Marketplace Newsletter

August 2021 | View All

News & Announcements

Optimize Listing Quality with the Bulk Attribute Editor

We’re excited to introduce the Listing Quality Dashboard’s newest feature, the Bulk Attribute Editor. The editor gives sellers the ability to quickly update an item’s content for up to 30,000 items at a time–so you can improve your Listing Quality score, increase visibility, and drive growth even faster. 

Other key benefits include:

  • Filter by Trending Items, WFS Items (if enrolled), or Attributes with Issues to efficiently review your items
  • Use the Refine by Item filter to search for specific offers based on the spec category and attributes
  • Each spec contains content ranking information indicating content ownership for a specific attribute for additional clarity

Learn more

Pro Seller Badge Requirements are Changing Soon!

Later this month, we’re introducing a refreshed set of criteria that will make the Pro Seller Badge experience even more rewarding for both sellers and customers. The criteria will be updated in the Listing Quality Dashboard starting August 9, but we’ll start measuring against it in October.

During the next badge cycle that will occur on October 5, the new criteria will be applicable and sellers who became eligible for the badge during this grace period, will receive the badge at this time. Please note that current Pro Sellers can retain their badges during this grace period.*

In the meantime, all sellers are encouraged to improve their performance metrics and Listing Quality Scores to retain or gain the badge in October—just in time for the busy holiday sales season.

Learn more

 

*Walmart reserves the right to remove any badges from existing sellers if they violate any policies during this timeframe.

Special Offer: Yotpo Review Syndication

Yotpo is helping Marketplace sellers use product reviews to instantly gain credibility and amplify their brands on Walmart.com by syndicating reviews directly from your website. Plus, to help you ramp up for the holiday season, they’re offering 50% off the annual syndication subscription price and your first 1,000 reviews imported for free!* Reach out to Yotpo through the link below by November 22 to receive this special pricing and learn how you can get started.

Get started with Yotpo

 

*Offer valid for your first 1,000 reviews only, fees will apply for additional reviews.

Sponsored Products Integration with Seller Center

Great news for Sponsored Products advertisers! We are introducing an integration between Seller Center and the Sponsored Products Ad Center platforms. With a simple single sign-on experience, you can easily navigate between two platforms and manage your business in one place.

Plus, on July 21, we deployed new budget minimums for Sponsored Products ad units. You can now advertise at a lower minimum spend threshold: only $50 at the campaign level and $10 at the daily level. Not advertising with Sponsored Products just yet? Get started below.

Start advertising

Migrate Your Shipping Settings to Shipping Templates by August 27

On August 27, Walmart Shipping Templates will replace the previously used Global Shipping Settings, for both Seller Center and API users. Now you have the flexibility to customize your shipping configurations and make it your competitive advantage to grow sales. Use the resources below to learn how to start the migration process and avoid the loss of any current shipping configurations:

  • Watch the Shipping Templates QuickStart Tutorial for a detailed walkthrough on the migration process
  • Explore recommended shipping strategies to get the most out of Shipping Templates in our Sell Better Blog
  • Reference Seller Help for instructions on modifying the Default Shipping Template, creating Custom Shipping Templates, and creating Paid Shipping Templates

Create More Precise Shipping Cut-off Times

Later this month, sellers will be able to customize the Standard Processing Schedule in the Seller Fulfillment Settings within Seller Center. You’ll be able to dictate your availability on weekends and preferred shipping cut-offs times, so you can guarantee on-time delivery and provide a great customer experience.

Your Guide to a Successful Halloween

Learn how to maximize discoverability and ensure you have the most successful Halloween on Walmart.com by following our guide below:

  • Discoverability— Increase visibility by ensuring your Halloween items have “Halloween” attributed as the “Occasion”. Use the Walmart style guide for specific content and attribution recommendations.
  • Promotional pricing— Enable strikethrough pricing and relevant pricing flags (reduced price or clearance) by creating promotion rules. If you use a third-party integrator, consult your integration partner on how to submit promotional pricing.
  • Fast shipping— Delight customers who are looking for last-minute costumes with free and fast shipping and enable 2-day shipping nationwide or geo-based.
  • Trust and Safety/Prohibited items— New sellers offering Halloween items, must be pre-approved by Trust and Safety per Walmart’s Prohibited Products Policy. Existing sellers should also review their Halloween products to ensure items are compliant. Per Walmart policy, any items that may be considered offensive or in poor taste may lead to account restrictions or termination. If you have questions related to specific Halloween item IDs or products, please contact Trust and Safety via Seller Center, and include the code “TNS” with your case.

Item Setup by Match Improvements

We improved the Item Setup by Match functionality and upgraded the specifications to make the uploading experience even faster. Sellers can expect less required fields, more product identifiers like ISBN and EAN, and more.

Please follow the guidelines below when using Item Setup by Match:

  • Make sure to fill in the required attributes
  • Shipping weight should only have up to 2 decimal places
  • Selling Price should only have up to 2 decimal places
  • Product Category is sub-categories that should be filled out from the available closed list values
  • Product ID Type should be filled out from the available closed list values
  • Product ID should be filled out properly. Be mindful when copying and pasting to ensure the format doesn’t change
    • Product ID definitions:
      • UPC: GTIN-12, the 12-digit number including check-digit. If less than 12-digits, such as UPC-E which is 8-digits, add leading zeros up to 12-digits.
      • GTIN: GTIN-14, the 14-digit number including check-digit. If less than 14-digits add leading zeros up to 14-digits.
      • ISBN: International Standard Book Number, the 10 or 13-digit number including check-digit.
      • EAN: GTIN-13, the 13-digit number including check-digit. If less than 13-digits add leading zeros up to 13-digits.

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 “Tax Profile” under “Settings” 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 $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

Please refer to the IRS for more detailed information.

Policies & Guidelines

Arkansas Online Marketplace Consumer Inform Act Reminder

In compliance with the Arkansas Online Marketplace Consumer Inform Act, all Walmart Marketplace sellers are required to provide a valid Business Name, Address, and Customer Service Phone Number in Seller Center. Please make any necessary updates to your seller account as soon as possible (ignore if you have already completed the activity).

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 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.

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