Source: Marketplace Pulse, "Walmart Surpasses 100,000 Marketplace Sellers"
In one year, Walmart has gone from 50,000 third-party sellers in July 2020 to 100,000 in July 2021, doubling the size of its marketplace for the second year in a row. In addition, the company is on target to add 5,000 new third-party sellers a month. While only 35,000 sellers are active, it shows that Walmart can create market spaces faster than their clients can restock. The important thing is growth, and Walmart has continued to grow, but where are their new third-party sellers coming from?
Walmart grows internationally
Despite being significantly smaller than eBay, Walmart has grown to the number two spot by focusing on international growth. This year 15% of Walmart's new third-party sellers are from China, and that's increasing every month. While delivery from China is slower, it has not stopped the number of people who want to take advantage of Walmart's reach, and it has not stopped shoppers from looking for the best price. But how is Walmart increasing its infrastructure to keep up with the new demand?
Walmart's plan to partner with smaller sites
In February, Walmart said to investors, "This year, we'll significantly increase the number of sellers in our marketplace." to do this; they are partnering with Shopify and BigCommerce and expanding heavily internationally, especially in Asian countries. By partnering with smaller sites, not only do they increase the number of third-party sellers, but they expand their infrastructure, especially when it comes to marketing smaller sellers. But they aren't just looking at increasing their infrastructure; they want people talking about their membership program too.
Where does Walmart go from here?
Walmart has made great strides by increasing the number of their third-party sellers, they've partnered with smaller companies to increase their infrastructure, they've expanded internationally, and they've started a brand-new membership program. So what do they need next? First, they need to get the word out. When people think of third=party sellers, they still think of Amazon or eBay, not Walmart. Walmart needs that to change. To take the next steps to be at the top of the pack, they need to increase the number of their buyers. They also need to increase their SEO ranking so people can find them easily when searching for goods and services. If they can complete this journey, they may be headed all the way to the top.
Want to tap into Walmart Seller Market? Feel free to have a look at our Walmart.com Sellers Directory!
