you have all the necessary information at hand.

You will need:

How can I get approved to sell on Walmart Marketplace?

Because of our curated nature, high standards, and requirements, not just any seller can earn a spot on Walmart.com. But there are a few tips that can make the application process easier and help you get approved. First, make sure you have a history of marketplace or eCommerce success. In addition to the aforementioned requirements, this is something we take seriously so that we can continue to provide a great product assortment and shopping experience for our customers.

Next, ensure that none of your products appear on Walmart Marketplace’s Prohibited Products Policy. These include hazardous materials, alcohol, certain types of food, offensive products, and more. Please thoroughly review the list—if you have even just one of these items in your catalog, your Walmart Marketplace application will be denied.

Providing as much information about your business up front will save you time later. If you do have back-and-forth correspondence with Walmart Marketplace to fill any gaps in your application, it’s a good idea to act fast to avoid any delays in the review process.

Waiting on your approval?
Stay updated with our upcoming ‘Check your status’ feature

Once you’ve submitted your application, you’ll experience a short waiting period while we review your credentials. To help with this process, you’ll soon be able to check your status by navigating to the application page. This feature is designed to give you real-time updates and to let you know where you stand—stay tuned for the launch.

Need help with fulfillment?
Walmart Fulfillment Services has you covered!

Get your amazing products delivered with Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS)—a fast, cost-effective fulfillment service you can trust! WFS gives sellers automatic access to expedited delivery, helping you meet your customers’ expectations of orders arriving within two or three days. This is especially beneficial if you are unable to ship quickly on your own through seller-fulfilled options like TwoDay and ThreeDay.

Once you join WFS, you simply send your inventory to a Walmart Fulfillment Center, and we take care of the rest: storing, picking, packing, and shipping orders. Low-cost, two-day shipping for these orders is guaranteed anywhere in the continuous U.S. during non-peak season. Plus, WFS items are included in the Walmart+ subscription program, which provides free shipping and helps you build loyalty with customers.

To top it off, Walmart also handles customer care for WFS orders. Through our Free & Easy Returns program, customers can return items either in store or through home pickup by FedEx or UPS.

Overall, WFS allows you to leverage Walmart’s world-class supply chain capabilities with a trusted, reliable fulfillment process. WFS is designed to help sellers generate more profitable sales of their inventory at scale, while growing their business with Walmart Marketplace.

What does the registration process look like?

Once you get approved to join Walmart Marketplace, you’ll want to get registered and onboarded as quickly as possible so you can start selling. To do that, we recommend having all the following details ready to go.

The basics

Contact name, Corporate address, US business tax ID (SSN not accepted), W9 or W8 and EIN verification letter.

Shipping

Initial shipping information including pricing model, shipping methods, and regions you’re able to ship to.

Integration

Decide on your planned integration method for your product catalog: Bulk Upload, API, or solution provider (more on that below).

Payment

Register with our payment providers (Payoneer or Hyperwallet) to receive payments from Walmart.

Catalog

Information for your listings and related details, such as product category, price, and inventory.

Getting started: how to upload and master your listings

You can’t begin selling on Walmart.com until you’ve, well, added items to the site. Uploading and updating listings quickly is easy to do with our Bulk Upload tool (you can upload items individually, but doing it in bulk is recommended, especially for large assortments).

You’ve got two options for this tool: use Setup by Match or Full Item Spec. Setup by Match is great because we match your items to descriptions and images we already have in our system, so it’s a faster process for you. Using the Full Item Spec requires more steps in Excel, but our streamlined processes are designed to be easy to use and give your items maximum discoverability once they’re live on Walmart.com.

You can add items either in Seller Center or using code directly through the API.

What’s the difference between a Walmart Marketplace seller and supplier?

Just like Walmart Marketplace sellers, suppliers are approved based on reputation, sales, and alignment with Walmart’s values (view more details on becoming a supplier here). However, as a seller, you’re in better control of your pricing, customer service, and fast shipping, ultimately creating a better relationship with your customers. Plus, enjoy faster setup and onboarding!

Need help with eCommerce services? No problem

We partner with some of the best in the business to bring you the most up-to-date options in eCommerce. Walmart sellers have the opportunity to tap into our network of solution providers if they choose not to use the API or Bulk Upload methods. We partner with leading eCommerce companies such as Shopify, ShipStation, and ChannelAdvisor to provide technology and tools to the businesses that need it.

These essential solutions include item setup, inventory, order fulfillment, pricing, and more. You can check with each company for detailed information on their services and pricing models—the providers you choose can be tailored to your specific needs. Take a look at Walmart Marketplace’s list of full-service and specialty providers here.

Become the next success story

We hope you’re feeling equipped with knowledge to kickstart your Walmart Marketplace journey. For more tips and resources, read more in our Sell Better Blog, and get to know us even more through our FAQs.

Customers can’t wait to see what you have in store!

Request to sell
Log in to Seller Center