Marketplace Newsletter

March 2022 | View All

News & Announcements

Join WFS to help drive conversion with fast shipping options and limited-time discounts

In case you missed it, Marketplace sellers have the unique opportunity to save big on fulfillment and storage costs this spring. If you join Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) today, you’ll receive free storage on up to 10,000 units and 10% off fulfillment fees during your first 90 days in the program! * Just send us your inventory by April 30. Plus, now you can estimate all regular storage and fulfillment fees with the WFS Calculator.

Get started below to tap into our best-in-class fulfillment solutions where items fulfilled by WFS see, on average, a 50% increase in GMV on Walmart Marketplace.

 

Get started

 

*Conditions apply. Must be a new seller to Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). A minimum of one item must be received by a Walmart fulfillment center by 4/30/22. The 90-day discount period starts upon receipt of the first item by a Walmart fulfillment center. The storage fee discount is applicable to the first 10,000 units only. Walmart reserves the right to modify, cancel or terminate this offer at any time without notice.

Boost product discoverability with the Search Insights Dashboard

We’re excited to announce all Marketplace sellers now have access to the Search Insights Dashboard–a powerful new tool that can help you increase your chances of ranking higher in search results on Walmart.com. Access your insights below to get a personalized overview of your top searched items and find out what specific keyword recommendations can help boost product discoverability.

 

Access your insights

Give your catalog a competitive edge with the new Repricer tool coming soon!

Interested in maintaining your competitive pricing more effectively? Soon you’ll have access to the Walmart Marketplace Repricer – a new powerful tool that will help you set up successful pricing strategies and stay up-to-date on varying market conditions using our automated technology. Keep an eye on your inbox for your personal invite to attend the upcoming Repricer webinar and live demo, where you’ll learn how to use the Repricer and learn about effective pricing strategies that can help you stay ahead of the competition.

Exclusive offer from DataSpark: Pay only $1 for your first month!

DataSpark helps Walmart Marketplace sellers scale their business using competitive intelligence and product research. Gain access to their unique datasets that include keywords, product sales, pricing history, buy box winners, category best-sellers, and more. Plus, Marketplace sellers can sign-up today and pay only $1 for their first month! Sign-up below and use the code: OneBuck to claim your exclusive offer.

 

Claim offer

Remove the guesswork out of cost-per-click bidding with new suggested bids

Launching cost-per-click advertising campaigns just became even easier with Walmart Sponsored Products. Sponsored Products ads help get your products in front of millions of Walmart.com customers while they actively search and browse our site and app. And, our newest feature–Suggested Cost-per-click (CPC) gives advertisers automated bid-price recommendations to help increase impressions.

Cost-per-click pricing means you only pay when a customer clicks on your ad. You can launch your campaign through Walmart’s self-serve platform and access our massive first-party customer data and Closed-loop Measurement to see how your campaign helps boost sales. Get started in the Walmart Ad Center—and turn our searchers into your customers today.

 

Start advertising

Optimize Walmart listings with the eZoptimizer – a data-driven AI-based platform by eZdia

Running a successful business on Walmart.com is an on-going process of analysis, optimization, tracking, and re-optimization. In our recent guest blog, eZdia explains how their easy to use, cost-effective tool–the eZoptimizer, can help you stay on track and help you make more impactful listing improvements. Read through the full blog below to learn how to use the tool and find out how you can help customers find your products faster so they can shop more confidently.

 

Read blog

Payments & Tax

Complying with IRS mandates

IRS mandates require Walmart to ensure that your tax profile on file is accurate. To comply with this mandate, we are verifying the seller tax IDs and legal names we have on file with the IRS, and we may contact you if your information cannot be successfully verified.

How do I verify my tax profile is correct?

  1. Login to Seller Center
  2. Select “Tax Profile” under “Settings” on the top menu bar
  3. Verify that your:
    • Legal name is in the Name field
    • Tax ID (TIN)
    • Tax classification (W-9, W8-ECI, W-8BEN) are correct.
  4. If the information shown is correct, please open a Partner Support case for further assistance
  5. If you made changes to your tax profile, you will be notified after the information has been verified

What happens if I don’t correct my information?

If after 14 days, you have not updated your information or opened a Partner Support case, your account will be suspended until we can verify your tax information with the IRS. Further actions may include, but are not limited to:

  1. Collecting backup withholding on gross payments at the rate of 24%, as directed by the IRS
  2. An IRS-imposed $280 penalty for incorrect information if updates are not made before your 1099-K form is filed for the calendar year (penalty assessed each year information remains incorrect)
  3. Additional solicitations from Walmart to obtain correct information
  4. Note that it may take up to 30 days after you obtain a tax ID from the IRS or make changes affecting your tax profile with the IRS for the change to be electronically verifiable with the IRS.

Please refer to the IRS for more detailed information.

1099-K reporting

On January 31, Walmart Marketplace sellers should’ve received a 1099-K form from their payment processor which summarizes their sales made in 2021. Please review this information and open a case for Partner Support by March 15 if you need to make any corrections related to:

  • Changes of ownership during 2021; Split 1099-K forms will be issued
  • Tax profile changes made late in 2021 not reflected on your form
  • Any other discrepancies

Reminder:

  • Tax profile changes made in 2022 cannot be accepted to amend a 2021 1099-K form
  • 1099-K forms reflect shipped sales during 2021, not payments made to you

2021 tax year reporting thresholds:

Rule Type Applicability Min Order Count Min Gross Value ($)
IRS All states 201 $20,000
State override IL 4 $1,000
State override MA n/a $600
State override MD n/a $600
State override MO n/a $1,200
State override MS n/a $600
State override NJ n/a $1,000
State override VA n/a $600
State override VT n/a $600

 

Eligibility and Important Notes:

  1. Only sellers with a W-9 tax classification are eligible to receive a 1099-K form
  2. Reporting thresholds are applied to orders shipped between January 1 and December 31, 2021
  3. State given reporting thresholds take precedence of IRS thresholds
  4. Refunds are not considered: if you shipped 201 orders and 10 were refunded, you will receive a 1099-K
  5. Canceled sales, even if shipped are not counted towards thresholds eligibility
  6. If you do not meet filing criteria, you will not be issued a 1099-K and will instead need to self-report
  7. Follow IRS guidelines
  8. Maintaining the accuracy of tax information used for reporting is your responsibility
  9. Amended reports will not be issued if your tax information is incorrect by the close of 2021
  10. 1099-K sales reports will be issued to you via your Payment processor (Payoneer or Hyperwallet) to your primary contact email
  11. Failure to maintain accurate tax information as part of your 1099-K filing may result in IRS penalties of up to $280 (IRS Pub. 1586)

Important dates:

Limit Date Activity
Jan 5-14, 2022 1099-K sales reports will be generated based on the information on file at the close of 2021
Jan 31, 2022 Your payment processor will contact you via email with instructions on how to retrieve your 1099-K
Feb 1 – Mar 15, 2022 You may file for corrections if there was a change of ownership or split 1099-K forms are required
Mar 31, 2022 1099-Ks will be filed with the IRS and Department of Revenue of the state corresponding to your legal address

Product Fees

As of January 1, the State of California now requires Walmart.com to collect and remit other taxes and fees for products such as tires, lead-acid batteries, and electronic waste–plus any applicable product taxes and fees.

 To help you track these fees, we’ve added a new FeeWithheldFlag column in the Payment Report so you can easily identify if a fee was included in the net payable amount of a sale. Please note, other states are expected to follow the same requirements in the coming months.

FeeWithheldFlag Column Legend: 

  • Blank: sale was not subject to a fee.
  • Y: sale was subject to a fee, and we withheld the fee from your payment.
  • N: sale was subject to a fee, and we included the fee in the amount paid to you.

Policies & Guidelines

Prohibited Products Policy reminder

We want to remind you of our Prohibited Products Policy, which lists the types of products that are prohibited and/or restricted from the Walmart Marketplace. The policy is subject to change so please periodically review the page.

Walmart will remove any product listings that per our discretion may be in violation of Law, the Prohibited Products Policy, or any other Walmart policy. Please consult with your legal counsel if you have questions about the laws and regulations concerning your products. Note that corrective action may be taken on your account as needed due to violations of our policies, this may include suspension and/or termination of your account.

 

If you have questions about our Prohibited Products Policy or would like additional guidance, please create a case for Partner Support and reference code TNS.

Review the Walmart Seller Pricing Policy

We want to remind sellers that the Walmart Marketplace pricing policy is in place to ensure that customers have access to fair, competitive prices for products offered by sellers on Walmart Marketplace.

For all products, including products such as hand sanitizers, cleaning agents, face masks, etc., we require sellers to continue to adhere to Marketplace policies regarding price and advertising claims to ensure customer trust in Walmart Marketplace. Products that are priced in violation of the pricing policy will be removed. Please refer to the Pricing Policy and our Prohibited Products Policy for more information.

If prices change and the item now falls within the acceptable range, the item will automatically republish, typically within 48 hours. If more than 48 hours have passed and you believe your item remains incorrectly unpublished, please create a case with Partner Support.

Product Restrictions - Pre-Approval Categories

Walmart strives to be the most trusted retailer, having a marketplace that is inclusive, robust and compliant is one of our highest priorities. As per our Prohibited Products Policy, please be aware that the following categories require pre-approval from Walmart before a Seller may offer such products on the Marketplace.

  • Fragrance
  • Luxury brands
  • Software
  • Cell Phones and Accessories
  • Halloween and select seasonal products
  • Custom Content

Sellers may apply for approval to offer products in these categories by contacting Partner Support and selecting: Items/Inventory > My item is unpublished. Include a list of the brands or products you wish to sell. Approvals will be granted for specific brands or products within these categories. Please note that approval may be retracted if there are any legal claims related to products or if your products or account are found to be in violation of any of our policies.

If you have questions about category restrictions or our Prohibited Products Policy, please create a case via Seller Center with the code “TNS”.

Security & Privacy

Walmart protects your security and privacy. We will never ask for personal information (such as passwords or credit card numbers) in an email. If you receive such a request, please do not respond to the email.

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