Walmart Teams with Shopify to Grow its Marketplace
Retail Dive | June 15, 2020
As an essential retailer Walmart's stores have remained open during the pandemic, its e-commerce sales surged 74% in the first quarter. Walmart and Shopify on Monday announced they are partnering to bring 1,200 sellers onto Walmart.com's third-party marketplace by the end of this year. The focus of the program is "U.S.-based small and medium businesses whose assortment complements ours," Walmart Marketplace Vice President Jeff Clementz said in a company blog post.
Activating the Walmart e-commerce channel through Shopify allows sellers to sync their assortments with Walmart.com to easily track orders, inventory and fulfillment within Shopify, and manage product information on Walmart.com, according to a Shopify press release.
This partnership is good for both Walmart and Shopify, according to Rick Watson, founder and CEO of RMW Commerce Consulting. Walmart hasn't scaled its marketplace as fast as Amazon, he also said, "They need more selection and better selection." Amazon has also focused on its third-party marketplace, and nearly 60% of products sold on its site come from third parties.
Smaller businesses have particularly struggled during the pandemic, while large retailers, have a better chance of survival. Inviting small retail businesses to Walmart's platform could ease such concerns.