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How to Advertise on Walmart Marketplace
If a company counted roughly half of the U.S. population as customers, you’d be pretty eager to use that platform to advertise your business, right?
Well, that’s exactly what Walmart Marketplace allows you to do. It gives you the ability to reach a huge market of highly targeted, engaged consumers, so why doesn’t it get as much attention as other platforms such as Amazon?
If you’re not on Walmart Marketplace already, then chances are you should be. Here’s how you can use advertising to get the most out of it.
What Is Walmart Marketplace?
Walmart Marketplace is where third-party sellers can upload, manage, and sell their products on Walmart’s website.
As the largest retailer in the world, it was only a matter of time before Walmart started to flex its muscles in e-commerce, and in recent years, it’s seen tremendous growth thanks in part to Walmart Marketplace. With a large audience and millions of engaged shoppers, Walmart Marketplace could be a necessity for any online retailer in the same way that Amazon is.
Getting your products on Walmart Marketplace is a great step to take, but to maximize your sales, you should consider how you advertise. Marketplace offers lots of useful ways to reach your target customer, and you may find they can provide a very good return on ad spend (ROAS.)
Why You Should Advertise on Walmart Marketplace
Understanding your customers is the only marketing strategy you need. A big part of this is reaching your customers where they hang out. For 150 million Americans a week, that’s at Walmart.
The stats behind Walmart are significant, and just by looking at the numbers, you can get a sense of why it’s important to be on Walmart Marketplace:
- the largest retailer in the United States
- 90 percent of Americans shopped at Walmart in the past year
- 150 million customers visit Walmart in-store or online each week
- 90 percent of Americans live less than 10 miles away from a Walmart store
Walmart isn’t just about its physical stores, though. It’s also got a large e-commerce presence, and many of its shoppers are engaging with it. The buyer journey is truly omnichannel in the modern world, with 35 percent of Walmart shoppers researching products on Walmart.com before they go to a physical store.
Amazon might have a bigger profile in the online world, but this doesn’t mean Walmart Marketplace is some hidden gem where you can achieve easy success. There’s a huge amount of competition on Marketplace, and while growing your profile organically is important, you’ve also got to make the most of the advertising options available to you.
These options may look very similar to other large online marketplaces, but there are some unique features on Walmart Marketplace you can use to your advantage.
Walmart Marketplace Features
In recent years, Walmart Marketplace has been rapidly growing and improving the seller experience. If you’re familiar with Amazon Seller Central, then you will notice a lot of similarities, but some features differ slightly.
On Walmart Marketplace, you can:
- upload your products
- optimize your listings
- choose your pricing
- decide on your fulfillment method
- assess your advertising
Every step in this process is important, so your Marketplace account is a key place you will visit regularly. Small details make a big difference when it comes to selling online, so it’s important you write great product descriptions, choose the right price points (Walmart is quite sensitive about this, so be sure to read all the terms and conditions), and come up with an effective fulfillment plan.
Like with Amazon, you can send your products to a Walmart fulfillment center, but this feature works very differently, with sellers having a lot more control over the shipping process.
To get the most out of these features, you must understand your own business well and create a business plan for how you’re going to maximize your sales on Walmart Marketplace.
Walmart Advertising: Sponsored Products
Advertising isn’t one-size-fits-all. People go through a complicated customer journey when buying your products, so you need to be able to reach them in a variety of different ways.
Walmart advertising is particularly good at this, offering advertisers many different tools to help them reach their target audience.
With six different ad types, it allows you to reach customers at the awareness, consideration, and decision stages of the buyer process, establishing your brand in people’s minds and driving sales.
To set up each type of ad, simply:
- Log in to your Walmart Ad Center account.
- Select “Create New Campaign” from the “Campaigns” tab.
- Choose manual or automatic targeting.
- Set your budget.
- Choose your placement type (if you selected manual targeting).
- Select bid multipliers (this gives you extra control over which ad formats you use).
- Create an ad group and add the products you want to advertise.
- Enter your keywords (for manual campaigns only; if you choose automatic, Walmart will do this for you).
Walmart Advertising Ad Type 1: Search In Grid
When we think of search engines, we think of Google, Bing, and Duck Duck Go. We don’t think of social media platforms or big e-commerce platforms like Walmart Marketplace or Amazon.
That’s exactly what these platforms are, though. They’re search engines that allow people to find and buy products. This means the types of Walmart advertising you use probably look very similar to the PPC ads you run on Google.
Search in grid Walmart ads allow your products to be featured when a customer types a certain query into the search bar. For example, if your keyword is “nuts,” your product will show in the search grid when people type that query.
Like with traditional search engines, it takes time to build your organic presence on Marketplace, so search in grid Walmart advertising gives you the ability to feature at the top of the results more quickly.
To set one of these ads, your products must fulfill several requirements:
- be in stock
- win the buy box
- be in the top 128 organic search results (top 3 pages)
- same category as the search query
- same product type as at least one top 20 organic result
Once you meet all these requirements, then search in grid ads are an ideal way to get your products in front of your target audience.
Walmart Advertising Ad Type 2: Brand Amplifier
Whereas search in grid ads are all about getting a certain product in front of your audience, brand amplifier ads are about showcasing your brand.
You might have a whole range of exciting products that people want to try, and in this case, a brand amplifier may be the right form of Walmart advertising for you. Rather than your product appearing in the search results, a brand amplifier shows a banner with your brand name and a selection of your products above the results.
This is a great way to boost brand recognition and get people to engage with your products.
With an eye-catching logo, a customizable headline, and up to three of your products shown, this can help you grab people’s attention and encourage them to explore your brand further.
Walmart Advertising Ad Type 3: Product Carousel
Sometimes people shop online and know exactly what they want, but in many cases, they want to compare products to find the best one. To help people do this, Walmart places product carousels that show customers different product options on search, category, and product pages.
Some of the results on the product carousel appear organically, but some are paid ads.
This is another opportunity to reach a targeted audience with your products. If someone is already looking at a product page and comparing their options, chances are they’re motivated to buy, and this is an excellent time to bring them to your product pages.
Walmart Advertising Ad Type 4: Buy Box
These different forms of Walmart advertising might seem very similar, but they each have their benefits. Another great option is the Buy Box.
The Buy Box appears on product pages and offers your product as an alternative to the one they’re looking at, which makes it a great place for your product to appear. If the customer has any issues with the product they’re considering, then the next option they’re presented with is to check out your product.
With the Buy Box, customers can quickly compare two products, so it’s a perfect place for your ad to appear. It puts your product in the mind of the buyer and establishes it as a viable alternative.
Getting your product noticed at this late stage in the buyer’s journey is a great tool to have.
Walmart Advertising Display Ads
Walmart advertising isn’t limited to result-based product ads; it also offers options for more content-based advertising through its display ads.
Just as Google allows advertisers to display ads that pop up on websites across the internet, Walmart offers a similar feature. They allow you to reach customers at many different stages of the customer journey, whether they’re on Walmart-owned properties or third-party websites.
Walmart Display Ad Type 1: Onsite Display
Onsite display ads are content-based ads that allow you to advertise across all of Walmart’s platforms, including Walmart.com and Walmart apps.
Display ads are prominent features across the web, and they’re a chance to grab people’s attention and earn their clicks. To do this, you’ve got to be creative with your ads, and it’s no different on Walmart.
One advantage you have with Walmart is that you benefit from the huge amount of data it has on people’s shopping habits. This enables you to choose your ideal Walmart customer to target and make sure you’re getting your ads in front of the right people.
With onsite display, your ads become truly omnichannel, reaching people however they interact with Walmart and allowing you to see your results all in one place.
Walmart Display Ad Type 2: Offsite Display
Just because someone has clicked away from your product page doesn’t mean they won’t purchase in the future.
They may have been doing some initial research and are thinking about coming back to your product later. When someone leaves your product page, you want to make sure your brand remains fresh in their mind.
Offsite display ads can be the perfect way to make sure people don’t forget about your products.
Through retargeting, you can reach targeted Walmart customers across the internet. These display ads can show on social media platforms and third-party websites, making sure your product stays in the mind of your audience, and they’re able to quickly go back and make a purchase.
Retargeting can be an extremely efficient use of your budget if you’re using the right strategies, and Walmart gives you all the tools you need to do this.
Conclusion
To succeed in marketing, you need to make sure you’re advertising on the platforms your customers are using. For 150 million Americans, Walmart is that platform. Of course, to make the most of your audience, you also need the right tools. With a rapidly growing online presence, that’s precisely what Walmart can offer you.
Boosting your organic presence is a crucial part of being on any marketplace, but Walmart advertising also offers you an excellent platform to sell more products. If you can be targeted and creative with your use of Walmart advertising, you could expand your reach and boost sales quickly.
As ever with advertising, it’s about finding the strategies that work best for you, and Walmart gives you more than enough tools to do this. Your customers are spending money at Walmart every week, so when are you going to start taking a piece of the pie?
Have you advertised on Walmart Marketplace? What was your experience?
How to Get Your Products in Walmart Marketplace
As the most successful retailer in the world, it’s only natural for Walmart to have expanded into the e-commerce space. The Walmart Marketplace is among the fastest-growing e-commerce stores out there, so if you’re looking for an Amazon alternative, it’s a serious contender.
But how do you make the most of Walmart Marketplace? Well, let’s take a look, starting with how the platform operates.
What is Walmart Marketplace?
As an e-commerce platform, Walmart Marketplace lets third-party vendors sell their products to the Walmart customer base. Once you register as a seller and upload your listings, your items appear in the search results alongside Walmart’s products and other Marketplace vendors.
You’re probably wondering what Walmart gets out of this, but it’s actually pretty simple. It’s all about moving with the times.
Walmart launched the marketplace back in 2009 to attract online shoppers and grow its customer base. By welcoming third-party vendors, Walmart can deliver a broader, more diverse product range to its customers, so there’s less need for them to shop elsewhere.
Why Should I Sell on Walmart Marketplace?
The most obvious reason why you should join the Marketplace is the potential customer reach. Since millions of people shop on Walmart.com, there’s already a huge customer base for you to draw from. If you haven’t quite figured out your target customers yet, Walmart handles this for you.
However, that’s not the only plus for vendors. Here are some other key advantages to becoming a Walmart Marketplace Seller:
- Walmart consistently generates a high volume of sales.
- There’s a major push towards attracting millennials with improved delivery options, increased brand diversity, and better customer service. If you target millennials, this is the platform for you.
- There’s so much autonomy. You set your prices and fulfill orders, and you build your own brand.
- If you’re a Shopify vendor, it’s easy to integrate your listings with the Walmart Marketplace platform.
Who Should Not Sell on Walmart Marketplace?
There are lots of reasons to sign up for the platform. Still, it’s not for everyone, and it all comes down to Walmart’s price guarantee.
Your product listings appear alongside Walmart’s items, meaning you may be competing with lower-priced merchandise. What’s more, you can’t sell on Walmart Marketplace if:
- You sell the products on other e-commerce platforms at lower prices.
- Customers can buy the same product for less on another site.
My advice? Ensure you can meet Walmart’s price demands before you sign up. Don’t forget to factor in shipping fees and other costs.
What Products Are Allowed on Walmart Marketplace?
There are over 35 product categories to choose from, including toys, games, and electronics, so there’s a good chance you’ll find a fit for you. Some items, like perfumes and seasonal goods, require special permission before you can sell them—contact seller support to arrange this.
Here are some items you can’t sell on the Marketplace.
- Alcohol
- Event tickets
- Gambling products
- Tobacco
- Any food requiring refrigeration, i.e., not shelf-stable
It’s always best to contact seller support if you’re unsure about an item you plan on listing.
How Much Does Walmart Marketplace Cost?
It’s completely free to sign up for a basic Seller Account on the Marketplace, but here’s a breakdown of what you need to know.
- You don’t pay anything to list products for sale on Walmart Marketplace.
- Once you sell something, you pay a Referral Fee on the item.
- You don’t pay monthly or annual subscriptions.
The Referral Fee is a percentage of the gross sale price and varies based on what item you sell and what category it’s in. Referral fees start at 6% and go up to around 20%.
Think of the Referral Fee as commission. You pay Walmart a commission for introducing you to potential customers and facilitating a sale.
How Much Can I Make on Walmart Marketplace?
That’s the biggest question, isn’t it—how much money can I make this way? It all comes down to:
- Managing your store effectively
- Optimizing your prices
First, you need to know how much other vendors charge for items like yours. In other words, do some market research.
- Check out competitor stores.
- Research how much your items sell for around the Marketplace and elsewhere.
If you list an item at the same price as another vendor, Walmart automatically promotes the product that was listed first. For example, if you and vendor B both sell hairdryers at $40, but vendor B listed their hairdryer the week before you, theirs appears in the item listings before yours.
Want yours listed first? Drop your prices if you can, and watch out for competitors changing their prices.
That said, there’s no point in selling items for rock bottom prices if you won’t make a profit. So, you should determine your profit margin. Factor in costs like:
- Referral Fee
- Shipping costs
- Returns fees
- Your purchase costs
- Any overhead costs you have, e.g., electricity, labor costs, and other merchant costs if applicable
Once you’ve identified your margins, it’s time to set prices. We can’t tell you how much you should charge, but you should be aiming for the lowest possible price. If you can’t “compete” with Walmart’s low pricing structure, it might not be the platform for you.
There’s good news, though. As of Q2 in the 2021 fiscal year, Walmart online sales jumped by a record 97%, meaning there’s a whole lot of profit potential on this platform if you use it properly.
Let’s look at how to do just that.
How Do I Sell on Walmart Marketplace?
Onboarding onto Walmart Marketplace is relatively straightforward, but it’s even easier if you know what steps to work through.
1. Get a Walmart Marketplace Account
First, you need a Walmart Marketplace Account. Here’s what you need to get started:
- A US business address and tax ID
- An integration strategy for uploading and managing your product catalog
- A company website
- An established selling history
Essentially, you need to show Walmart that you’re a serious seller. You’re someone who knows how to process and fulfill orders, and you prioritize customer care.
The application takes around 10-15 minutes to complete, but the approval process can take a few weeks, if not months.
2. Register Your Business on Walmart Marketplace
Approved to sell? Now, it’s time to create your Partner Profile, which offers customers an overview of your entire business and all your policies.
First, click the link in the email you received from Walmart Marketplace. It takes you to an account registration page.
Once you’ve chosen a password and confirmed your business name and address, you fill out a W-9 so that Walmart can verify your identity. Here’s what the form looks like:
After you’re finished with the tax paperwork, select how you want to receive payment. You can choose from Payoneer or Hyperwallet. It’s a good idea to set up an account with one of these providers before you start the application.
Finally, you choose your shipping model, including which regions you deliver to and which delivery options you plan to make available.
Next, it’s time to add some details. Include your:
- Privacy Policy
- Shipping Policy
- Customer Service and Returns Policy
- Key contact information
It shouldn’t take long to work through the Partner Profile, and there’s no need to wait for approval before moving on to the next stage.
3. Create Walmart Marketplace Listings
Once you’ve completed your Partner Profile, it’s time to post some items.
- Have your image source URLs ready before you start.
- Pick meta keywords to include in your listings.
- Make sure you’ve chosen an upload method. For many people, the “Bulk Upload” method is preferable because all you’re doing is entering product details into a spreadsheet. You don’t need fancy technical skills.
The first step is picking the product category. Remember, there are multiple categories available, so be sure to choose the closest match. Here’s an example of what the categories look like.
Then comes the tricky part: How do you make your listings stand out? Well, it’s all about optimization.
- Choose the correct category.
- Ensure you upload at least four product images.
- Optimize your title with keywords – use my free tool, Ubersuggest, for keyword ideas.
- Include customer reviews if you have them.
- Choose a competitive price.
- Offer Expedited Delivery, if possible. Customers generally want their items quickly.
Why is it so crucial for listings to stand out? Because the best listings win Walmart’s coveted “Buy Box.”
Remember when we said that Walmart shows customers the earliest-posted and cheapest item first? Well, customers don’t just “see” this item first. It’s the default product automatically added to someone’s cart when they click “Add to Cart.”
“Add to Cart” is the “Buy Box,” and as you can imagine, it’s highly coveted real estate on the Marketplace!
4. Fulfill Walmart Marketplace Orders
You need to follow some pretty strict fulfillment rules to maintain your spot on the platform.
- Always acknowledge a customer order within four hours of receipt, even if you’re not shipping it right away. This is key to excellent customer care.
- Customers can usually return any item they buy within 30 days. You can reduce this to 15 days for products like electronics, but it’s okay to give customers longer to return items, too.
- You don’t need to accept all returns, but your exceptions must be reasonable, e.g., if the merchandise is soiled or removed from original packaging.
- If you’re at fault, e.g., you send someone the wrong item, you pay the return fee. Otherwise, the buyer pays.
You must always offer at least two shipping options:
- Free Value Shipping
- Standard Shipping
You can also offer Expedited or Next Day Delivery, but these orders must arrive quicker than the cheaper shipping options—or you might need to reimburse shipping.
Avoid late orders wherever possible. Unhappy customers reflect poorly on your overall rating.
- Set realistic order cutoff times for different shipping options.
- Add a Shipping Policy to your profile, so customers know what to expect.
5. Get Paid by Walmart Marketplace
The payment rules are a little complicated, but we can break them down like this:
- Most people get paid every 14 days.
- The payments received depend on Walmart’s internal payment cycle.
- If your account is less than 90 days old, it takes a little longer to receive payment. Each item you sell takes at least 28 days to settle, not 14, during this time. Think of it as a probationary period.
- Payments received after midnight on Friday PST settle in the following payment cycle. In other words, this is the cycle cut-off.
- Walmart posts payments on Tuesdays.
Refunds are deducted from your payments as they’re processed. You can view your transaction history by checking the “Payments” section in the Seller Center.
6. Keep Your Walmart Marketplace Account Compliant
Walmart cares about vendor quality, so here are some tips to bear in mind.
- Don’t list prohibited products.
- Fulfill orders on time.
- Keep your inventory up-to-date to avoid disappointed customers.
- Ensure your products match the descriptions, and don’t send out defective items.
The bottom line? Maintain high customer service standards, keep your listings accurate, and don’t take on more orders than you can handle.
Conclusion
Now we’ve explored the inner workings of the Walmart Marketplace, there’s only one thing left to do—apply to join the platform!
Just remember to optimize your listings with the right keywords and best prices before you get started. For some extra help with your marketing and analytics, check out my consulting services.
Remember, you need to impress the Marketplace before you sign up, so it makes sense to do some groundwork first.
Have you tried the Walmart Marketplace? How is it working for you?
The post How to Get Your Products in Walmart Marketplace appeared first on Neil Patel.