How To Sell on Walmart Marketplace Successfully in 2022
Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows. She is Fit Small Business’s authority on retail and ecommerce.
Agatha Aviso is a writer of the Reviews Section at Fit Small Business, focusing on order fulfillment and eCommerce platforms. Agatha has a decade’s worth of experience writing online content for small businesses and marketing industries. She also served as a content strategist and digital marketing manager for many entrepreneurs.
This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management.
Walmart Marketplace gets 410 million unique monthly visitors, so if you want to expand your product reach, selling on Walmart is the way to go. Offering no monthly subscription or setup fees, Walmart only charges referral fees on sold items and lets you have full control over your business—including inventory, pricing, fulfillment, and customer care.
Learn how to sell on Walmart by following our guide below. We walk you through each step, from application to launch.
Step 1: Submit an Application To Sell on Walmart
The first thing to do is head over to the Walmart Marketplace and fill out the application form. During this process, you’ll have to input a fair amount of information (detailed below). Set aside 10–15 minutes to finish the application. Walmart recommends that you use the Google Chrome browser when accessing the application portal.
(Source: Walmart)
You’ll need to provide the following information:
- US Business Tax ID (your Social Security Number won’t work); for international sellers: Foreign Entity Tax ID
- W9 or W8 and EIN Verification letter from the Department of Treasury
- Address or place of physical operations (US-based)
- Planned integration method for your product catalog (bulk upload, API, or a solution provider)
- Primary product categories, catalog size, etc.
(Source: Walmart)
The more info you provide, the faster Walmart will process your application. So, take your time and don’t skimp.
Approval wait time depends on your business size, qualifications, and capabilities. Some sellers wait just two weeks for a response, while others wait for months. To check your application status, visit Walmart’s application status tracker. Provide your email address, tax classification and number, and then click Get Application Status. Walmart will then send a general description of the current stage of your application.
Who Can Sell on Walmart Marketplace?
To qualify to sell on Walmart Marketplace, you need to have an established history selling online via your own website or third-party marketplace, like Amazon or eBay. While Walmart hasn’t explicitly outlined what an established history is exactly, it’s not enough to only sell via brick-and-mortar stores. The longer online sales history you have, the better your chances at qualifying to sell on Walmart.
In addition to total sales metrics, Walmart looks at customer ratings from third-party marketplaces to determine how your business is faring. It favors established online sellers with positive reviews and a comprehensive sales history and product collection.
TIP: Review Walmart’s Prohibited Products Policy thoroughly. If even just one of your items is on the list, your application will get denied immediately.
Step 2: Set Up Your Walmart Seller Account
Once approved, Walmart will send you an email that contains the link to set up your business on its Marketplace. Follow the link in the email to create your Partner Profile. The Signup Wizard will guide you through the steps below:
- Account creation
- Walmart Retailer Agreement
- Company registration
- W9 form
- Payment information
- Shipping information
Most of the steps require you to fill out standard information. When inputting your shipping information, you’ll have to configure shipping rates and fulfillment delivery timeframes (when you’ll process orders).
After following the Signup Wizard, you’re ready to move on to the Partner/Seller Profile. This is a public page where customers will learn more about you. To complete this step, you’ll have to provide the following information:
- Company and About Us information for shoppers to see
- Customer service details, including contact phone number, email, and operating hours
- Shipping options and costs
- Return policy and procedures
- Privacy policy
- Tax information to set up your sales tax requirements
Step 3: Create Your Walmart Product Listings
Now it’s time to list your products. This is arguably the most important step because it will affect whether people can find your products or not. You can do this manually or via product feed. You have three product feed options:
- CSV file bulk upload: Create a CSV file via an Excel or a Google Sheets spreadsheet, following Walmart’s file upload guidelines. It’s great for sellers uploading a small collection of products to the Marketplace.
- API integration: If you know how to manage an API connection, you can connect the Marketplace’s API to your ecommerce platform or order management system for free.
- Integration partner: If you’re already set up on a platform like Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce, an integration partner can link the products in your existing catalog directly to Walmart.
Upload items to your catalog by going to the Items dashboard and selecting the Add Items option. Choose an integration method from the dropdown. (Source: Walmart)
TIP: If you are going to use the CSV file bulk upload, you have two options: Setup by Match or Full Item Spec. In Setup by Match, Walmart will match your items to descriptions and images it already has in its system, while Full Item Spec will require more steps in Excel.
Understand Walmart Product Attributes
Because multiple sellers add content for the same product, Walmart uses algorithms to determine which product will display on an item page. Attributes help Walmart recognize your product and present it to potential buyers.
Below are the attributes you’ll need to consider when setting up your Walmart Marketplace feed:
Product Identification Attributes
- Product name
- Product ID Type (the identifier you are using: GTIN, UPC, EAN, ISBN, or ISSN. For example, if you are using UPCs, put “UPC” in this field)
- Product ID (the value for the product identifier you selected above. For example: “234567891012”)
- SKU
- Brand
- Manufacturer, Manufacturer Part Number, and Model Number (are all optional identifiers that you can use)
Description Attributes
- Long description: A space with up to 4,000 characters where you describe your product
- Short description: 1,000 characters to cover key selling points
- Shelf description: A short bulleted list of key features that shows up in several places, including Walmart search and the Buy Box
TIP: Walmart has a list of requirements and copy standards for product descriptions. You can also read our guide on how to write an effective product description.
Image Attributes
- Main Image URL
- Main Image Alt Text: Optional but good for Walmart search and SEO
- Additional Asset Text: Add descriptive terms to describe each image
TIP: When uploading product images, Walmart requires that image URLs are stored in a publicly accessible server. Additionally, it has strict product image guidelines, so make sure all your photos meet its image quality standards. Learn how to take quality product photos at home.
Tax Attribute
- Product Tax Code: Used to identify tax codes for products. This is required on all products, and you can’t publish a listing without it. Use Walmart’s sales tax tutorial to find the correct tax codes for your products
Price Attributes
- Price Currency: Dollars for US sellers
- Price Amount: The product’s selling price
Shipping Attributes
- Shipping Weight-Value: Weight of your product
- Shipping Weight-Unit: Walmart uses pounds (lbs.)
- Is Shipping Allowed: “Y” enables shipping for your products; “N” disables it
- Ship Method: Defines the different ways you ship orders
- Ship Region: Defines the locations you ship to
- Ship Price: Rates you charge for shipping
Variant Group-Related Attributes
Category-specific Attributes
There are a number of universal categories in Walmart’s Categorization Guide. Items in certain categories and subcategories can list additional attributes specific to certain products, such as items that use compliance attributes. For example, if you’re selling organic foods, you can use the “GMO-Free Claim” field for products listed in the Food Category.
Update Product Inventory & Content
Once you have created your product listings, your items will now be viewable in your Product Catalog. From here, you can manage your inventory and modify listings if there’s a need for it.
To view your uploaded Marketplace items, go to the Items dashboard under the Product Catalog heading in the Seller Center navigation panel. (Source: Walmart)
A great example of a product listing on Walmart Marketplace
Step 4: Test Your Orders
After listing your products and following all the steps above, you’ll want to test orders before going live. Testing ensures a smoother experience for customers who add your products to their carts.
If you have a small product collection, you can send the whole product feed as the test. But if it’s a large product catalog, it’s best to send a portion—preferably your top-selling items—as the test.
All the products that were successfully added will be listed in the Stage status, which indicates they aren’t live on the marketplace site. However, you can see what they’ll look like live by clicking Preview Item under Item Details.
Set Up Your Order Management Method
As a Walmart marketplace seller, you’re in charge of order processing, shipping, exchanges, refunds, and customer service.
You can retrieve Marketplace orders via:
- The Seller Central Dashboard: Follow the Order Management Instructions.
- A Bulk Order Download: Use Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheets to download orders. Simply choose the status, select Download in the top right corner of your Seller Central dashboard, and pick from the options that appear.
- An Order Integration Partner
Test Your Order Management Functions
Test a few orders by following this process:
- In the Seller Center Dashboard, choose two to three products to test.
- Update the price and inventory for these items.
- Under Actions, click Publish Item (doing this will make the item go live).
- Click Purchase Item under the Actions.
- You’ll be linked to the live product page to purchase.
You should check out important touchpoints—like order acknowledgment, cancellation, shipping, and refund. If all works smoothly, you’re ready for the final step!
Step 5: Launch Your Account
After you check off Complete Item & Order Testing in your Seller Setup Checklist, a pop-up message will ask you to confirm if you’re ready to launch. When you click Yes, this will trigger a launch request.
The Marketplace team will review your account one more time, and if everything’s good, your items will be Live on the Marketplace within 24 hours.
Benefits of Selling on Walmart
There are many reasons to add Walmart to your multichannel selling strategy.
Costs on Selling on Walmart: Walmart Seller Fees
Walmart doesn’t have setup, subscription, or monthly fees—it will only charge you a referral fee when you make a sale. This fee ranges from 6%–20%, depending on the product category, and already includes credit card fees. It is similar to Amazon’s fees, except that there is no minimum. Payments are automatically deposited into the seller’s preferred US bank account every two weeks.
How To Become a Successful Walmart Seller
After launching your products, it’s crucial to optimize your catalog periodically to increase your chances of success. While Walmart is not as competitive as Amazon, competition still exists, and only sellers who work hard at optimizing their catalog will succeed. Here are some tips to help you be a successful Walmart seller.
1. Optimize for Walmart Search
While you can definitely learn ecommerce SEO to help your products rank higher in Walmart searches, Walmart created an algorithm that gives your product listings a numerical Listing Quality score. Your score can range from 0% to 99% and appears at the item and catalog levels.
Your score considers four factors: offer, content and discoverability, ratings and reviews, and post-purchase quality. You can stay updated on your Listing Quality Score through your Seller Center dashboard, where you can also view tips on how to improve your listings.
2. Earn the Pro Seller Badge
The Pro Seller Badge is a mark of excellence displayed next to the “Sold & shipped by [Seller Name]” on Walmart.com. Those that have this badge offer quality customer service, consistent on-time delivery, and free online and in-store returns.
Criteria for the Pro Seller Badge get refreshed twice a month, and Listing Quality is tied to eligibility.
As of the moment, the criteria include:
- < 10% Delivery Defects Rate
- < 2% Cancellation Rate
- 70% of a seller’s trending catalog must be above 60% (Listing Quality Score)
- >100 orders in the last 90 days
- No Trust & Safety or Performance Standards violations
- Seller is active for at least 90 days
Walmart Marketplace automatically grants and revokes badges according to the changing criteria.
3. Choose the Best Fulfillment Options
You can opt to fulfill orders in-house or use a fulfillment provider. However, many top sellers use Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). This makes it easier to sell on the marketplace since WFS picks, packs, and ships your customers’ orders for you—and these qualify for Two Day delivery and the Free & Easy Returns programs. Moreover, WFS handles warehouse, order fulfillment, shipping, customer support, and returns for these orders.
4. Win the Buy Box
Walmart gives the seller with the most competitive price priority over sellers offering the same product. Getting the Buy Box for your product positions you for more sales. In fact, 82% of sales from same product listings go to the one that has the Buy Box. Learn how to win the Buy Box.
5. Buy Ads
The Marketplace lets sellers advertise specific products and create marketing campaigns. While this costs money, it will help you reach a wider audience faster. And what’s more, you only pay for the ad when a customer clicks on it.
Selling on Walmart Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How much does it cost to sell on Walmart?
Walmart will only charge you a referral fee when you make a sale—it has no monthly fees. This fee ranges from 6%–20%, depending on the product category.
What are the best products to sell on Walmart?
Some of the top-selling product categories on Walmart Marketplace are electronics, vitamins & supplements, and toys. You won’t find success selling low-end imports or high-end luxury items here, as Walmart shoppers want quality products from brands they know—at very competitive prices. So, if your products bring value to buyers at an affordable price point, then you’ll be a great match.
Can I sell on Amazon and Walmart at the same time?
Absolutely! In fact, you have to be an established ecommerce seller to get approved to sell on Walmart, meaning existing Walmart sellers are likely also on Amazon and Shopify.
Bottom Line
The Walmart Marketplace continues its growth—and you can be part of it. If you meet the high standards of entry, you should look to apply. Once your account is approved to start selling, you’ll enjoy increased orders and seller fees that are predictable, with no hidden costs.
