With Walmart’s rapid growth in the eCommerce space, it’s no wonder that more and more sellers are turning to this top marketplace for dropshipping investment. Leveraging the Walmart marketplace as a sales channel for your dropshipping business offers a great growth opportunity. But before you start, it’s important to know how to navigate the process and what to expect.
Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of Walmart dropshipping, which include:
- What is Walmart dropshipping?
- Why should you dropship on the Walmart marketplace?
- How to start Walmart dropshipping?
Let’s get started!
What is Walmart dropshipping?
Walmart dropshipping is a great way for eCommerce sellers to reach the customer base of one of the largest retailers in the world. It is the process of selling products through third-party suppliers on the marketplace or leveraging Walmart as a supplier for dropshipping on other marketplaces.
There are three main ways to run a Walmart dropshipping business
- Becoming a Walmart Dropshipping Vendor
- Dropshipping from Walmart to eBay or other large marketplaces
- Selling dropshipped products on the Walmart marketplace
The last option can be more efficient and cost-effective for sellers and entrepreneurs as it eliminates the need to purchase and store inventory. It also allows sellers to benefit from Walmart’s large audience and reputation while streamlining the selling process. Although it can be a challenge to receive official approval as a third-party seller on Walmart, it’s worth the effort for the potential sales and growth of your business.
Why Should Dropship on Walmart Marketplace?
Dropshipping on Walmart Marketplace might appear somewhat similar to dropshipping on other online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or many other best-selling platforms, yet it offers some outstanding benefits. For example, Amazon dropshipping charges more fees – a reason causing 99% of surveyed FBA users to consider selling on other marketplaces in 2023.
Therefore, before diving into the steps of how to do dropshipping on the Walmart marketplace, let’s start by discussing its benefits!
1. A large customer base
Walmart is one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, with a customer base in the millions.
By dropshipping with Walmart, you can take advantage of this large customer base and reach a larger audience than you would be able to on your own. This can be a huge benefit if you are just starting out and currently have no potential leads. With Walmart’s reach and brand recognition, you can attract in-platform customers who may not have otherwise found you.
Additionally, Walmart’s reputation for low prices and responsive customer service can help you build trust with potential customers.
2. Low start-up costs
Doing Walmart dropshipping can be a significant advantage for small businesses and new entrepreneurs. The business model allows you to start selling without having to make a large investment in inventory upfront. Since you don’t have to worry about the warehousing or delivery process, you can keep your overhead costs low and use the savings to invest in other areas of your business.
Another perk of dropshipping with Walmart is it costs you nothing to set up an account and start selling on the Walmart marketplace. This is a key difference in comparison with other popular marketplaces like eBay or Amazon – channels that charge users a considerable amount with different seller plans. For newly established brands, this relieves a significant financial burden, especially when they haven’t made any profit yet.
3. Convenience
When dropshipping items from Walmart, the channel will help you optimize the product listings. Walmart teams handle the listing content and make sure the listing is getting the highest organic search traffic possible. Moreover, products that Walmart sells and ships can get an automatic boost on Walmart.com. This eventually makes it easier for your product to win the Buy Box.
In addition, you don’t have to worry about the logistics of getting products to customers. Walmart handles all of that for you, meaning you can focus on sourcing products, ensuring quality, and marketing them. Not just that, since Walmart handles customer service, you are exempted from dealing with Walmart canceling orders or refunds. This can save you a lot of time and energy and allow you to focus on what is more important: growing your business.
You might want to read more about Walmart Fulfillment Services to discover how Walmart can help you manage the order fulfillment process.
How to Start Walmart Dropshipping: A Full Guide
Without further ado, let’s get down to the steps on how you can do Walmart dropshipping!
Step 1: Sign up for a Walmart Marketplace account
To sell on the Walmart marketplace, you will need to sign up for a Walmart Marketplace account. This will give you access to the platform and the ability to list your products for sale.
Walmart will take time to process your registration, therefore make sure you have your business information ready, such as
- Business name & US business address
- Contact information
- US Business tax (SSN not accepted)
- W8 or W9 and EIN (Employer Identification Number)
You will also need to provide a valid credit or debit card for receiving payment and paying any fees associated with selling on the platform.
About to go live on Walmart? Make sure you have checked our comprehensive guide on how to sell products to Walmart! Check it out here!
Step 2: Finish the onboarding process
As Walmart approves your profile registration, they will send you an email with the registration link. You will have to access Walmart via this link and finish a 10-step onboarding process.
Upon browsing the registration link, you will be directed to the page where you have to
- Create an account. You have to type your business address, bank account details, and business information for the payment of your tax from Walmart dropshipping.
- Agree to the Walmart Retailer Agreement. Make sure you tick the box to agree to the Walmart Retailer Agreement before advancing to the next step.
- Fill in payment and shipping information. There are two payment platform options for you to receive and handle future payments: either Payoneer or Hyperwallet.
As you complete the above steps, you can proceed to fill in the details of your company name, description, logo, company policies, and more. This is for Walmart’s Partner Profile, which includes information buyers will see and private business documents.
On the top left of the screen, Walmart presents you with a checklist of things you need to do to complete this process.
Additionally, you can see where you are in the process.
Once your store is set up, you can start preparing to sell by listing your products. It’s part of the onboarding procedures to test the order process by publishing two to three items and placing orders for trial. Furthermore, you need to test the following purchasing flows in the Seller Center
- Order acknowledgment
- Purchase cancellation
- Shipping and delivery
- Order refund
As you make sure everything works fine, you can go live with your Walmart dropshipping store.
The marketplace will be responsible for the final review before officially releasing your account for live access.
Step 3: Find a supplier
Upon finishing the onboarding process, you can continue to find a supplier for your Walmart dropshipping business. There are a few options for finding a supplier, including using third-party dropshipping services or working with a direct supplier.
Regarding the first option, you can use third-party apps like DSer or SaleHoo to find products and list them on Walmart.
In case you already work with a direct supplier, it’s important to have a working contract to ensure product quality and shipping matters. Once you have found a supplier, you will need to communicate with them to establish a working relationship.
Furthermore, be sure to consider factors such as price, product quality, and shipping times, regardless of how you find your suppliers.
Step 4: List your products
After finding suppliers, you can begin listing your products for Walmart dropshipping. This will involve creating product listings, including product descriptions and images, and setting your pricing. However, be sure to follow Walmart’s guidelines for product listings to ensure that your products are approved. Also, don’t forget to apply our comprehensive Walmart SEO practices.
If you are selling on other platforms, you can use third-party apps like LitCommerce to sync your product listings onto the Walmart Marketplace. With LitCommerce, you can do dropshipping from Walmart to Shopify or Amazon within minutes.
Step 5: Promote your product listings
Promoting your products is an important step to increasing sales on the Walmart marketplace. Within Walmart Marketplace, you can do this by optimizing your listing and using Walmart Sponsored Products – pay-per-click (PPC) ads that give your product listings preferential and high-visibility placement on the Walmart product search page.
Additionally, you can create social media campaigns, run Google AdWords ads, and utilize email marketing. You can also participate in Walmart’s affiliate program, which allows you to earn a commission on each sale made through your referral link.
Step 6: Fulfill orders
Once you start receiving orders, it’s time to handle shipping. As many as 65% of US shoppers are willing to spend more to receive faster and more reliable delivery. Therefore shipping and fulfillment speed are determining factors for the success of your Walmart dropshipping business. Specifically, Walmart offers sellers options to go for Walmart same-day delivery, free nationwide shipping, and two-day and three-day delivery for an additional fee.
Free nationwide shipping and TwoDay shipping programs are great opportunities to draw in more customers and sell more products. In addition, Walmart rewards fast-shipping merchants with Buy Box placements and more visibility in search.
However, business owners will have to spend more to cover the costs of such deliveries. If you can’t afford such a shipping program, just go for the standard shipping option.
Walmart Dropshipping: FAQs
- Does Walmart allow dropshipping?
Walmart does allow dropshipping. However, you need to follow certain guidelines and regulations when doing Walmart dropshipping. These include
- Maintaining accurate inventory levels
- Providing timely shipping
- Ensuring that products meet Walmart’s quality standards
It’s important to read and follow Walmart’s guidelines and regulations to ensure your dropshipping business runs smoothly.
- What is Walmart dropshipping policy?
Walmart has a strict policy for dropshippers on their marketplace. Their dropshipping policy includes
- maintaining accurate inventory levels
- providing timely shipping
- ensuring product quality
- having competitive pricing
- communicating professionally with customers
- processing returns and refunds promptly
- ensuring that all products sold are authentic and comply with laws and regulations
- How to start Walmart dropshipping?
To start dropshipping on Walmart, you need to
- sign up for a Walmart marketplace account
- finish the onboarding process
- find a supplier
- list your products
- optimize your listings to win the Buy Box
- promote your products
- fulfill orders.
Conclusion
Walmart dropshipping is an exciting opportunity for sellers to grow their eCommerce business and reach new customers. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily set up your Walmart dropshipping business and start selling.
During the setup process, using a third-party tool like LitCommerce can help you easily sync product listings from other platforms onto Walmart. This allows you to stay organized and be more responsive to customer needs. Interested to know more? Just drop us a message! You can also become a part of our active eCommerce community to catch up with the latest trend in the market!
