Marketplace Newsletter

May 2021 | View All

News & Announcements

Listing Quality Dashboard Improvements

The Listing Quality Dashboard is one of the most effective tools sellers can use to maximize their catalogā€™s potential on Walmart Marketplaceā€“donā€™t just take our word for it, see what other sellers have to say.Ā Now, you can make even more impactful decisions about your listings with some exciting new features releasing this month:

  • Filter by priority to view which items have the biggest potential GMV lift
  • Quickly correct price mismatches or incorrectly assigned product types
  • API users will have access to actionable insights via the Reports API

Stay tuned for more features coming later this summer!

Shipping Templates Deadline Extended

The deadline to migrate your shipping settings to Walmart Shipping Templates has been extended! Now you have more time to optimize your configuration to drive better conversion with fast shipping options. Use the resources below to explore the many ways Walmart Shipping Templates can help exceed your fulfillment needs.

Support Your Growing Business with SellersFunding

Our new solution provider, SellersFunding, offers improved ways to help you secure eCommerce working capital without putting up collateral. In their latest blog, learn how your business can stand on its own two feet and thrive without extreme demands.

Read the blog

Summer Fashion Trend Forecast: Get Ready for Summer and Back to School

The fashion industry moves quickly, so itā€™s never too early to start planning your assortment for the seasons ahead. In our latest Sell Better Blog, we focus on bestselling trends for summer and fall and provide details on how you can carry these brands and styles in your assortment.

Read the blog

Seller Center User Experience Refresh

Weā€™ve made some visual enhancements in Seller Center to improve the user experience. Login now to browse the new look and feel of Seller Center’s top and left-hand navigation menus or tour the new enhancements on the Partner Profile pages.

Login now

When logging in, you may notice we updated the Seller Center webpage address and login screen. Please note, your credentials have not changed. Having trouble logging in? Contact Partner Support.

Single Item Setup and Maintenance Updates

The Single Item Setup & Maintenance user experience has been upgraded to help sellers save time and effort when managing items. Sellers can expect the following enhancements:

  • SKUs will pre-populate when editing items or entering GTIN
  • Auto-complete capabilities for multi-select attributes
  • Conditionally required fields only appear after a pre-requisite value is confirmed
  • Decimal values for eligible fields are no longer rounded as integers by default
  • Error messages will now appear directly next to the field if it is mapped to a specific attribute

Product Tax Codes Removed from Item Setup Spec

Previously, auto-assigned Product Tax Codes could not be modified after setting up a new item. Sellers can now override an auto-assigned Product Tax Code using the Item Maintenance or Single Item Spec. As a reminder, only one Product Tax Code can be assigned at a time.

New Customer Return Reasons for Electronics

New return reasons have been added for items in the Electronics Department to provide a better return experience for customers and give sellers more insight into return reasons. See below for the newly added return reasons.

 

Reason Type Reason Description Fault Type
Changed Mind Difficult to setup/not compatible Customer Fault
Damaged Damaged or broken screen Seller Fault
Damaged Packaging or item box is damaged Seller Fault
Defective Poor picture or sound quality Seller Fault
Defective Device or part(s) do not work Seller Fault

Ā 

Departments & Categories Reclassification

You may have noticed we reclassified some Departments and Categories in Seller Center and the GET Item Report API. If your items have been redefined, there is no action needed. These updates do not affect payments or operations and the Listing Quality Dashboard will automatically recalibrate for items affected.

Return Dispute Policy Update

Due to COVID-19, we extended the window to dispute returns for sellers who faced fulfillment challenges. Starting April 17, we reverted back the filing deadline to 45 days from the payment settlement date. As a reminder, sellers can file disputes directly from the Payments Dashboard in Seller Center.

View policy

Payments & Tax

Payment Fees

As a reminder, in accordance with our Seller Promise, our default payment method is “direct deposit” to your bank account with no fees to you, ensuring that you receive 100% of your funds.

Requirements for no fee payments:

  1. Enrollment with your payment processor must be initiated from your Seller Center account.
  2. Payment must be delivered to a U.S. or Canadian bank account that supports direct deposit (ACH).

If you are paying fees today and wish to change to “no fees payment delivery”, please contact your payment service provider (Payoneer or Hyperwallet). You will need to have your business bank account details available when you contact them.

IRS Mandates

IRS mandates require Walmart to ensure that your tax profile on file with us is accurate and a W-9 or W-8 form is on file with your payment processor.

Please note, that in order to comply with this mandate, we will be verifying seller tax IDs and legal names on file with us with the IRS and we may contact you if your information cannot be verified.

How do I verify my tax profile is correct?

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

We are also working with Payoneer and Hyperwallet to ensure that every seller receiving payments has a W-9 or W8ECI/W-8BEN-E form on file with them. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in payment delays.

What happens if I don’t correct my information?

If after 30 days, you have not updated your information or opened a Partner Support case, your payments may 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 $270 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

Please refer to the IRS for more detailed information.

Content Categorization

Last year, we made improvements to the content categorization process we use to determine commission rates. All content is now categorized automatically to increase accuracy, reduces errors, and produce more consistent rates.

As a reminder, the category provided during content ingestion is only used to display the most appropriate set of attributes to describe your content; it is not used to set referral fee rates.

How does our automated categorization work?
Our categorization scheme prioritizes “what an item is” over “how the item is used”, unless the item is specialized enough that it can only be used a designated category, precluding its use in other settings, the general category will be used.

  • Example 1: Leather care products can be used on leather car seats, leather jackets, leather accessories and leather furnishings. Therefore, leather care products are associated with Home & Garden at 15%.
  • Example 2: An automotive wrench will be categorized under Automotive & Powersports at 12% rather than Tools & Home Improvement at 15%, because its use is restricted to automobiles.

Please keep these guidelines in mind before contacting Partner Support.

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 has 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.

This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site. Switch to a production site key to remove this banner.