In a move that is expected to add 1,200 new sellers to the retail giant’s platform this year alone, Walmart is opening the Walmart Marketplace to Shopify merchants. The integration is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses with product assortments that complement Walmart’s existing selection.
Retailers that use Shopify will be able to seamlessly list their products on Walmart.com, giving Walmart customers access to a broader array of items. The partnership capitalizes on recent online growth: Walmart’s U.S. e-Commerce business grew 74% in Q1 2020, and growth in marketplace sales outpaced the overall business even though first-party sales were also strong.
The realities of the post-COVID-19 retailing environment are causing Walmart to put more emphasis on its e-Commerce offerings in general. The retailer’s other efforts include a partnership with ThredUP to enhance Walmart.com with a range of resale items, and the merger of the Walmart and Walmart Grocery apps to create a streamlined shopping environment — a move that could pay off as e-Commerce grows at a rapid pace.
“I think Walmart will do well into the near future going by the plans that they’ve already kind of laid out, to continue accelerating online grocery, pickup and delivery,” said Lei Duran, SVP, Knowledge Team Retail Insights at Kantar in an interview Retail TouchPoints. “The consolidation of their app is a really big one that I’m watching intently, because it will truly create a window to the entire store and enable it to deliver and fulfill in a potentially faster manner than Amazon. Walmart is really using its scale and footprint as an advantage.”
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