Walmart is hosting its first-ever seller summit for businesses who are part of its third-party marketplace. The two-day event features informative how-to sessions and speeches by the company’s top leaders.
Melissa Repko | CNBC
LAS VEGAS — Walmart is exploring innovative tactics to attract sellers to its third-party marketplace in an effort to boost online sales and narrow the gap with its competitor, Amazon.
Yesterday, the retail giant commenced its inaugural Walmart Marketplace Seller Summit, a prestigious two-day invitation-only event that includes educational sessions and drew over 1,500 attendees from various businesses that sell items like clothing, party supplies, and jewelry on Walmart’s website. Esteemed leaders of Walmart, including CEO Doug McMillon, will be headlining the event.
Furthermore, Walmart announced new initiatives designed to entice and retain sellers. Commencing in early 2022, Walmart’s marketplace will expand to Chile, marking its first venture beyond North America. The company is also increasing the number of brand shops on its website, enabling sellers to create appealing digital storefronts to showcase specific products.
In addition, Walmart is introducing an option that allows sellers to pay for Walmart’s fulfillment services for larger and bulkier items, such as canoes, or items that require multiple boxes, like patio sets. Sellers with physical stores can also leverage Walmart’s technology to power curbside pickup or utilize the company’s network of delivery drivers for efficient order drop-offs.
Walmart is intensifying its focus on its third-party marketplace, as it pursues higher-margin e-commerce sales and aims to exceed revenue growth in the next five years. To achieve this, Walmart is implementing automation in more warehouses and stores. Furthermore, the company has expanded into lucrative non-retail sectors including advertising, last-mile delivery, and fulfillment services.
In a blog post announcing the marketplace initiatives, Manish Joneja, Senior Vice President of Walmart Marketplace and Walmart Fulfillment Services, described the platform as an “endless aisle” where sellers of all sizes can offer customers a wide array of products. Such products may be owned by Walmart itself or sold by third-party sellers. Joneja emphasized that Walmart and its sellers grow concurrently, with sellers sharing a portion of their marketplace profits with the company.
Joneja, an Amazon veteran, is one of the many talents Walmart has recruited to bolster its marketplace business. Another notable hire is Jare’ Buckley-Cox, also an Amazon veteran, who serves as the Vice President of Walmart Fulfillment Services.
Sellers participating in Walmart’s marketplace are also potential customers for Walmart’s newer ventures, as they can utilize the company’s packing and shipping services or advertise their products. During the most recent fiscal quarter, there was over a 50% growth in the number of sellers utilizing Walmart Fulfillment Services, according to Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey during an earnings call earlier this month.
Despite its position as the largest retailer in the United States, Walmart’s online market share and e-commerce sales substantially lag behind Amazon’s. Insider Intelligence reports that Walmart’s annual online sales were less than one-fifth of Amazon’s last year. Furthermore, Amazon captures nearly 38% of e-commerce sales in the U.S., compared to Walmart’s approximate 7% market share, as estimated by market researchers.
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
