This week, Walmart hosted its second annual Marketplace Seller Summit in San Francisco, CA. We had a booth and a team onsite, so we’re sharing the best news and announcements from the event. Whether you need a refresher or you were unable to attend, we’ve got you covered.
Walmart Marketplace Growth
This is only the second year the marketplace has hosted this event, but presenters spoke highly of the growth seen over the last few years. In fact, Walmart proudly touts that they’re the leading omnichannel retailer, not just in the US but worldwide.
In fact, in the last five years, eCommerce sales have grown 4x.
The Big Announcement: Walmart Multichannel Solutions Program
Walmart announced that it will allow sellers to utilize Walmart Fulfillment Services to fulfill any and all multichannel orders beginning on September 10. This means that sellers already on Walmart now have the opportunity to expand to other marketplaces, create a DTC store, and more, all with the help of Walmart’s already established fulfillment network.
Additionally, utilizing the Multichannel Solutions Program will also help support all the customer service and such for these orders as well.
If you’re thinking this sounds familiar, it is. This will bring them and sellers closer in line with Amazon’s fulfillment services as well.
Beyond the expansion to fulfilling multichannel orders, Walmart announced a few other updates and improvements to their overall logistics:
- Through the Walmart Preferred Carrier Program, sellers can now manage full truckload shipments.
- The Walmart Cross-Border team will help with import services, including processing full container ocean freight.
- Peak season storage fees will be waived for inventory received by September 30, 2024.
- Rates from WFS are consistently about 15% less expensive than comparable alternatives.
Updated Walmart Seller Center
We heard from Darren Carithers (Senior Vice President, International Marketplace and Fulfillment Services) about the improvements the team has made to Seller Center, especially as it relates to international expansion.
In the past, sellers were required to essentially set up listings and an account for each marketplace and each product. Now, established sellers can list products on marketplaces in just a few clicks. Sellers can also switch between marketplaces easily, all under one account.
The icing on the cake? Walmart will automatically translate your listings into French and Spanish as it makes sense for relevant marketplaces.
This new feature will be rolled out to all Walmart sellers before the holidays, but attendees will be able to have access to these updates within the next couple of weeks!
Ease of Promotions
Running promotions, especially around sales holidays and peak seasons, was an arduous process for sellers. Improvements made to Walmart Seller Center include making it even easier to create and manage promotions.
Sellers will be able to easily select and enroll products into promotion periods for things like Black Friday/Cyber Monday, the October sales event (more details coming soon), and more! Check out the Deals section of your Seller Center.
Plus, attendees of the Seller Summit will be able to easily enroll in exclusive Black Friday promotions! Interested and eligible sellers will need to enroll in this campaign promotion between September 3 and September 9.
Other Notable Announcements
Walmart did make quite a few announcements that it would take forever to get through them all. We’ve broken down some of the still exciting, but less business critical items here.
- Walmart Local Finds bringing small, local businesses even more accessible to shoppers and their communities.
- Walmart Connect launching Sponsored Search ads to Walmart Mexico.
- Coming in 2025, sellers will have the opportunity to run campaigns and directly connect with Walmart Creators (influencers).
- Walmart Realm has brought 3D shoppable spaces to the app and online, driven by Walmart Creators.
This is not all that was shared at Walmart Seller Summit 2024. Notable experts from Walmart (and Jay Leno as well?) had the stage for two days, sharing actionable insights and tips for growing your business and improving the overall experience for shoppers.
Scale Profitably on Walmart and Beyond
Growing your business takes a lot of work, and having a partner in your corner can make all the difference. Book a demo with Trellis to learn more about our software and how it can help you scale profitably on Walmart and beyond.